Millionaire Caramel Shortbread Bars

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Soft brown sugar shortbread, buttery homemade caramel, and melted dark chocolate make up the three layers to these millionaire caramel shortbread bars. They are so easy to whip up, and pack a flavor punch that just won’t quit.

Caramel is basically a love language for me. If you’ve visited my site before, you know there’s no shortage of recipes containing my delicious 3-ingredient caramel sauce. I’d love to say it’s the star of the show here, but really it shares the spotlight quite equally with the softest, brown sugar shortbread. Dark chocolate tops off this trifecta, and thus the millionaire caramel shortbread bars were born. They are super easy, store well in the fridge, and will satisfy both a sweet and salty craving.

What you’ll need to make these millionaire caramel shortbread bars:

All purpose flour

Dark brown sugar

Salt

Salted butter

Pure vanilla extract

Caramel sauce (I used my super easy 3-ingredient caramel)

Chocolate chips

Coconut oil

The Shortbread

This dark brown sugar shortbread has shown up in a few recipes (including my favorite pumpkin treat, these Pumpkin Pie Bars with Shortbread Crust). It’s sort, made of five simple pantry stapes, and comes together in about 2 minutes. Really you can’t get an easier crust for these millionaire bars, and I’ll bet you make up a second batch just to eat plain (go on, no one will judge).

The Caramel Sauce

This easy, three ingredient caramel sauce is so amazing that I’ve linked it in all three places I mention it so you don’t miss out! I start with granulated sugar, and caramelize that until it’s smooth and dark golden amber in color. To this I add the salted butter, carefully whisking as this mixture can be bubbly and it is HOT. Finally, the heavy cream is added and whisked in. When the mixture is smooth and fully incorporated, I gently pour it into a glass jar and refrigerate for 2-3 hours (or overnight). It is THE best caramel sauce, and I promise that you wont regret making up a batch to simply have in your fridge when the craving strikes!

If you absolutely must use store bought caramel due to time constraints, I recommend Trader Joe’s jarred caramel. It’s a pretty close second to homemade, as it contains only a handful of mostly real ingredients.

The Chocolate Topping

I used dark chocolate to top these bars, because it’s what I had on hand. The topping consists of dark chocolate chips and a bit of coconut oil (undetectable in taste). The oil helps the chocolate melt smoothly and consistently, and thins it out a bit to make it perfect for dripping and drizzling. It also hardens up nicely when cooled, but slightly less hard than than a bar of chocolate.

The Dietary Substitutions

I love providing gluten and dairy free substitutions so that those with alternate dietary needs can enjoy my recipes to their fullest! These are subs that I have either use and continue to stock in my own home, or that have come highly recommended from others. I want your baking experience to be the best it can be, and avoiding gluten or dairy shouldn’t hinder that process in the slightest. 

As always, here is a list of tried and true dietary substitutes, so that you can enjoy this recipe without the additions of gluten or dairy: 

Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour is a wonderful all-purpose sub, and it’s cup for cup, so use the same measurements as you would all-purpose flour.

Miyokos Butter is a plant based brick that closely resembles dairy butter not only in its look, but it’s taste as well. It melts, browns, and spreads just like real butter, and truly is a fantastic substitute in this recipe. Use it as a 1:1 ratio sub, same as the flour, so the recipe measurements will not change.

Nature Charm Coconut Caramel Sauce is a great dairy free / vegan caramel substitute in this recipe.

Enjoy Life Vegan Dark Chocolate Chips are perfect for avoiding dairy in the chocolate topping.

I hope you fall in love with these Millionaire Caramel Shortbread Bars. If you love caramel, give my Caramel Cheesecake Tart a try!

XO,

Heather