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.
Erin says
Do these look like heaven in a pan or what?! I can't wait to try these. Thanks for sharing! <br />Erin @ Simple, Sweet & Savory
Sandra Watts says
They look good. I love salted caramel. I pinned. Thanks for sharing.
Bismah Abdelgawad says
These look so delicious and easy to make! Looking forward to trying these out. Stopping by from MMM Block Party.Thank you for sharing!
Angie Agerter says
Yum. These look and sound divine!
Brittany says
These look super tasty! The next thing better than eating caramel is eating caramel attached to a sweet and salty cookie! Thanks for sharing the recipe! Pinning for sure!
Amber says
Where does the sour cream come in?
Jessica says
The sour cream replaces another cup of butter from the original recipe. Adds a lovely texture with a fraction of the fat and calories.
Karen Wang says
Are you sure 3-1/2 cups of flour is correct? Mine did not get firm, it was totally in crumbles.
Jessica says
It’s supposed to make a soft dough. Perhaps your butter was a bit cold? It’d still work- you press part of the dough down in the pan, bake it, then end up crumbling the rest on top.
Venetta Mackenzie says
Cant wait to try hese
Jane says
I was trying to recreate a delicious cookie I had at a wedding so I made a different recipe for these using the full 4 sticks of butter, but thought the bottom was too “buttery” if that even sounds possible. Does the sour cream in YOUR recipe make the crust and crumbs more “cakey” instead of having that extra melted, greasy butter left under the crust? Don’t get me wrong, the ones I made were delicious, but not the exact cookie I was looking for. It’s hard to afford so many calories by continuing to tweak a recipe on my own. So, is this more of a cakey, less creasy crust? I’d love to find that out before making these!
Jessica says
Yes, the crust is much less greasy! It turns out more dense, bar-like, instead of cake like, but I think you’ll like it. If I understand what you’re saying, I think these are exactly what you’re looking for!
Jane says
Question about the sour cream in the recipe – I only ever have “light” sour cream in my house. Do you think that will work fine in the recipe?
Jessica says
I think light sour cream would be just fine!
Amy says
These salted caramel bars sound so so good. Thank you for sharing at Dare to Share Saturday.
Gracie says
I tried these all I can say they are amazing, everyone who tried them went crazy over them, thanks for the recipe.
Cecilia says
Whoppee! Been hooked and buying salted caramel bars. Sorry bakery, they were good but too expensive for me to go on. NOW I HAVE THE RECIPE. You bet I’ll try making some.
Jenny says
Can’t wait to try this version! I made the version that has 4 sticks of butter last week and just way too greasy! Looking for a fun dessert to add to wedding dessert table that is non-chocolate as one of my daughters is allergic to choc! (How awful!)
Alison says
Jenny, I can’t imagine being allergic to chocolate, poor girl! I can definitely agree that these would make a lovely addition to a wedding dessert table! Best of luck!
Carolyn Busch says
I made these as written but I decreased the sour cream to 1/4 cup and did added 1/4 cup extra butter. The dough is easy to handle. I think these are more tasty than the original one that required 4 sticks of butter.
Jessica says
I’m so glad you like them Carolyn!
Sandy says
Yummy.
Lisa says
Received Dave reviews when I made it for friends.
Alison says
Lisa, it’s the best when a recipe turns out great for friends!