Salted Caramel Butter Bars

Mmmmm...these were tasty.  Jeff loved them.  If you have a caramel lover in your house you should give these a try.  I would say just make sure that you sprinkle the salt on evenly so that you don't have too much in one bite.  And I don't think I used quite as much salt as it calls for and it was fine, so maybe use a scant tablespoon.  : )  My caramels also took a lot longer to melt - that could be because they were stored down in the freezer, uh, I mean basement, and also because our microwave is not as high-powered as some.  Just fyi.  : ) 

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

Ingredients

2 cups butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

4 cups flour

1 14 oz bag caramels, unwrapped (About 40 - 50 individually wrapped)

1/3 cup whipping cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp coarse sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 325. Line a 9 X 13 pan with parchment paper, spray lightly with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars. Using a stand or hand mixer, beat until creamy. Add in vanilla and beat until combined. Mix in flour until a soft dough forms.

Press half of the dough into the prepared 9 X 13 pan. Refrigerate remaining half of dough.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven while you prepare the caramels.

Place the caramel in a microwave safe bowl. Add the cream and vanilla, and microwave for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave at 20 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.

Pour the caramel filling over the cooked crust (Do your best to pour it evenly over crust as it is very difficult to spread). Sprinkle salt over the top. Removing remaining dough from fridge and crumble it evenly over the caramel.

Return the pan to the oven and bake until filling is bubbly and the topping is firm and golden brown. About 25 - 30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

 

Recipe and picture are from joandsue.blogspot.ca