Indulge your tastebuds with these delicious and easy to make Salted Chocolate Caramel Squares with a shortbread crust and dark chocolate topping. Simple and tasty, these are the perfect treats for every occasion.
If you are looking for an easy-to-make treat that everyone will love, then these Salted Chocolate Caramel Squares are exactly what you need. With three layers of goodness, these bars will surely satisfy everyones’ sweet tooth.
These chocolate caramel bars are perfect for potlucks, work parties, holidays, or just a tasty treat to have on hand. They are great make-ahead bars as well and can last up to two weeks in the refrigerator or a month in the freezer.
Similar to the three layers of a Twix bar; however, these treats kick up your tastebuds with the added hint of sea salt sprinkled overtop. Using dark chocolate also ups the flavor while mellowing out the sweetness.
Bars and squares are the perfect make-ahead treat. They are simple to make, easy to portion, and fun to eat. My favorite easy-to-make squares are Caramel Peanut Butter Krispies, Pineapple Bars, and Caramel Chip Pecan Bars. Or, if you’re looking for a no-bake recipe that you can make ahead, give this Limoncello Tiramisu a shot. And, for a fun take on fruitcake, try these Fruitcake Cookie Bars!
Try these triple-layer Salted Chocolate Caramel squares and let me know what you think!
Salted Chocolate Caramel Squares
These triple-layer squares are simple to make and have three layers of deliciousness to satisfy your sweet tooth. Read below and see how to make this tasty treat. And I promise, one bite and you’ll be hooked!
Bottom Shortbread Layer
The bottom layer for this bar is a delicious three-ingredient shortbread. Made with just flour, melted butter, and sugar, this is the perfect base for the bar.
Firstly, line a 9 x 9 inch baking dish with parchment. This will help you remove the bars and get those clean lines you want when you cut them. Although they taste just as good with rough cuts too!
To make the shortbread bottom, combine the melted butter, sugar, and flour in a small bowl. The mixture will be crumbly. Press into the bottom of the lined baking pan.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the shortbread is slightly darker in color. Don’t worry if this layer appears crumbly. The caramel will hold it together and hide any imperfections.
Middle Caramel Layer
This middle caramel layer is easy to make from scratch and doesn’t require a candy thermometer. If you’ve never made caramel or if you feel intimidated, don’t be. This fool proof recipe is so easy and so delicious.
In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and light corn syrup. Bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and whisk for five minutes.
And now you have a perfectly rich caramel layer for your salted chocolate caramel bars. Simply pour the warm caramel sauce overtop of the shortbread.
Let the squares cool and firm up before adding the final chocolate layer. You can speed this up by placing the bars in the refrigerator or freezer to cool.
Top Salted Chocolate Layer
Once your caramel layer is firm, you can prepare the top chocolate layer. For this recipe, I recommend using dark chocolate if you have it on hand. Otherwise, milk chocolate or even white chocolate would work.
Before starting, make sure your caramel layer has firmed up before pouring on the chocolate. Pop in the refrigerator or freezer to speed up this process.
To melt the chocolate, simply microwave on low power, stopping every 30 seconds to stir. Once the chocolate is completely melted, pour overtop of the caramel layer. Sprinkle with sea salt if desired.
If you’ve never topped a sweet dessert with salt, it may seem like an odd thing to do. However, what the salt does is intensify the flavors and really satisfy the tastebuds.
When topping off a dessert with salt, you want to make sure you are using Fleur de Sel sea salt, rather than table salt or kosher salt. The latter two will make the dessert salty and bitter without getting that flavor you desire.
If you are uncertain about the Fleur de Sel topping, you could always omit and add a bit to taste later.
How to Store Salted Chocolate Caramel Squares
These little squares can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to two weeks. You could also freeze in an airtight container for up to a two months.
Before cutting, be sure the bars are cooled, but not too cold as you risk breaking the chocolate topping. Remove the bars from the pan using the parchment paper and cut into small squares on a cutting board.
Hope you love these Salted Chocolate Caramel Squares. Comment below if you try them. Enjoy!
Salted Chocolate Caramel Squares
Equipment
- 9 x 9 baking pan
Ingredients
Bottom Layer
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup butter, melted (one stick)
- ¼ cup sugar
Middle Layer
- ½ cup butter (one stick)
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Top Layer
- 10 ounces dark chocolate
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray and line a 9 x 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper; set aside.
- For the bottom shortbread layer, in a bowl, combine flour, melted butter, and sugar. Press into the bottom of the baking pan using the bottom of a measuing cup or clean hands. Bake for 20 minutes; set aside to cool.
- For the middle layer, combine the butter, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and corn syrup in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened. Remove from heat and pour over the bottom shortbread layer. Set aside to cool and firm up. Alternatively, you can refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- For the top layer, place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on low power until chocolate is just melted, stopping to stir in 30 second intervals. Pour chocolate over caramel layer and sprinkle on sea salt. Chill completely before cutting into squares.
Notes
Nutrition
So good! We had a version of this dessert in Tahoe, so I figured I would try at home. Very easy too! Only thing I would change is use 8 oz of chocolate instead of 10oz, so the other flavors aren’t masked. Excellent dessert!!
Oh man, my mouth was watering as I was reading through the recipe. These are wonderful! Can’t wait to make them again. They don’t last long!!
Yum. I love a sweet and salty taste, and it being like a twix that just puts it over the top for me! In fact, I just sneaked and ate my son’s twix bar last night… and he caught me. I told him I’d get him another. I think I’m just going to make your recipe, that will be even better!
So delicious! My mouth waters just looking at them! Thanks for a great recipe!
I love anything with salted caramel and these look epic.
These look amazing. I’m definitely making them for my girls, who will absolutely LOVE them!
My daughter and grandson will love these, going to make them when our country is out of crisis…thank you
Thanks for the comment. Sending you love and well wishes at this time.