Sweet and salty, totally irresistible, these bars live up to their name because they are full of caramel. A buttery crust holds this decadent bar for your fingers to bring to your mouth to enjoy. Bring a batch with you, because they are great for parties! They will be requested again and again!
It finally snowed! It looks strangely like winter outside today. The snow that fell was the wet heavy kind, causing our satellite dish to cease working last night. Did I mention that this happened just as I was sitting down to watch a show that I get really excited about watching every week? I was super bummed, but it opened up time to accomplish a few other tasks, such as writing out a birthday post for my 5-year-old boy! Our journey with Elijah has been one filled with challenges and incredible joy. Seven heart catheterizations, three open heart surgeries, two bronchoscopies, one spinal cord surgery and one urethra surgery later, I can honestly say that I wouldn’t change any of it. Happy 5th birthday, beautiful son of mine! What an incredible journey it has been.
So yesterday was an emotional day for me. Looking back on the first 5 years of this boy’s life made me weepy. Grateful and happy, but still weepy. At the end of yesterday, I needed comfort! Especially since the snowed-upon satellite dish ruined one of my comfort sources. So I broke out the ice cream and Bailey’s! But if I would have had a pan of these salted caramel butter bars nearby, it would have been completely demolished. Sadly, these bars were long gone.
I found these through the beloved Pinterest, on Cookies & Cups. It looks like the original source is the cookbook Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey: Desserts for the Serious Sweet Tooth. Why in the world do I not own this cookbook?! I do love to own cookbooks.
I about died when I saw how much butter was used for this recipe. I had my husband check and double check amounts and conversions before adding FOUR STICKS OF BUTTER to my bowl. But believe me, it wasn’t deterring me from trying out this recipe – don’t let it stop you either!
WATCH THIS VIDEO TUTORIAL ON HOW TO MAKE CARAMEL APPLES – AN EPISODE BY KIDS IN THE KITCHEN!
Enjoy the step-by-step video tutorial we have created for this recipe! Our goal is to make your time in the kitchen as easy as possible and to ensure that your version of this recipe is a success. See our full collection of cooking and baking videos on YouTube!
HOW TO MAKE SALTED CARAMEL BUTTER BARS
These bars are weak-in-the-knees delicious dessert bars!
STEP 1
In a large bowl, combine:
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4 sticks (yes, 1 POUND) salted butter, at room temperature
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1 cup white sugar
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1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Using a hand-held mixer on medium speed, beat together until creamy. Add 2 tablespoons of vanilla and beat until combined.
STEP 2
Gradually add 4 cups of all-purpose flour to the butter mixture. Beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Press one half of the dough evenly into the prepared pan to form a bottom crust, and place the remaining dough in the refrigerator.
STEP 3
Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are pale golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes.
STEP 4
While the crust is cooling, make the caramel filling.
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine:
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One 14-oz. bag caramel candies, (unwrapped caramels)
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1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
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1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If the caramels are not completely melted, microwave for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.
Pour the caramel filling over the crust. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of coarse sea salt over the top.
Remove the remaining dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel layer.
COOKING TIPS:
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Some stores sell caramel bits in a bag, removing the need to unwrap all those individual caramels that are begging to be taste tested when really they need to be used for the recipe. Try them if you can!
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If you just don’t have time or plain don’t want to make your own caramel sauce – Smuckers Simple Delights Salted Caramel sauce in the ice cream toppings aisle is a good substitute. While I love this homemade version, I can grasp why you’d take the short cut.
STEP 5
Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool before cutting into squares.
COOKING TIP:
Don’t refrigerate these bars to cool them down. It’ll harden your caramel and possibly make you break a tooth.
HOW TO STORE SALTED CARAMEL BUTTER BARS
These can be stored in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
After your first bite, you will likely forget about all of that butter. I did.
OPTIONAL ADD INS:
Wanna up the game? Add one of these options to your bars, they’d be amazing.
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Chopped walnuts
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Mini chocolate chips
CHECK OUT A COUPLE OF MY OTHER FAVORITE CARAMEL DESSERTS!
WHAT TO SERVE AT A PARTY
I LOVE party food, so you have come to the right place if you are looking for recipes to make for your next gathering. Here are some options for you that will be easy, delicious and crowd-pleasing!
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Fruit Pizza – The classic, crowd-pleasing Fruit Pizza has a cookie dough crust, dreamy cream cheese frosting and a colorful top layer of fruit and a tasty glaze. Great appetizer/dessert for parties of any kind, any time of the year!
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Taco Ranch Pasta Salad – This delicious pasta salad gets totally devoured at gatherings, no matter the season.
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Sausage Cheese Dip – Sausage Cheese Dip is easy to make (let your crockpot do the work for you!), cheesy, flavorful and totally irresistible! Serve as an appetizer at your next party and it won’t last long. Only 6 ingredients required for this delicious party food!
