Dulce de leche Caramel? Yes, please
Chocolate? Obviously.
These little bars have about everything you could ask for and man are they rich!
CA brought home the holiday cookie section of the Washington Post that he stole from his office. I was skeptical when he handed me the paper because he's always bringing home articles for me to read and usually they're about controversial political topics. I appreciate that he wants to know my opinion on stuff but sometimes I just don't care. When I get home from work I'd rather sit on my coach and watch a recorded episode of General Hospital than having a rousing discussion about the latest aspects of Health Care Reform. However, when I realized the article was about cookies, I perked right up.
I decided to choose one recipe from the article and this one instantly struck my fancy. I'm a huge fan of all things caramel and I'm partial to cookies and bars so this was right up my alley.
The base of these cookies is a traditional shortbread that is pressed into the pan and baked all the way through.
The second layer is dulce de leche that is cooked down with butter, sugar, corn syrup and salt to make a very intense caramel. (Again, I couldn't find dulce de leche in the store so I made it myself using this method which is still very dangerous and I still didn't kill myself.)
The third layer is chocolate - a mix of semisweet and white chocolate.
You let all that set up for a while and then slice it into squares... small squares... trust me, this stuff is really rich!
The base is nice and crumbly, the caramel is gooey and barely salty and the chocolate is crunchy and decadent. These are really good! They definitely feel like a holiday dessert because they remind me a lot of fudge. They're so dense and chocolatey but the caramel just put them over the top! You should make these. Right now.
Salted Caramel Millionaire's Shortbread
Recipe adapted from the Washington Post
Ingredients
For the shortbread
1 cup Unsalted Butter (2 sticks), cold and cut into small cubes
1/2 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cups + 2 T All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
For the Topping
7 T Unsalted Butter
1/3 cup Sugar
1 T Corn Syrup
1 cup + 2 T Dulce de Leche (13.4 oz. can)
1/4 + 1/8 tsp Salt
7 oz Semisweet Chocolate Chips
3 oz. White Chocolate Chips
Instructions
For the Shortbread
Grease a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking oil spray, then line with parchment paper so the paper hangs over two sides (for easy lifting).
Combine the butter, sugar, flour and vanilla extract in a food processor. Pulse to form a dough that holds together. Transfer to the pan and press the dough into the bottom. Use a fork to prick the dough. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Bake the shortbread dough, straight from the refrigerator, for 40 to 45 minutes; it should just be starting to brown. Cool in the pan.
For the Topping
Combine the butter, sugar, syrup, dulce de leche and salt in a small nonstick saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the mixture is melted and blended. Reduce the heat to low; cook for 8 or 9 minutes, stirring often, to form a caramel; when it’s ready, it will be darkened in color with a thinner, pourable consistency.
Pour the caramel directly over the center of the shortbread base; it will spread by itself. You don’t want to work it into the corners. Leave it undisturbed for at least 1 hour to set.
Place the chocolate chips in a microwave proof bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted. Pour the chocolate over the set caramel. Use a toothpick to create swirl patterns in the chocolate.
Repeat the melting and swirling with the white chocolate.
Cool until the chocolate is set. Use the parchment paper to lift and transfer the shortbread to a cutting board. A serrated knife works best for cutting into small squares.
Enjoy!
Julie
Grease a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking oil spray, then line with parchment paper so the paper hangs over two sides (for easy lifting).
Combine the butter, sugar, flour and vanilla extract in a food processor. Pulse to form a dough that holds together. Transfer to the pan and press the dough into the bottom. Use a fork to prick the dough. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Bake the shortbread dough, straight from the refrigerator, for 40 to 45 minutes; it should just be starting to brown. Cool in the pan.
For the Topping
Combine the butter, sugar, syrup, dulce de leche and salt in a small nonstick saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the mixture is melted and blended. Reduce the heat to low; cook for 8 or 9 minutes, stirring often, to form a caramel; when it’s ready, it will be darkened in color with a thinner, pourable consistency.
Pour the caramel directly over the center of the shortbread base; it will spread by itself. You don’t want to work it into the corners. Leave it undisturbed for at least 1 hour to set.
Place the chocolate chips in a microwave proof bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted. Pour the chocolate over the set caramel. Use a toothpick to create swirl patterns in the chocolate.
Repeat the melting and swirling with the white chocolate.
Cool until the chocolate is set. Use the parchment paper to lift and transfer the shortbread to a cutting board. A serrated knife works best for cutting into small squares.
Enjoy!
Julie
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