Salted Caramel Butter Bars

I made these for a neighborhood party and I was surprised at what a hit they were. Everyone was asking me for the recipe.

Submitted by Jessica 

4 stars

Ingredients:

• 4 sticks (1 lb) salted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 TBL vanilla
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• one 14-oz bag caramel candies. Unwrapped
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 TBL coarse sea salt

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars. Beat together until creamy. 

2. Add vanilla and beat until combined.

3. Sift the flour into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth dough forms.

Preheat oven to 325* Spray a 9x13 baking dish

4. Press half of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust. Place remaining dough in the refrigerator.

Bake until firm and edges are pale golden brown-about 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes.

5. While the bottom crust is cooling 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 the caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.

6. Pour the caramel filling over the crust. Sprinkle with the salt over top (I didn't add the full tablespoon and it was great, but it depends on how salty you like it). Remove remaining dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel. 

7. 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.