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7-Layer Taco Dip – This is the best 7-Layer Taco Dip you’ll ever meet! It’s the perfect appetizer and party food and it is always the first thing to get devoured.
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Crockpot Meatballs – These require only a few ingredients with only a few minutes of prep. They are SO EASY to make, totally packed with delicious flavor and great for game-day parties or holidays. Let your slow cooker do all of the work for you!
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Spinach Artichoke Dip – This hot Spinach Artichoke Dip is a party staple! People always get excited about this dip and its so easy to make! It’s a filling, cheesy snack or appetizer that you can put on pita squares, crackers or chips. Let your slow cooker do all of the work for you!
Salted Caramel Butter Bars
Ingredients
- 4 sticks salted butter 1 lb, room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 tbsp vanilla
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 14 oz caramels unwrapped
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp coarse sea salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars. Using hand-held mixer on medium speed, beat together until creamy. Add vanilla and beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Press one half of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust. Place remaining dough in refrigerator. Bake until firm and edges are pale golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. While the bottom crust is baking and the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling.
- Place the caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream and vanilla, and microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.
- Pour the caramel filling over the crust. Sprinkle the salt over top. Remove remaining dough from refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel. Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool before cutting into squares.
Lilly
OMG… Thank you so much for this recipe! It's fantastic!
April
Oh goodness… talk about weak in the knees… do I have the guts to make this?!
olivia
these are so good and surprisingly easy! i did make my own caramel but i imagine those were just as good
Megan Porta
Hi Karen, Like a dulce de leche? Yeah, I think that would be fabulous! Let me know if you give it a try!
Megan
Karen
I wonder, could you use homemade caramel made from sweetened condensed milk? You just remove paper from can, place a can of sweetened condensed milk in a pan of boiling water for 1 hour, and you have caramel.
Georgia
ohhhh my. Not only do I love them, my husband who is not a sweet eater devoured them and has begged for more. Thank you for this recipe, it is a winner all round.
tanya
Thank you so much for this recipe and the five lbs I'm going to gain after I eat ALL of them! I just pulled them out of the oven!
Jeanne
I have a batch in the oven right now and cannot wait for them to be finished. They look awesome and I just had to try them. There may not be any left when my kids get home… Happy (belated) birthday to Elijah!
He is adorable.
Gabby
Sweet story and pics! So happy for your boy and your family. 🙂 I was referred via a link on Ingenious Inkling's blog, to this recipe. It sounds heavenly! I love salted nut rolls and will be trying it with added peanuts. If that works, I would like to try a blend of cashews/almods/pecans. MMmmmm! THANKS for sharing the recipe. 🙂
Jen @ Juanita's Cocina
Happy birthday to your beautiful boy! And he is incredibly beautiful!
Plus, a great recipe to accompany a celebration!
Jessica | Oh Cake
These do look weak in the knees good! So gorgeous and yummy!
Tracy @ paleyellow.net
These bars look fantastic! My coworker shared a similiar recipe with chocolate chips in the middle with caramel. We call them naughty bars, because they are so naughty to eat!
Vicki @ WITK
These bars look like the perfect way to celebrate! Happy birthday to your little guy and thanks for sharing this recipe!
Amy @FragrantVanillaCake
Hope your son had a wonderful B-day :)! Bummer about the satelite dish! I am not loving the snow either. These bars you made sound amazing! Salted caramel is one of the most heavenly things and that topping looks delish!
Emily @ Life on Food
Happy Birthday to your boy! These bars look delicious. You can tell they are ooey and gooey and melt in your mouth. Just the way I like it.
Pip & Ebby
Hi Britta! You could definitely give it a try, but I don't know if the consistency of the caramel would be the same. It's all so oozy and gooey, that I really can't imagine you could go wrong, though. Let me know how it turns out!!
Megan
Maggie
4 sticks of butter?!!? Bring it on! I freaking love butter! These look absolutely wonderful.
As for reminiscing about our little ones…I totally get it. My daughter is only 18 months old and already I get weepy when I look through her pictures. They are so special and amazing. It sounds like your son has had quite a journey already, what a strong boy her is. Adorable too. Happy Birthday!
Britta
Hi! I have a recipe for a shortbread cookie topped with a caramel sauce, sprinkled with a course salt, and drizzled with chocolate. These definitely will he faster then making them all individual. I was hoping to use the homemade caramel sauce you posted a few days ago next time I made them. Do you think it would work for these. I hate buying those little caramels and melting them down. They're so expensive and if I can make it myself, wah lah! That would make these desserts even better! Lol Thanks for another great recipe.
Rescie
Sweet, sweet boy. He looks like he's enjoying his birthday.
Sally
oh my goodness. these bars look like perfection. the lb of butter doesn't scare me haha! i am a sucker for salty/sweet desserts. YUM!