Salted Caramel Butter Bars

By LimericksLady

Ingredients

• 4sticks4 sticks (yes, 1 POUND) salted butter, at room temperature
• 1cup1 cup white sugar (or Bochasweet)
• 1 1/2cups1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (or finely blended Bochasweet)
• 1TBS1 TBS vanilla
• 4cups4 cups flour (or 8 cups almond flour)
• 1can1 can sweetened condensed milk (made into caramel)
• Stephanie: use one jar of caramel (the fudge type) ice cream topping instead.
• or Low Carb Caramel
• 1stick1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2cup1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2tsp2 tsp Bochasweet
• 1pinch1 pinch salt

Preparation

Step 1

Combine first three ingredients.

Using a hand-held mixer on medium speed, beat together until creamy. Add 2 tablespoons of vanilla and beat until combined.

Gradually add 4 cups of all-purpose flour to the butter mixture. Beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 11x14 baking dish (cookie sheet with sides) with cooking spray. Press one half of the dough evenly into the prepared pan to form a bottom crust, and place the remaining dough in the refrigerator.

Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are pale golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes.
Caramel
Melt the butter in a small pan and let it cook until golden brown. This will give the caramel deeper flavor.
Pour in heavy cream and stir until combined. Lower the heat and simmer for a minute.
Add in sweetener of choice, we used erythritol. Let that dissolve for a minute. Add a pinch of salt as well. If you’d like to make salted caramel, add more salt.
Let it cook until you see it getting thicker and stickier.
If you see your butter and cream are separating, you can pour the mixture into a Nutribullet and blend to help them combine.
Pour the caramel into a container, preferably glass, and continue to stir while it cools and thickens more to ensure your sauce is not two layered.
To use right away, pour over your dessert of choice! You may also refrigerate the caramel for later use, but it will harden and will need to be soften to be pourable/dippable.
Pour the caramel filling over the crust. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of coarse sea salt over the top.

Remove the remaining dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel layer.

Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool before cutting into small squares.