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Salted Chocolate Caramel Bars

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Salted Chocolate Caramel Bars start with a layer of chocolate shortbread, topped with a thick layer of homemade salted caramel, and finished off with toasted pecans.

Salted Chocolate Caramel Bars start with a layer of chocolate shortbread, topped with a thick layer of homemade salted caramel, and finished off with toasted pecans. | Persnickety Plates

These really good salted chocolate caramel bars come from Dorie Greenspan’s new cookbook, Cookies by Dorie. The chocolate shortbread is sweet but mild with a hint of salt then the creamy, sticky salted chocolate caramel is the perfect mess on top.

If you’ve never made caramel from scratch, it can be a bit intimidating, but it is actually really easy.

Salted Chocolate Caramel Bars start with a layer of chocolate shortbread, topped with a thick layer of homemade salted caramel, and finished off with toasted pecans. | Persnickety Plates

If you look around my kitchen, you’ll see many OXO products. I’ve been a fan for years. Measuring cups, mixing bowls, spatulas…basically everything.

OXO graciously sent me their new Illuminating Digital Hand Mixer to help me make these bars, which was really timely because I’ve been been in the market for a new hand mixer. It has a headlight, guys. How cool is that. I didn’t know my mixer needed a headlight until I got one.

Salted Chocolate Caramel Bars start with a layer of chocolate shortbread, topped with a thick layer of homemade salted caramel, and finished off with toasted pecans. | Persnickety Plates

They also sent their 2 qt and 3 qt baking dishes WITH LIDS. All baking dishes should have lids. They can also handle extreme temperature changes so you can take them from the freezer to oven, if need be.

Salted Chocolate Caramel Bars start with a layer of chocolate shortbread, topped with a thick layer of homemade salted caramel, and finished off with toasted pecans. | Persnickety Plates

A few years ago I started participating in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap and first got acquainted with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. This month, OXO will be donating $100 to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer for each blog post dedicated to this campaign, up to their $100,000 commitment.

Need more caramel recipes? Try these:

Crockpot Salted Caramel Fudge
Brown Butter Chocolate Caramel Cookies
Caramel Apple Poke Cake
Autumn Caramel Apple Pecan Bundt Cake

Salted Chocolate Caramel Bars start with a layer of chocolate shortbread, topped with a thick layer of homemade salted caramel, and finished off with toasted pecans. | Persnickety Plates

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Salted Chocolate Caramel Bars start with a layer of chocolate shortbread, topped with a thick layer of homemade salted caramel, and finished off with toasted pecans. | Persnickety Plates

Salted Chocolate Caramel Bars

Melissa Williams | Persnickety Plates
Salted Chocolate Caramel Bars start with a layer of chocolate shortbread, topped with a thick layer of homemade salted caramel, and finished off with toasted pecans.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Chill Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 21 bars
Calories 175 kcal

Ingredients
 

For the Shortbread

For the Caramel

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons water
  • 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
  • ½ cup heavy cream at room temp
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp, cut into 3 pieces
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
  • ½ cup pecans chopped & toasted

Instructions
 

  • 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.

Notes

Recipe from Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan
Bars should be covered and refrigerated and will keep up to 5 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 175kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 1gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 60mgPotassium: 53mgFiber: 1gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 253IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 11mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Tried this recipe? Tag me!Mention @melissa_pplates or tag #persnicketyplates!

Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying/pasting and/or screenshots of full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Content and photographs are copyright protected.

Thank you to OXO for providing me with the tools to make these bars! 

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  1. Peggy says

    Some very awesome recipes.

Melissa Williams/Persnickety Plates is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. For more details, please see my Privacy Policy & Disclosures page.