Sunday, August 28, 2011

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

This recipe is from Julia Goff. For those of you who do not know her, she is another amazing baker that I look up to. She shared this recipe with me the other day and I made them right away. And oh boy, these are addictive so be careful. They are super sweet, but they have small chunks of sea salt on them, which cuts the sweet a little. So it kinda cancels out the calories too :) Here's what you need
Butter, sugar, powdered sugar, vanilla, flour, caramel candies, cream, and coarse sea salt. Combine butter, sugar, and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Beat together until creamy. Add the vanilla
Beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter mixture 
beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms
Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan lightly with cooking spray. Press 1/3 of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust
 (Sorry about my hands, not the prettiest things you'll ever see..) Preheat oven to 325F. Bake until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown, 20- 25 minutes
Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. While the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling. Place unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream
Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth. Stir in vanilla
Pour the caramel filling over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the coarse sea salt over the caramel filling
Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel
Return to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm, about 30 minutes
Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Use a sharp knife to cut the bars evenly into squares
Serve. Store in an air-tight container up to 3 days. 


Salted Caramel Butter Bars
For the Crust:
1 lb. salted butter, room temp.
1 cup sugar
1½ cups powdered sugar
2 Tbs vanilla
4 cups AP flour


For the Filling:
1 bag (14 oz.) caramel candies (about 50 individual caramels)
⅓ cup cream

1 teaspoon vanilla
1 T. coarse sea salt






Beat together until creamy. Add the vanilla. Beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms. 



Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan lightly with cooking spray. Press 1/3 of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust. Refrigerate the remaining dough at least 30 minutes. 
Preheat to 325F. Bake until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown, 20- 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. 
While the bottom crust is baking and the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling. Place unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour the caramel filling over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the coarse sea salt over the caramel filling. Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel. Return to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. 
Use a sharp knife to cut the bars evenly into squares. Serve. Store in an air-tight container up to 3 days.

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