Chocolate-Caramel Cookie Bars

(353)
holiday handbook 2011 cookie bar
Photo: Joseph De Leo
Yield:
16

Deep, dark chocolate, rich caramel, and a sprinkling of fleur de sel atop a shortbread crust make a contemporary combination with timeless appeal. Martha made this recipe on Martha Bakes episode 405.

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Ingredients

Crust

  • 4 ½ ounces (9 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for parchment

  • ¼ cup packed light-brown sugar

  • 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

  • ¼ teaspoon table salt

Chocolate Caramel

  • 10 ½ ounces milk chocolate, chopped (2 cups)

  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar

  • ¼ cup water

  • 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter

  • 1 cup heavy cream

  • ½ teaspoon table salt

  • 1 tablespoon sea salt, preferably fleur de sel

Directions

  1. Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on all sides; butter parchment, excluding overhang. Beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour and table salt, and beat until just combined.

  2. Press dough evenly into pan, and bake until lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

  3. Chocolate Caramel: Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, washing sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming, until amber, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter, cream, and table salt. Bring to a boil, stirring until smooth. Pour over chocolate. Let stand for 2 minutes. Stir to combine, and let stand until cool, about 10 minutes.

  4. Pour mixture over crust. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. Run a knife around edges; lift parchment to remove whole bar from pan. Sprinkle with sea salt. Trim edges, and cut into 16 bars. Bars can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Cook's Notes

Martha likes to secure the parchment to the pan with binder clips so that the parchment doesn't fall into the cookie bars during chilling.

Originally appeared: Martha Stewart Living, November 2009

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