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
2 cups butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
4 cups flour
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.
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.
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.
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!
ReplyDeleteI 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! :)
DeleteIcing sugar is powdered sugar, right?
DeleteYes :)
DeleteThat the same thing I said
DeleteBy 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
DeleteI didn't bake these using a convection oven.... Just a regular oven. Hope that helps! :)
DeleteUh-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.
ReplyDeleteThey listed it as 1 lb butter which equals 2 cups.... Sorry you didn't have any luck!
DeleteThey turned out perfectly! The poster above must have done something wrong.
DeleteI lb of butter is 4 sticks or 1 cup
ReplyDeleteI meant 2sticks is 1cup so 4sticks is a lb
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately 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
DeleteOld 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.
DeleteI 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!
ReplyDeleteThank you. They are addicting, aren't they! :)
DeleteAll purpose flour???
ReplyDeleteYes! :)
DeleteCould using granulated sugar instead of powdered (icing) sugar be the problem?
ReplyDeleteYes, 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.
DeleteAwesome! Love those so much! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSo to my semi-trained eye, this is essentially a shortbread stuffed piece of salted caramel heaven?!?!
ReplyDeleteYes :) Yes it is!
DeleteSo to my semi-trained eye, this is essentially a shortbread stuffed piece of salted caramel heaven?!?!
ReplyDeleteCan these be frozen?
ReplyDeleteYes. I froze a batch and they were still great when they thawed
DeleteIs it whipped cream or heavy cream?
ReplyDeleteI always though whipping cream was heavy cream.. :/ I would think either would work. For the record - it was whipping cream that we used.
DeleteSo just to be sure... Icing sugar is powdered sugar?
ReplyDeleteYes :)
DeleteThese are amazing! Followed the recipe exactly and came out perfect! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear it! :)
DeleteWould you use unsalted or salted butter?
ReplyDeleteI always use salted butter. You could use unsalted butter if that's what you prefer.
DeleteThese are awesome! They're in the oven as we speak. One question though-- Do you refrigerate it?
ReplyDeleteIf you do manage to have a few leftover - I would store them in the fridge. :)
DeleteThese were soooooo amazing and sooooo addictive - they were a hit at our Thanksgiving get together yesterday. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed them :)
DeleteThey 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!
ReplyDeleteAaaaaw...that is so cute :) Love it!
DeleteSo Amazing! Made these last weekend they were a big hit!
ReplyDeleteThey are so tasty :) Glad they were such a hit!!
DeleteI am trying these out..sounds amazing!! Can't wait to eat them!!! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteWhat is icing sugar?
ReplyDeleteConfectioner's sugar or powdered sugar.
DeleteCould you the first baked layer with caramel chips......like u use for cookies... instead ?
ReplyDeleteSorry.... 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?
DeleteHmmm....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
Deletebaked. That being said, if you do give it a try, please let us know how it works for you.
DeleteOmg! Sorry.....ignore reason number one please. I was thinking of the wrong recipe.
DeleteI 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.
DeleteThank you Amy :)
DeleteYou are most welcome! ;)
DeleteDoes it have to be sea salt or can it be table salt?
ReplyDeleteCoarse salt works best....you could try coarse table salt if you can't get coarse sea salt
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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?
ReplyDeleteWell, I think they turned out good, however I felt they were too salty. I will take the salt down a bit next time.
DeleteSalted butter or unsalted butter?
ReplyDeleteSalted, from cookies and cups recipe! Unsalted does not give the buttery flavor!
DeleteMade 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!
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteI'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......
ReplyDeleteI 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.
This was recipe was perfect! The whole family loved it and I'm going to make it often! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this recipe. I can't wait to get in the kitchen with my little ones and make this.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't find the caramels squares. I bought the topping for ice cream in a jar instead. Would I still need the whipping cream?
ReplyDeleteI 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! :)
DeleteI 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?
ReplyDeleteI would say between 24 and 36. 36 would be pretty tiny BUT it is fairly rich so a little goes a long way....
DeleteI 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!
ReplyDeleteI 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?
ReplyDeleteI'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.
DeleteI 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?
ReplyDeleteHow many days after do they last after baked? Put in a ziploc bag?
ReplyDeleteI 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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