Who could resist this lovely trio of buttery, shortbread, smooth, creamy caramel and decadent, rich milk chocolate?
It looks and tastes like a million buckaroos!
*Cha-Ching!*
You're smack dab in the middle of the royal court with William and Kate +1. Life is good, right? (Aren't they just the cutest family?) My mom, my sisters and I are obsessed with the royal family and have been over the years! Princess Di and her boys specifically.
NOM, NOM, NOM! I'm also totally obsessing over these Millionaire Bars!
Ya.can't.stop.me!
It's kind of funny, whenever I think of shortbread, I think of those Pecan Sandies from Keebler. My mom would buy them, and I would hoard them and gobble them up with a large glass of cold milk, dunking away. It's called 'growing pains'!
Wouldn't pecans be good in this shortbread crust too? (which I totally have to make now!)
May it please Your Majesties, here's a real sweet millionaire's treat! Now take a bow and enjoy!
Millionaire Bars {Cha-Ching!}
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick cold unsalted butter ½ cup, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon ice water
- 1 large egg yolk
Caramel Layer
- 1 can fat-free sweetened condensed milk 14-oz, or regular
- ½ cup light or dark brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Chocolate Layer
- ¾ cup good quality milk chocolate chocolate chips or chopped pieces 6 ounces
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Shortbread Crust
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch and salt together.
- In a large bowl, beat the sugar & butter together until well incorporated and mixture is slightly fluffy.
- Add the dry ingredients slowly to the butter & sugar mixture, and mix it together until well combined.
- Put the dough into the prepared pan and press with your fingers into an even layer (dust your fingers with flour if the dough is too sticky). With a fork, pierce the dough all over.
- Bake until golden, about 15 - 20 minutes.
- Set aside to cool.Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool completely before adding the caramel layer.
Caramel Layer
- Over medium heat, whisk the sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, butter, maple syrup, vanilla and salt together in a medium saucepan.
- Stir occasionally until the butter is melted.
- Increase the heat to medium-high, & bring the mixture to a boil.
- After it is brought to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and turns a light caramel color, approximately 6 -10 minutes (candy thermometer temperature 225 degrees F).
- The longer you cook the caramel will depend on the consistency you want your caramel to be.
- Pour the caramel mixture over the cooled shortbread and spread it evenly.
- Wait for it to cool down completely, then allow to chill for a little while, because if the caramel layer isn’t solid enough, it will mix in with the chocolate.
Chocolate Layer
- Place the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is almost melted.
- Stir, allowing the heat in the bowl to melt the remaining chocolate, until smooth.
- Pour the chocolate over the chilled caramel and spread evenly and smooth it out.
- Let the chocolate set completely before cutting your bars.
- Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
Looking for other shortbread recipes for the holidays? Here's a couple!
Holiday Cranberry Orange Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies!
Thank you so much Ellen! xo
Fantastic
Kaitlin, yes it is cornstarch. I corrected it in the directions, and thank you so much for pointing that out. I hope you enjoy them dear! 😉
In the ingredients list for the shortbread it says to use cornstarch but the instructions only mention baking powder. Is cornstarch the way to go? I remember using cornstarch in other short bread recipes...
Thank you so muc Ritchil! 🙂 Happy Holidays!
These millionaire bars are making me drool! Thank you for the recipe!
Awesome! Glad you loved them! 🙂
I made these yesterday and LOVED them! Hope to see you back and Found & Foraged tonight http://houseofhipsters.com/
Hi Kyla! Planning on it for sure and looking forward to it! Thank you 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Thank you so much for linking up at Found & Foraged! PINNED! Hope to see you again this Saturday night at 8PM!
Thank you Grace! I will definitely be back! Thanks for hosting!
Thanks Laura! 🙂 Lots of great creations over there!
Yes, please! Yummo. Thanks for sharing at our linky party! Hope to see you next week (Saturday @ 8PM CST through one of our blogs.)
Oh boy, these look delicious!! Thanks for linking up to Found & Foraged!!