The other day I came across this recipe for Salted Caramel Bars on Food & Wine. Anything with salted caramel is worth a try in my book! I love salty and sweet together…it's the perfect match! This recipe takes preparation and patience, but it's totally worth it…you'll be addicted to the slightly sweet buttery crust and rich buttery caramel!
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the short sides.
In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer at low speed, cream the butter. Beat in the powdered sugar. Add whole eggs and beat until incorporated, then beat in the flour and salt. Press the pastry into the prepared pan in an even layer, ¼ inch thick. Freeze until firm, 10 minutes.
Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights (or fill with dry beans). Bake for 35 minutes, until just set.
Carefully remove the pie weights and parchment. Brush the shell with the egg white and bake for 20 minutes longer, until golden and cooked through. Let cool.
In a heavy saucepan, bring the cream, vanilla bean and seeds to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover and keep warm.
In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir the sugar into ¼ cup of water. Simmer over moderate heat, without stirring, until deep amber caramel forms, about 7 minutes.
Remove the caramel from the heat and carefully add the cream. When the bubbling subsides, stir in the butter. Insert a candy thermometer and cook over moderately high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the caramel reaches 240°, about 10 minutes. Discard the vanilla bean and stir in the salt.
Immediately pour the caramel over the shell. Refrigerate until firm for 4 hours or overnight; bring to room temperature. Remove the bars from the pan using the parchment overhang; cut into squares.
When bars have cooled about 30 minutes in the refrigerator, I sprinkled them lightly with a little extra kosher salt.
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Ingredients
- Shortbread:
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg white beaten
- Caramel
- 2 ¼ cups heavy cream
- 1 vanilla bean split, seeds scraped
- 2 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 ¾ sticks unsalted butter
- 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the short sides.
- In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer at low speed, cream the butter. Beat in the powdered sugar. Add whole eggs and beat until incorporated, then beat in the flour and salt. Press the pastry into the prepared pan in an even layer, ¼ inch thick. Freeze until firm, 10 minutes.
- Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights (or fill with dry beans). Bake for 35 minutes, until just set. Carefully remove the pie weights and parchment. Brush the shell with the egg white and bake for 20 minutes longer, until golden and cooked through. Let cool.
- Remove the caramel from the heat and carefully add the cream. When the bubbling subsides, stir in the butter. Insert a candy thermometer and cook over moderately high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the caramel reaches 240°, about 10 minutes. Discard the vanilla bean and stir in the salt.
- Immediately pour the caramel over the shell. Refrigerate until firm for 4 hours or overnight; bring to room temperature. Remove the bars from the pan using the parchment overhang; cut into squares.
- When bars have cooled about 30 minutes in the refrigerator, I sprinkled them lightly with a little extra kosher salt.
*Nutrition information is automatically calculated based on ingredient data and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient options are provided, the first listed is used for calculation. Optional ingredients and garnishes are not included in the nutrition analysis.
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