Saturday, April 14, 2012

Salted Caramel Butter Bars


Whoever first thought of combining salt and caramel is an evil genius. The two pair so well together it's crazy.
This bar comes together fairly easily and tastes like heaven.
Really.
If you could slice out a piece of heaven...I am about 99% sure this is what it would taste like.
I saw this first on Pinterest and just had to try it. I am so glad I did!! Thanks to Cookie and Cups for creating these and Pinning them.



Salted Caramel Butter Bars
(Slightly Adapted from Cookie and Cups)

Ingredients
Crust
2 cups butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
4 cups flour

Caramel Layer
1 14 oz bag caramels, unwrapped (About 40 - 50 individually wrapped)
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp coarse sea salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 325. Line a 9 X 13 pan with parchment paper, spray lightly with cooking spray.
Prepare crust - In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars. Using a stand or hand mixer, beat until creamy. Add in vanilla and beat until combined. Mix in flour until a soft dough forms.
Press half of the dough into the prepared 9 X 13 pan. Refrigerate remaining half of dough.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven while you prepare the caramels.
Prepare caramel layer - Place the caramel in a microwave safe bowl. Add the cream and vanilla, and microwave for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave at 20 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.
Pour the caramel filling over the cooked crust (Do your best to pour it evenly over crust as it is very difficult to spread). Sprinkle salt over the top. Removing remaining dough from fridge and crumble it evenly over the caramel.
Return the pan to the oven and bake until filling is bubbly and the topping is firm and golden brown. About 25 - 30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.


These sold very well at the bake sale Sue and I made them for. I think pretty much anything with the words "Salted Caramel" in them would sell well at a bake sale.
My tasting crew at work raved about them.
I may have eaten one or two...you know....just for quality control.
You could, of course, make your own caramel for the middle but you don't have to. As it is, it is AMAZING!
Probably one of the best squares/bars I have tasted.

99 comments:

  1. I really should be avoiding your blog right now since I am trying to lose a few pounds and I think I might be gaining just reading your recipes. YUM!

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    1. I hear you. I should be blogging about nothing but vegetables but I just can't stay away from sweets. Hopefully I can still lose a few lbs AND eat sweets. One can dream! :)

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    2. Icing sugar is powdered sugar, right?

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    3. By any chance did you bake these in a convection. This the second recipe from pinterest thst ssys bake at 325 that would be the 350 temp when using a convection oven

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    4. I didn't bake these using a convection oven.... Just a regular oven. Hope that helps! :)

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  2. Uh-oh. My daughter made these tonight and they were a disaster. They were too gooey - never got firm. Checked the recipe on Cookies and Cups (afterwards!!) and they used half the butter and twice the flour. I'm sure that would have worked better. Using your recipe the bars can't be eaten without a spoon! You might want to check it again.

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    1. They listed it as 1 lb butter which equals 2 cups.... Sorry you didn't have any luck!

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    2. They turned out perfectly! The poster above must have done something wrong.

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  3. I lb of butter is 4 sticks or 1 cup

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  4. I meant 2sticks is 1cup so 4sticks is a lb

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    1. Unfortunately we don't use the stick measurement. From what I understand though, I stick equals 1/2 cup so, you are correct! 4 sticks equals 2 cups equals 1 lb. all the different measurements are crazy lol

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    2. Old saying: "Two cups a pound, the world around." This always helps me remember that a one-pound package of butter is 2 cups, and that each of the four sticks is 1/2 cup.

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    3. Well 16 oz = 1 pound. A cup is 8 oz; therefore it is 1/2 pound. Two 8 oz cups would make 16 ounces, which is a pound. A pound of stick butter has 4 sticks. Therefore, each stick is a 1/4 pound; and two sticks would be a 1/2 pound and all 4 sticks equal one pound, or 2 cups.

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  5. I made these and they were unbelievable. Everyone at worked absolutely loved them. I had no problems with them falling apart. The recipe was perfect. Will definitely make again and again!

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  6. Could using granulated sugar instead of powdered (icing) sugar be the problem?

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    1. Yes, since the powdered sugar will also act as a flour in a way. If you substituted all granular, that could definitely contribute to the problem.

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  7. Awesome! Love those so much! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. So to my semi-trained eye, this is essentially a shortbread stuffed piece of salted caramel heaven?!?!

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  9. So to my semi-trained eye, this is essentially a shortbread stuffed piece of salted caramel heaven?!?!

