Oh my goodness these little caramel cookie bars were just beyond delicious! I knew they would be since they are a Cook's Illustrated recipe (cannot go wrong with anything they put out!). I made these for a party and also gave out as gifts. The perfect holiday dessert to share.
You will need a candy thermometer to make the caramel filling. Do not try to make this without one.....getting the caramel to the exact temperature is very important!
I found this recipe on the blog Playing with Flour. The blogger does an amazing job with step-by-step photos, so I suggest you click HERE and read her post.
And here is the Cook's Illustrated recipe I found on the blog Playing with Flour.... Enjoy!
Ingredients:
For shortbread crust:
2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For caramel filling:
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup packed (7 ounces) brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup corn syrup
8 tablespoons unsalted butter1/2 teaspoon salt
For chocolate topping:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (6 ounces finely chopped, 2 ounces grated using the small holes on a box grater; Ghirardelli's 60% bittersweet chocolate bar recommended)
For crust: Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make foil sling for a 13 x 9 inch baking pan for easy removal of bars later. Fold 2 long sheets of aluminum foil; the first sheet should be 13 inches wide and second sheet should be 9 inches wide. Lay sheets in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges. Push foil into corners and up the sides of the pan, smoothing foil flushed to the pan.
Combine flour, sugar and salt into a medium bowl. Add melted butter and stir with a rubber spatula until flour is evenly moistened. Crumble dough evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan. Use your fingertips and palm to press and smooth the dough into an even layer. Using a fork, pierce the dough at 1-inch intervals. Bake until light golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack. Take a sturdy metal spatula and use it to press on the entire surface of the crust to compact it (this is to help make the finished bars easier to cut). Let crust cool until just warm, at least 20 minutes.
For filling: Place all ingredients into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir together. Cook, over medium-heat, stirring frequently, until temperature reaches between 236 to 239 degrees (it will fluctuate), 16 to 20 minutes. Carefully pour the mixture (it is very hot) over the crust and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.
For chocolate: Place chopped chocolate into a bowl and microwave it on 50% power for 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval. Continue until chocolate is just melted and not much warmer than body temperature (check by holding bowl in the palm of your hands), about 1-2 minutes in total. Add the grated chocolate and stir together until smooth. If necessary, return chocolate to the microwave for no longer than 5 seconds at a time (again, on 50% power) to finish melting. Spread over the caramel layer and smooth it evenly using an offset spatula. Refrigerate the pan until chocolate is just set, about 10 minutes.
Finish/slice the bars: Lift shortbread out of the pan using the foil overhang and remove the foil. Place onto a cutting board. Using a serrated knife with a gentle sawing motion, slice bar in half crosswise so you have two 6 1/2 by 9 inch rectangles. Then slice each of these rectangles in half again crosswise so you have 4 strips. Slice each strip crosswise into 10 equal pieces, for a total of 40 bars.
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