Caramel Shortbread Bars

A stack of three shortbread cookie bars with a layer of caramel in the middle.

These Salted Caramel Shortbread Bars are rich, buttery, and combine everything you love about a shortbread cookie with a thick layer of gooey salted caramel right in the middle. It makes these bars totally irresistible and indulgent.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Caramel, caramel shortbread cookie bars, Shortbread

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 40

Servings:

Calories: 316kcal

Ingredients

For the Shortbread Cookie Base:

1 cup Unsalted Butter
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1 large Egg
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt

For the Caramel Layer:

11 oz Soft Caramels (Unwrapped)
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/8 tsp Salt

Instructions

For the Shortbread Cookie Base:

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line an 8x8inch pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
In a large bowl, add the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar and cream them together for a couple of minutes. 1 cup Unsalted Butter, 1/2 cup Brown Sugar, 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
Add in the egg, and vanilla extract, and stir them into the mixture. 1 large Egg, 2 tsp Vanilla Extract,
Add in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix it together until you have a soft cookie dough. 2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour, 1/2 tsp Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp Salt
Take a little more than 1/2 of the cookie dough and press it evenly into the bottom the prepared pan.
Bake the cookie dough for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the top is set and no longer shiny.

For the Caramel Layer:

While that is baking add the caramels and heavy cream to a small sauce pan and melt over medium low until you can stir it smooth. 11 oz Soft Caramels, 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
Remove from the heat and add in the vanilla and salt and stir it together. 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract, 1/8 tsp Salt
When the bottom layer of the cookies are baked remove from the oven and pour the caramel over the top.
Take off pieces of the remaining cookie dough and sprinkle them around the top of the caramel layer. They do not need to fully cover the cherry layer.
Bake the bars for another 15 to 18 or until the top of the bars are golden brown and set.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle the top with flakey sea salt. let the bars cool completely, before slicing and enjoying.

Notes

Use Parchment: Line your pan with parchment paper so you can lift the bars out of the pan. This will help with the mess from the gooey caramel layer and give you a much easier cleanup.
Use room temperature Ingredients: Both the butter and egg should be brought to room temperature for about 30 minutes before mixing them into the dough to ensure they mix evenly.
For Clean Slices: Let the bars cool completely before slicing, the bars will cut much better and cleaner if the caramel is set first.
Serving Size: These bars are rich so you can cut them into smaller servings to get more out of a pan.

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