Salted Caramel Bar recipe made with a sweet shortbread crust & topped with smooth caramel and sea salt. Perfectly indulgent caramel butter bar dessert!
We love caramel in our house, so these Salted Caramel Bars quickly became a favorite. I’ve taken them to a few parties and they always disappear fast. The buttery shortbread crust topped with soft, sweet caramel sprinkled with a bit of sea salt is an absolutely fantastic combination.
What type of caramel is best for baking?
I prefer to buy either unwrapped caramel bits OR the caramel pieces in a bag that are specifically for baking, because the outer wrapper comes off really easily. Those small square caramels in the clear plastic wrapper are such a pain to unwrap! You can find the baking caramels on end caps, on the baking aisle or often in the produce section by the apples.
How to make this Caramel Bar recipe
Caramel Bars are not difficult to make but there are a few tips that make the process much easier. First, when making the shortbread crust, lay down a piece of parchment paper in the pan first. The shortbread crust doesn’t stick, but the caramel seeps through a bit and the caramel can get stuck to the pan. So using parchment paper eliminates that mess!
Second, I prefer to buy either unwrapped caramel bits OR the caramel pieces in a bag that are specifically for baking, because the outer wrapper comes off really easily. Those small square caramels in the clear plastic wrapper are such a pain to unwrap!
Third, don’t stress if your caramel doesn’t get completely smooth. It’s okay! You’re going to top the caramel sauce with shortbread dough and then bake them into dessert bars. Don’t spend extra time trying to whisk the caramel into submission.
Lastly, cool the caramel bars completely before cutting into squares. Don’t chill them! That will give you a caramel brick that might break your knife. Just cool on the countertop. Also, I like to spray my knife with non-stick spray prior to cutting the caramel bars. It makes cutting through the caramel so much easier.
Salted Caramel Bar Recipe
- 1 cup butter, softened (2 cubes)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 TBSP vanilla
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1 14 oz bag caramels, unwrapped (or 11 oz bag of unwrapped caramel bits)
- ⅓ cup heavy cream (or milk)
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp coarse sea salt
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Lightly spray with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl use an electric mixer to cream together butter, sugar, and powdered sugar. Add sour cream, vanilla and mix until combined. Mix in the flour and combine until it forms a soft dough.
- Press half of the dough in the bottom of a 9×13 dish and place the other half of the dough into the refrigerator. (Do your best dividing it in half- I think mine ends up being 2/3 in the pan and the remaining 1/3 in the fridge and it still turns out well!) Bake crust in preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- While the crust is baking, melt the caramels, heavy cream and ½ tsp vanilla in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir together until smooth, adding more time in 30-45 second increments as needed. Try and get it as smooth as you can, depending on the type of caramel, it might not be perfectly smooth and that’s okay!
- Pour caramel evenly over the hot crust. Lightly sprinkle about 1 tsp coarse sea salt over the caramel.
- Take the remaining dough out of the refrigerator and crumble over the top of the caramel. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until filling is bubbly and the top is firm. Add remaining 1 tsp salt after caramel bars are cooled, but before cutting. Let them cool completely before cutting into small squares. Serves 30.
If you love this Salted Caramel Bar recipe check out these other tasty caramel desserts:
- Chocolate Caramel Bars
- Caramel Apple Bread
- Caramel Apple Nachos
- Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Squares
- Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
SALTED CARAMEL BARS
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened (2 cubes)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 11/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 TBSP vanilla
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1 14 oz bag caramels unwrapped (or 11 oz bag of unwrapped caramel bits)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream or milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Lightly spray with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl cream together butter, sugar, and powdered sugar.
- Add sour cream, vanilla and mix until combined. Mix in the flour and combine until it forms a soft dough.
- Press half of the dough in the bottom of a 9×13 dish and place the other half of the dough into the refrigerator. (Do your best dividing it in half- I think mine ends up being 2/3 in the pan and the remaining 1/3 in the fridge and it still turns out well!)