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  10. Can these be frozen?

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    1. Yes. I froze a batch and they were still great when they thawed

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  11. Is it whipped cream or heavy cream?

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    1. I always though whipping cream was heavy cream.. :/ I would think either would work. For the record - it was whipping cream that we used.

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    2. The brand I buy in the store says "Heavy Whipping Cream" so I'm sure they're the same thing.

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  12. So just to be sure... Icing sugar is powdered sugar?

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  13. These are amazing! Followed the recipe exactly and came out perfect! Thank you!

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  14. Would you use unsalted or salted butter?

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    1. I always use salted butter. You could use unsalted butter if that's what you prefer.

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  15. These are awesome! They're in the oven as we speak. One question though-- Do you refrigerate it?

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    1. If you do manage to have a few leftover - I would store them in the fridge. :)

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  16. These were soooooo amazing and sooooo addictive - they were a hit at our Thanksgiving get together yesterday. Thanks for sharing!

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  17. They are amazing! They should be called boyfriend bars! I have been dating a man for a few months and he said you know I have to make you my girl now. Thank you!

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  18. So Amazing! Made these last weekend they were a big hit!

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    1. They are so tasty :) Glad they were such a hit!!

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  19. I am trying these out..sounds amazing!! Can't wait to eat them!!! Thanks for sharing :)

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  20. What is icing sugar?

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  21. Could you the first baked layer with caramel chips......like u use for cookies... instead ?

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    1. Sorry.... could you bake first layer then top with the caramel chips instead of melting down the others? And then top with the second layer? Think that would work?

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    2. Hmmm....I don't know if it would work for 2 reasons. 1) the top layer needs to cook as long as the bottom layer. 2) you need to mis the caramels with cream to thin them a bit so it is easier to cut once it is

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    3. baked. That being said, if you do give it a try, please let us know how it works for you.

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    4. Omg! Sorry.....ignore reason number one please. I was thinking of the wrong recipe.

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    5. I tried it with the chips. Keeping in mind that I have nothing to compare to as I have never made this before......I think it turned out great. Outside of the caramel part I followed your recipe exactly. Very good. I used an entire bag of the caramel chips. I think I might make it your way as well just to compare them. Thank you for the recipe....will definitely be making again.

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  22. Does it have to be sea salt or can it be table salt?

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    1. Coarse salt works best....you could try coarse table salt if you can't get coarse sea salt

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  23. I tried them and they are good. However, my "salt-a-holic" husband thought they were too salty, as did I and my daughter thought they were too buttery. I am going to try them again and use 1/2 the salt. Other than being almost too buttery, I think they will be perfect for us.

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  24. I feel bad. I have not got around to buying butter instead of margarine (we are slowing converting to a healthier way of life) and thus didn't realize this is one of those recipes that work best with butter. So I hope it turns out because I used margarine. Also, does it get less salty as it cooks because that looked like a lot of salt?

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    1. Well, I think they turned out good, however I felt they were too salty. I will take the salt down a bit next time.

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  25. Salted butter or unsalted butter?

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    1. Salted, from cookies and cups recipe! Unsalted does not give the buttery flavor!

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  26. Made these today and they were AMAZING! I used salted butter. Ovens vary, I had to cook mine about 10 minutes longer than stated. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I will make again and again!

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  27. I made these this morning, and there was a layer of butter floating on the top of the bars. Followed the recipe to the letter. After they cooled, I cut them, and there was a layer of butter on the bottome too. Wayy tooo much butter. Big waste of ingredients. Should have read other post first.

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  28. I'm not sure why you had problems. The recipe, as written, has never failed for me. It is also almost exactly the same as the original Cookie and Cups recipe. I'm not sure which other post you are referring to......
    I do know that these things have caused problems for others - using margarine instead of butter, using all granulated sugar instead of the icing sugar, or using too much butter.

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  29. This was recipe was perfect! The whole family loved it and I'm going to make it often! Thank you for sharing!

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  30. Thank you for this recipe. I can't wait to get in the kitchen with my little ones and make this.

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  31. I couldn't find the caramels squares. I bought the topping for ice cream in a jar instead. Would I still need the whipping cream?

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    1. I have never tried it with the ice cream topping. That being said, I would think it would by runny enough that you would not need the whipping cream. Please let us know how it turns out for you with the ice cream topping! :)

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  32. I am planning on making these for Easter! I am so excited. I LOVE salted caramel!! How many squares should I get...roughly? I know it will vary, depending on how big they are cut, lol...but how many did you get with one batch?

