Caramel Crumb Bars

These rich and decadent caramel crumb bars are the perfect combination of buttery shortbread and sweet, salted caramel.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Caramel Butter Bars, Caramel Crumb Bars

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 45

Cooling 4

Total Time 5 30

Servings pieces

Calories 263kcal

Author Fiona Dowling

Equipment

8x8 inch baking tin (20x20 cm)

Ingredients

Salted Caramel Sauce (or use your own)

1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (84 grams) cut into pieces
½ cup heavy cream (120 ml)
½ teaspoon coarse salt

Shortbread Base and Crumb Topping

¾ cup unsalted butter (168 grams) melted
¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (219 grams)
3 tablespoons cornstarch (22.5 grams) AKA cornflour in Australia
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar I used light

Caramel Layer

⅔ cup salted caramel sauce (160 ml)

Instructions

Caramel Sauce

Add the sugar to a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Stir the sugar occasionally using a rubber spatula. It will first form clumps and then melt into an amber-colored liquid.
Once there are no more lumps, add in the butter and carefully stir. The mixture will boil up, so be careful. Continue stirring as the butter melts.
Once the butter is mostly combined (ie there aren't large pools of melted butter), turn down the heat to low heat. Stir in the cream and whisk until the mixture is smooth and everything is combined.
Remove from the heat and stir in the salt. Cool fully.

Caramel Crumb Bars

Preheat the oven to 325F (160C) degrees. Line an 8x8 inch (20x20 cm) baking pan with parchment paper so that there's an overhang around the edges.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter and granulated sugar. (You'll use the brown sugar later).
Stir in the flour, cornstarch and salt until there are no lumps. The dough will be thick and somewhat crumbly.
Press a little more than half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Place the remaining dough in the fridge.
Bake the base layer in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the top looks set and is beginning to golden. (Leave the oven turned on)
Remove from the oven and cool for 20-30 minutes - this is necessary!
After the base has cooled for 20 minutes, spread ⅔ cup salted caramel sauce on top. If you made your own caramel using the recipe above, you won't need all the caramel you made.
With the remaining dough, mix in the 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. It should be quite crumbly.
Crumble the remaining dough over the caramel layer. You will still see caramel through. I like to make larger crumbles, as they're less likely to dissolve into the caramel.
Return to the oven (still at 325F) and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crumble on top is golden and no longer looks doughy. The caramel will bubble, which is expected.
Remove the pan from the oven. Cool the bars fully in the pan - they'll take at least 3 hours. You can place them in the fridge to speed up the process.
When ready to slice, lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper and place on a cutting board. Slice the bars using a sharp knife (not a table knife).

Notes

Caramel Sauce: If using the recipe provided, it will make a little over 1 cup of sauce, so you'll have leftover. Store leftover caramel in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. If using store bought, make sure it's very thick (ie comes in a tub) with a good hint of salt.
Storage: These bars will last for up to 5 days in an airtight container. I prefer to store them in the fridge. They can be frozen for up to 2 months, then thaw in the fridge before enjoying.
Nutrition: Nutrition details are an estimate only and based on 1 bar, assuming the pan is sliced into 12 equal pieces.

Nutrition