A melt in your mouth cookie meets a layer of gooey salted caramel and is topped with dark chocolate. It's a little time consuming to make as you have to wait for the layers to set and caramel to cook, but it's so worth the wait. This is a project for a lazy afternoon that will make you loved by everyone who tries it.
Prepare: 30 minutesmins
Bake: 1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Rest Time: 1 hourhr
Total Time: 2 hourshrs
Servings: 36squares
Equipment
Candy thermometer
Ingredients
For the shortbread crust
½cup(113g) sugar
1cup(226g) butter
2 ¼cups(339g) flour
½tsp(2.5mL) vanilla
¼tsp(1.25g) salt
For the caramel
2cups(480mL) heavy cream
1cup(226g) brown sugar
1cup(200g) white sugar
½cup(113g) butter
¾tsp(3.5g) sea salt
For the chocolate topping
3bars(340g) dark chocolate
Instructions
For the shortbread
Line a 9x13" (23x33cm) cake pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Do not use a glass dish.
In large bowl, beat softened butter, sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth. Mix in flour until it starts to come together and looks like bread crumbs or wet sand. Spread an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Press down firmly until it becomes compact. Chill 1/2 hour or until dough is firm to the touch.
While the dough is chilling, preheat oven to 300F (150C.)
Bake 35 - 40 minutes until the edges are turning a light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
For the caramel
In a large heavy-bottomed sauce pan, combine cream, sugar and butter. Stir until sugar starts to dissolve.
Turn heat to the lowest setting and allow mixture to simmer covered for 5 - 10 minutes. The longer your patience here, the better the caramel will taste and less likely it is to split or burn during the cooking process. Next, remove the lid and clip on a thermometer.
Turn up heat to medium high and allow mixture to come to a boil while stirring constantly. Failure to stir will result in mixture splitting or burning.
Once the mixture begins to boil, turn heat down to medium low, maintaining a soft boil. Adjust heat up or down as necessary while stirring constantly. Be careful as the caramel will spatter at higher temperatures, especially as it reaches around 220F (104C.) Cook 15 - 30 minutes or until thickened and boiling slows down and you reach soft-ball stage. The temperature should be between 240 - 245 F (115 - 118C.) The higher the temperature, the firmer the caramel will be.
Remove from heat, allow the caramel to stop boiling and carefully pour over cooled shortbread crust. Oven mitts are strongly recommended. Spread the caramel out evenly using the back of a metal spoon. Do not touch or attempt to eat hot caramel!
Let caramel set for 30 minutes and sprinkle on an even layer of sea salt. Allow caramel to finish cooling at room temperature before adding chocolate.
For the chocolate
Chop or break chocolate into small pieces. In a microwave, melt 3/4 of the chocolate slowly. Heat for 15 seconds at a time, stirring for several seconds in between cycles until chocolate is melted. Add in the remaining 1/4 chocolate and stir.
Spread chocolate over set caramel in an even layer. Allow to rest until chocolate sets, about 1 hour.
Once firm, cut shortbread with a serrated knife to avoid cracking the chocolate. Cut into 36 equal portions.
Notes
A metal cake pan is strongly suggested for this recipe. A glass dish could crack, break or shatter under thermal shock from the extreme changes in temperature and is not recommended.Electric glass stove tops are not recommended for candy making due to the potential of surface damage from hot milk or sugars. Please refer to the owners manual before deciding to make candy on an glass stove. To melt chocolate without a microwave, use a double boiler. Add 1 inch of water to the bottom of a pan and bring to a simmer. Add a heatproof bowl to the top and place in 3/4 of chocolate. Stir occasionally until melted. Carefully remove and dry off the bottom of the bowl. Add the remaining 1/4 chocolate and stir to temper.Margarine may be substituted for the butter.If you do not have a thermometer, once the caramel thickens and slows in boiling, drop a small amounts of the mixture in ice cold water. It is ready when a soft ball forms that collapses easily under pressure. Let the caramel sit in the water several seconds prior to handling or you will get burned. This method isn't recommended and a candy thermometer is best.Sea-salt is optional. Coarse salt of any kind can be used in its place.One 12 ounce can of evaporated milk can be substituted in place of cream.To speed up the baking of the crust, the temperature can be raised to 325F (160F) and baked for 20 - 25 minutes. This will affect the color and texture slightly.