The Best Millionaire's Bars Recipe Elevates Humble Shortbread With Chocolate & Caramel Desserts Cookies Candy Snacks Gluten-free

Millionaire's bars are decadent, sweet, delicious three-layer cookie bars that are to die for. The first layer is a shortbread crust made with butter, sugar and flour. The sweet, ooey-gooey caramel layer is made with sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, heavy whipping cream, corn syrup, butter and vanilla. If that's not enough, the bars are coated with melted bittersweet chocolate and optional flaky sea salt. OMG!

It's said that this sweet layered cookie bar recipe is called millionaire's bars because it takes the humble shortbread up a few rungs on the ladder with the caramel and chocolate. Sounds about right to us!

Here is your sweet shopping list for this millionaire's bars recipe: butter, granulated sugar, flour, salt, a can of sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, heavy whipping cream, light corn syrup, vanilla extract, bittersweet chocolate and optional flaky sea salt. 

Serve these easy millionaire's bars as a sweet (very sweet!) snack or for a lovely dessert with coffee.

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes plus time to cool 
Cook Time: 50 to 55 minutes
Total Time: 70 to 75 minutes plus time to cool 
Servings: 12

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups flour (or gluten-free flour)
• pinch of salt

Caramel Layer

• 14 ounces (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• big pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Layer

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• flaky sea salt (optional)

Here's how to make it:

1. To make the crust, in a bowl, combine the butter and granulated sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the flour and salt. Mix to combine (it will be crumbly). Press the mixture into the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking pan that's been covered with foil or parchment paper so it extends out of the sides. Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove and cool. (Use gluten-free flour for gluten-free bars.)
2. To make the caramel, put all the ingredients into a saucepot. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for about 20 to 25 minutes or until it reaches 236 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove and stir in the vanilla. Pour the caramel over the crust. Let it cool for about 1 1/2 hours. 
3. To make the chocolate, melt it in the microwave in 30-second intervals until smooth and creamy. Spread the chocolate over the caramel layer. If using, sprinkle with flaky sea salt. (If you don't like bittersweet chocolate, you could use semisweet, milk or even dark chocolate.)
4. Let the bars cool about 30 minutes before removing from the pan and cutting into squares. Store the leftover bars in an airtight container on the counter.

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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