- Bake crust in preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- While the crust is baking, melt the caramels, heavy cream and 1/2 tsp vanilla in the microwave for 1 minute.
- Stir together until smooth, adding more time in 30-45 second increments as needed. Try and get it as smooth as you can, depending on the type of caramel, it might not be perfectly smooth and that’s okay!
- Pour caramel evenly over the hot crust. Lightly sprinkle about 1 tsp coarse sea salt over the caramel.
- Take the remaining dough out of the refrigerator and crumble over the top of the caramel. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until filling is bubbly and the top is firm.
- Add remaining 1 tsp salt after caramel bars are cooled, but before cutting.
- Let them cool completely before cutting into small squares.
Katherine says
Don’t know if I actually posted this or not but I’ve made them and they were delicious. Do you think they would be okay frozen and left to thaw completely? I’ve never frozen anything with this much caramel 🤷♀️
Jessica says
Yep- I’ve frozen them before and it works perfectly!
Carol says
Jessica, thank you for a phenomenal recipe! These are the bomb! I also appreciate the vairious tips you provided. I made them this morning to take to a party tomorrow night. Should I refrigerate them or will they be okay at room temp?
Nellie says
They will be fine at room temp! So glad you enjoyed them!
Sharon Vieson says
I have some homemade caramel that I made from condensed milk. Can I use that in this recipe?
Jessica says
When refrigerated, is the homemade caramel thick and mostly solid? Because if so, then yes, it will work! But if it’s like caramel ice cream topping, it’s not a good idea to use it here.
Karen says
Can these be cooked in a 6 qt. oval Crock-Pot ?
Jessica says
I’ve never cooked these in a crock pot before, sorry!
Michelle says
I made these today for the first time and it took double the time to fully bake the crust. I wasn’t t sure if I was supposed to bake fully or just partly and then of course bake some more after you put the caramel and dough crumbles on? It seems too done now 😞 They taste yummy, just not completely the texture of shortbread. Thank you!
Jessica says
You partially bake the crust, then bake the bars themselves. : ) Glad it worked out!
Kim says
These are one of the best recipes I’ve ever made! I’m so impressed. The recipe was easy to follow and they turned out perfectly. I give it a 10/10!!
Robin Peierl says
I’ve made a version of this bar from other sites for the past couple of years. This is by far the best! The others were too crumply when cooked or too greasy or crazy amounts of vanilla. Haha. Great balance!
Shannon says
I’m a little confused about the butter measurement. Is it 1 cup (4 sticks) or 2 cubes (2 sticks)?
Nellie says
It is 1 cup of butter, which is equal to 2 sticks.
Monica says
Can you add nuts to the bars?
Jessica says
I think that sounds amazing!
Lisa Stefaniak says
The recipe says 11/2 cup powered sugar, but the picture says 1 cup. Which should I use?
Nellie says
The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar.
Medic04 says
I decided to give these a try. Read all the reviews before hand. Noted several comments about the base crust being raw even after the 15 minute pre bake and full 25 minute bake after adding the caramel.
I decided to follow as is to test it before making any changes. I had the same issue. Raw dough.
In the end these weren’t worth the time. The flavor of the crust is bland and just doesn’t do anything to help enhance the caramel. It only takes away from it. You want flavors that enhance each other and this fell flat.
Jessica says
REally?! Interesting! These disappear each time I make them and everyone raves. To each his own!
Winnie says
Cooked these looked amazing. Unfortunately the bottom layer wasn’t cooked and wasn’t very flavorful. I don’t know what I did wrong. I followed the directions correctly. I was really bummed. 🙁
Nicole says
I’m so sorry to hear that. Did you precook the crust for a few minutes?
Pat Speelman says
Made these today and they are amazing! I was reading that some people said the dough was not done. I waited until the caramel just started to bubble and then took them out. It was actually 45 min. by then. And yes I did pre-bake the crust. The crust was not brown on the top(maybe just a little). It was not hard…and tasted perfect! Great recipe 😉
Nicole says
So glad you liked this recipe Pat! 🙂