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    1. I would say between 24 and 36. 36 would be pretty tiny BUT it is fairly rich so a little goes a long way....

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  33. I made these for Easter dinner and did a taste test....oh my....they are decadent and the recipe was right-on...no adjustments needed....found on Pinterest. Thanks!

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  34. I made these for a gathering we went to they turned out delish Im pretty sure my husband ate half of it! I just had one question the dough that goes in the fridge stayed the same thickness it did when I first made it so I couldnt crumble it over the top I had to pour it. any suggestions for what I might have done wrong?

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    1. I'm not sure why your dough would be a "pourable" consistency. It should not have been like that to start with..... Did you forget any of the ingredients? Did you use the correct amount of butter? (I know some people have had trouble with the amount of butter for some reason...) It should resemble a soft, shortbread cookie like dough.

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  35. I did use enough butter. I was a little short on flour for the last cup but I didnt think it was enough to have an effect could that have been the problem?

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  36. How many days after do they last after baked? Put in a ziploc bag?

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    1. I would store them either in a ziploc bag or on a plate covered with plastic wrap, in the fridge. I would say they should last at least a few days...maybe up to a week. I'm not 100% sure though as they have never lasted more than a couple of days around our place! (They do freeze well though) If anyone has stored these longer please let us know :)

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  37. Thank you so much for this recipe! I tried them today, and they are so good! I'm also very hapoy to see in the above comments that they freeze well. Thank you!

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  38. I have some salted caramel laying around that I made from scratch (Martha Stewart recipe). I wonder if I can use that instead of the caramels and cream?

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    1. You could definitely give it a try. It should work...maybe just turn out a little softer? Let us know how it works for you! :)

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  39. Do these have to be eaten that day or can I make them a day ahead of time?

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    1. You can make them a day or two ahead. Just keep them covered in the fridge until you are ready to serve them... then let them come up to room temp. :)

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    2. Thank you! These look delicious and are in the oven right now!

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  40. I made these last week and brought them to work. They were gone within minutes. I'm making them again but this time I'm going to put apple pie filling before I lay down the caramel I'm looking forward to how this is going to come out

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  41. This is an AWESOME recipe. I make this for church potlucks, and the reaction is always the same ~ clean platter and people begging for the recipe. =) I have never had any trouble with the recipe turning out runny or anything. It has been perfect every time, and I follow the above directions to the letter. Thanks!

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  42. If I were to use my own caramel recipe instead of store bought ones, how much do you think I would need to make?

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    1. Hmmm....good question. I would venture to guess probably about 2 cups of caramel sauce. You want enough for a good layer in the middle. Hope that helps! (Please let us know if you end up making your own - how much you did use!)

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  43. We renamed these Crack Bars because of the addictive qualities!

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  44. I added these to my list of Christmas cookies. They are FANTASTIC!!! I wish I would have added a bit more salt as I really like to taste that salt with sweetness. I wasn't quite sure about the "drizzling" of the dough on top but once it's been chilled, it's so easy to sprinkle on chunks over the top of the caramel. It was a hit with everyone with recipe requests to follow. Thanks for sharing!

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  45. These were absolutely amazing!! FYI, mine took about 45 minutes to firm up/brown, but that could very well be my oven. Thank you for a fabulous recipe!
    Heather Lee

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  46. I've been making these for about a year now, pot lucks, holidays, random treats for work, and they are always eaten in minutes and the recipe is demanded. I use extra rich vanilla, European or irish butter, and pink Himalayan salt. It always comes out perfectly. Thanks for the recipe!

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    1. So glad to hear it Daniel! They are still a favorite around here too :)

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  47. I have made these numerous times and they are to die for! O even do different fillings, blackberry is our favorite, the original recipe is a little too sweet for some folks lol! Thanks for the recipe!

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  48. 1 Tbsp vanilla in added to four mixture ? and
    1/2 tsp vanilla added to carmel and cream?

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  49. I made these delectable bars two weeks ago, needless to say, they went as fast as I made them.Mahalo so much for this scrumptious recipe! This will now be my new Christmas cookie for gift giving.

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  50. Someone brought these to a Christmas party and my husband went around the room telling people to go try them. I tracked down the baker and she gave me your link. They're amazing!

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    1. Yay! So glad you liked them. They are still one of my all time favorites!

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