Chocolate Caramel Bars

Two weeks till Christmas folks! All the houses in the neighborhood are decorated and every weekend there seems to be more parties and festivities to attend. I wish I could bottle the spirit of the season and pull it out when I need a little holiday cheer throughout the year.

I might not be able to bottle the holiday cheer, but these bars  could cheer me up in a hurry!

Chocolate Caramel Bars

A brown sugar shortbread topped with a chocolate caramel that is sprinkled with a course sea salt. If that doesn’t spell “special” to you then I don’t know what will. 

This cookie bar is the 11 cookie in my….

12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

It was also my turn to pick the Martha Monday project hosted by Brette from Martha and Me so I picked this bar from the November issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine.

I must admit, I had a bit of difficulty with this bar. I doubled the recipe and had no problem with the crust. But twice, not once, but twice, I made the caramel and it screwed up. (Notice how I said “IT” screwed up, not me!)

I boiled the sugar and water just like the directions said but I ended up with a giant hard sugar crystal cube. I didn’t stir it at all during the boiling process because that would cause sugar crystals but I still ended up with them. I don’t know if it was because I doubled the recipe or what, but I’m on a mission to play with more caramel this weekend and find out what went wrong.

The third time I tried the caramel, I added a 1/2 cup of corn syrup to the sugar and water. I should have let it boil a little longer and become more amber in color but I was a bit flustered. That neurotic behavior left me with a caramel that didn’t quite set. It was more like a chocolate ganache then a caramel. Not that I’m complaining mind you. It was a delicious disaster.

OK, it wasn’t really a disaster but you see, these cookie bars were suppose to get mailed to one of my cookie baking buddies. And you want to know the worst part? I’m the last baking buddy to mail her package.

I’m a slacker. There I said it!

And I cant send her these bars because they would not hold up in the mail. (sigh)

Speaking of sending cookies, I got my package from April of Abby Sweets. April was my very first blogging friend that I ever met and we hit it off at the very beginning.

What did she send me you want to know? She sent me Lemon Cake Cookies, Orange Vanilla Shortbread, and Sugar Glazed Almonds.

She also sent me some Scripture Tea and some mini Christmas Loaf pans. I had myself a very merry tea party!

Thank You April!

Your the best and I appreciate you more then words can say!

I’m sending my delicious disaster bars to Susan at Food Blogga. She is hosting the 3rd annual *Eat Christmas Cookies* event. You can check out her site for all the details. And be sure to check out the virtual cookie jar for Christmas Cookies from all over the world.

I’m also ending these to Michael of Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday. Check out what everyone is making over there.

And be sure to check out my Cookie Baking Buddies!

• Barbara Bakes
• My Baking Adventures
• Stirring the Pot
• Keeper Worthy Recipes
• Abby Sweets

Chocolate Caramel Bars

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

Makes 16

• FOR THE CRUST
• 4 1/2 ounces (9 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for parchment
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• FOR THE CHOCOLATE CARAMEL
• 10 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, chopped (2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 tablespoon sea salt, preferably fleur de sel

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the crust: Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on all sides; butter parchment, excluding overhang. Beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour and table salt, and beat until just combined.
2. Press dough evenly into pan, and bake until lightly browned, about 30 minutes.
3. Make the chocolate caramel: Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, washing sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming, until amber, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter, cream, and table salt. Bring to a boil, stirring until smooth. Pour over chocolate. Let stand for 2 minutes. Stir to combine, and let stand until cool, about 10 minutes.
4. Pour mixture over crust. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. Run a knife around edges; lift parchment to remove whole bar from pan. Sprinkle with sea salt. Trim edges, and cut into 16 bars. Bars can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

From Martha Stewart Living, November 2009 |