Shortbread, Caramel, Peanut Butter and Chocolate? All things I like coming together into one delicious treat. As a kid I alternated between selecting Caramel Twix and Peanut Butter Twix. I didn’t have a favorite since they were both so good. Now that I’m an adult who can make my own (elevated) Twix bars, I don’t have to choose between those two flavors. These Caramel Peanut Butter Shortbread Bars are everything I could have dreamed of as a Twix loving kid. I hope you will enjoy them too!
Disclaimer:
There may be typos and incomplete thoughts in this post. I made some of these to take to my daughter who is in school at UT Austin where they were shared and received positive reviews. I have been instructed to get the recipe up on this site ASAP! I’m going to forgo my usual weak attempts to maximize SEO etc., and just get to it.
Here’s What You Will Need:
I sincerely hope you keep a reasonably well stocked pantry. If so, you should be ready to go! Butter, flour, powdered sugar, kosher salt. Brown sugar, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla. Peanut butter and chocolate chips. If you want to add a bit of coconut or vegetable oil to the chocolate topping I would recommend that, but it didn’t make the photo.
Pro Tips:
- Use a metal baking pan. It works much better for evenly baking shortbread.
- When making the caramel, start with melting the butter and don’t add the sweetened condensed milk until the sugars are incorporated and the temperature is up. Once the sweetened condensed milk has been added it’s important to whisk constantly. Sweetened condensed milk has a tendency to scorch. Trust me, I’ve had to throw out more than one batch of this caramel when I got distracted. While constant stirring may not sound super fun, there is NO THERMOMETER required so bonus there.
- When making the peanut butter layer, use melted butter. Warm butter and peanut butter will pour over the caramel layer and will be much easier to spread. This allows for a true caramel layer and a peanut butter layer instead of accidentally blending them together.
- Speaking of peanut butter, use a creamy peanut butter. I like Skippy Natural because it has less sugar than some “regular” peanut butters. While I like a truly natural peanut butter for eating, it doesn’t blend as smoothly into treats as something like Skippy.
- Don’t rush the chocolate! Warm it a bit, stir, let it sit for 20-30 seconds, and then warm it more. Chocolate will continue to melt once it’s removed from the microwave so give it a chance. At best, over heating chocolate will cause it to look splotchy as it cools; at worst the chocolate will seize up and get grainy. Let’s try to keep these bars beautiful.
- More on chocolate. Mixing in a bit of oil will keep the chocolate from becoming too firm as it cools. There is nothing wrong with firm chocolate, but it won’t slice as nicely and may squish the peanut butter and caramel out when you try to cut it. If you are going for the firm chocolate I recommend taking a toothpick or table knife and drawing lines where you plan to cut while the chocolate is still warm. Once the chocolate is firm it should cut easily through the lines.
Side Note:
I recently made a batch of these and added chopped peanuts to the top which made for a nice texture contrast. If you are taking these bars somewhere to share, chopped peanuts on top is also a nice visual cue to let people know that this treat has nuts.
PrintCaramel Peanut Butter Shortbread Bars
Better than caramel or peanut butter Twix combined. Shortbread base with caramel, peanut butter, and chocolate.
Ingredients
For the Crust
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the Caramel
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch kosher salt
For the Peanut Butter Layer
3/4 cup (12 Tablespoons) melted butter
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
For the Chocolate
12 oz bag of chocolate chips
1–2 teaspoons coconut or vegetable oil*
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350
Line 9X13 metal baking pan with parchment
For the crust: In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer and large bowl, mix the softened butter and powdered sugar until combined. Add the flour and mix until crumbly and well incorporated. Press the dough evenly into the baking pan and bake for 18-20 minutes until the shortbread is set and lightly golden brown.
For the caramel: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Once the butter has melted add the brown sugar and corn syrup , raise the temperature to medium high, and whisk to combine. Heat the sugar mixture until small bubbles form at the edge of the pan then add the sweetened condensed milk. Continue to cook over medium high and bring the caramel to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes whisking constantly. After 5 minutes, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Continue to stir off the heat for an additional 2-3 minutes. Pour the warm caramel over the shortbread and allow to set.
For the Peanut Butter: Mix the melted butter with the peanut butter until well combined. Add in the powdered sugar and mix until well incorporated and smooth. Gently pour the peanut butter mix over the set caramel. Place the bars in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to set before adding the chocolate layer.
For the Chocolate: Once the peanut butter layer has set, melt the chocolate chips with 2 teaspoons of oil. I melt chocolate in the microwave beginning with 30 seconds, then 15 second intervals, stirring between each heat cycle*. Pour the warm chocolate over the bars and spread to cover. Allow the chocolate to set before slicing into bars.
Notes
*Whisk constantly while the caramel is on the heat. Sweetened condensed milk will scorch if not attended to.
*It never takes me more than 1 minute to melt the chocolate, but microwaves vary.
*While coconut or vegetable oil works to keep the chocolate from cooling hard, I have the most success with just 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil.
More:
Are you a fan of bar cookies? Some of my favorites are my German Chocolate Shortbread Brownies and my Peanut Butter Crunch Brownies
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