Salted Chocolate Caramel Bars

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 x 8 pan (or line one with parchment paper) and set aside.

To make the Shortbread

• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and cocoa powder.
  1 cup all purpose flour, ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• To a large bowl, add the butter, sugar, and salt and mix on medium speed with a hand mixer until smooth.
  8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, ⅓ cup sugar, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• Add the dry ingredients and beat until the dough comes together. Be patient with this step, it will take a few minutes.
• Pour into the prepared pan and press down evenly.
• Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the pan, then bake another 10-13 minutes or until the edges are slightly darker than the center.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely while you’re making the caramel.

To make the Caramel

• To a medium saucepan, add the sugar, water, and corn syrup and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
  1 cup sugar, 2 Tablespoons water, 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
• Allow the mixture to bubble (brush down the sides of the pan with cold water with a silicone brush if there are splatters), swirling a couple times once the mixture turns a pale to medium amber color.
• Lower the heat then add the cream, then butter and salt. The caramel may roil.
  ½ cup heavy cream, 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• Take the pan off the heat and drop in the chopped chocolate, Stir with a silicone spatula to combine.
  2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• Pour the hot caramel over the cooled shortbread then sprinkle with the toasted pecans. Allow to set at room temperature.
  ½ cup pecans
• Once cooled, cut into 21 bars.