Very delicious! Though i thought the crust was a bit too thick, but the chocolate and caramel were the right consistency, both very smooth and creamy!
Ingredients:
shortbread layer:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
caramel layer:
- 2 cups caramel, cut into small chunks
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
chocolate layer:
- 3 cups chopped milk chocolate or dark chocolate, melted
- 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening (optional)
Instructions:
FOR THE CRUST:
- Preheat your oven to 300°F. Spray a 9" x 13" pan lightly with cooking spray, or line with parchment, and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla.
- Add the flour. At first the mixture may seem dry, but will come together as you continue to beat at medium speed.
- Take the dough (it will be somewhat stiff) and press it evenly into the pan.
- Lightly flouring your fingertips will help with any sticking.
- Prick the crust all over with a fork.
- The holes will allow steam to escape and the crust will bake evenly with fewer bubbles.
- Bake the crust until it's lightly golden brown on top and the edges are deeper golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edges to loosen the crust. Set it aside to cool completely.
FOR THE CARAMEL LAYER:
- Melt the caramel and cream over low heat in a small saucepan.
- Pour the caramel over the cooled crust and set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill and firm up.
FOR THE CHOCOLATE LAYER:
- Melt the milk or dark chocolate slowly in a double boiler or over very low heat.
- If it seems very thick, add a tablespoon of shortening to thin it.
- Pour evenly over the chilled caramel layer and spread to cover all of the caramel. Return to the fridge until the chocolate is well set. Cut into 2" x 2" squares to serve.
- It's best to store these bars in the refrigerator.
- These bars can also be cut and dipped in milk chocolate to resemble Twix ® bars. After the caramel layer has chilled firm, cut down the length of the pan, splitting the bars into two long, narrow bars.
- Then cut each long strip into "fingers". Dip the chilled bars into melted chocolate and place on parchment paper to set for several hours.