Homemade Caramel Cookie Bars
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Cook time: 
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Serves: 20-24 bars
 
Ingredients
  • Shortbread:
  • ½ cup (1 stick) + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ½ (scant) cup cornstarch
  • Caramel:
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup cream (a little more if needed)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • Bars:
  • 3 regular sized Hershey bars, broken into pieces
Instructions
  1. Line a 9 X 9 pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 325.
  2. In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the flour and cornstarch and beat for about a minute. The dough will be dry. I like to use my hands to press it all together.
  3. Press the dough into the prepared baking dish and bake for about 20 -25 minutes. The edges will be golden but the shortbread will be pale in color. Take it out and let it cool completely.
  4. While the shortbread bakes, pour the water into a 2 quart saucepan. Add the sugar (make a pile of sugar right in the center of the pan and keep it off the sids because it will crystallize and your caramel will have chunks in it). Cover it and bring it to a boil.
  5. Once it boils (will only take about 3 mins), remove the lid and drop the heat a little. Let it continue to simmer for awhile. You're looking for that pretty amber caramel color - I got the color I wanted at 23 minutes.
  6. Place the pan in the sink.
  7. Heat the cream just a little-- you don't wanna scald it. I do mine on the stove but you could microwave it for a few seconds. You want WARM cream. Think like hot dish water temperature (I touch it to test).
  8. Pour the cream into the pan you set in the sink. It will bubble and foam and go crazy. It's fine. Stir stir stir for a minute and it will settle down.
  9. Add the vanilla. Stir some more until the texture is smooth and the color is even. If you feel like your mixture is way too thick, you can heat just a tad more cream and add it. But this caramel WILL thicken upon cooling and you want it to set up so the less cream, the better.
  10. Pour the caramel over the cooled shortbread. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
  11. Place the Hershey slices on top of the caramel.
  12. To slice, lift the parchment from the pan, place the cookie bars on the counter, and cut into squares. *** I find these much easier to cut when frozen because the caramel isn't sticky. It might be helpful to freeze these bars for 30 minutes or so and then cut them.***
  13. These are best kept refrigerated-- it makes them a little less messy.
Recipe by Sugar Dish Me at https://www.sugardishme.com/homemade-caramel-cookie-bars/