Salted Caramel Buttery Crumb Bars — These salted caramel bars feature a buttery shortbread base and an addicting crumb topping I simply can’t get enough of! Such an easy one-bowl dessert!
Shortbread Caramel Bars with Crumb Topping
I love streusel or crumble toppings, and the bigger the crumbles, the better. They’re easier to pick off. Throw in salted caramel, and you’re in for a wonderfully buttery and caramely treat.
These caramel bars are easy to make and you probably have everything on hand to make them now. It’s such a simple ingredients list: butter, sugar, flour, dash of vanilla, and caramel sauce.
The crust and topping are the same mixture, which is a nice time saver. The crust is firm with some chewiness and the crumbles on top add tons of awesome texture. As the bars bake, the caramel sauce intensifies in flavor, and it tastes richer, more buttery, and has a more intense caramel flavor in the finished bars than straight out of the jar.
I was tempted to sprinkle chocolate chips over the caramel filling, but I’m glad I didn’t. Allowing the caramel flavor to shine on its own, and allowing it to perfectly complement the shortbread, was a smart call. Every once in awhile, I don’t miss chocolate.
Sinking your teeth down through all the layers and getting a taste of the caramel filling in the middle is the best. Soft, chewy, and gooey all in one bite.
These caramel crumb bars turned out to be one of those sleeper hits that I didn’t have super high expectations for because the ingredients are so simple, but they turned out to be just that, a sleeper hit. I loved them so much that I needed to promptly donate half the pan.
What’s in These Caramel Bars?
To make the shortbread caramel bars with crumb topping, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Salted caramel sauce
How to Make Shortbread Caramel Bars
To make these salted caramel bars, you’ll first need to cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the flour and vanilla and mix until just combined.
Press one-third of the shortbread mixture into an aluminum foil-lined 8×8-inch pan. Be sure to really pack down the dough. Bake the crust for 20 minutes.
Once out of the oven, pour the salted caramel sauce over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the caramel sauce, then return the bars to the oven. Bake until the top is barely golden browned and there are subtle signs of caramel bubbling.
Once the crumble caramel bars come out of the oven, drizzle them with more salted caramel sauce, then let cool completely before slicing.
Can I Chill These Bars to Make Them Cool Faster?
Technically, yes. However, baked goods tend to dry out when placed in the fridge so I recommend letting these caramel bars cool on your countertop if possible.
Can I Freeze Shortbread Caramel Bars?
Yes, these can be frozen for up to 6 months.
Tips for Making Caramel Bars with Crumb Topping
You can use Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce or store-bought. Just don’t use thin, runny, ice cream sundae sauce. Use a nice thick sauce.
The shortbread dough shouldn’t feel super sticky after you’ve mixed it together. If it seems sticky, add an extra tablespoon or two of flour to make it less so.
When you take the baked shortbread crust out of the oven, it should still be pale in color and not at all golden. It’s going to be topped with caramel sauce and returned to the oven, so it doesn’t need to be golden brown yet.
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Salted Caramel Buttery Crumb Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks, softened
- ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- heaping 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce, homemade or storebought, or regular caramel sauce + more for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) combine the butter, sugars, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, fluffy, and well combined, about 3 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla and beat on medium-high speed until well combined, about 1 minute.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the flour and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute. Dough shouldn’t be overly sticky. If yours is sticky (mine was because I baked on a humid day), add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour, or as needed, until dough comes together without feeling sticky, however don’t over-do it or dough could become crumbly.
- Turn out one-third of the mixture out into prepared pan (err on the side of going over one-third if you’re eyeballing it and unsure), pressing and hard-packing it with your fingers to form a smooth, even crust layer.
- Bake for 20 minutes. While crust bakes, refrigerate remaining two-thirds of dough.
- After 20 minutes, remove pan from oven, and evenly pour heaping half cup salted caramel over crust.
- Evenly crumble reserved dough over the top (it looks like a lot but some sinks down into the caramel layer while baking).
- Return pan to oven and bake for about 25 to 32 minutes, or until top is barely golden browned and there’s subtle signs of caramel bubbling.
- Remove pan from oven, lightly and evenly drizzle with salted caramel, and place pan on a wire rack to cool for at least two hours before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey: Desserts for the Serious Sweet Tooth
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Salted Caramel and Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars – You’ll never want plain pecan pie again! Caramel and chocolate makes the bars taste amazing!
Caramel Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Gooey Bars — Keep the napkins handy for these soft, gooey bars dripping with the best caramel-peanut butter sauce!
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Salted Caramel Magic Bars — I have a thing for Magic Bars or Seven Layer Bars as they’re sometimes called. The salted caramel helps balance the sweetness of the other ingredients.
Vanilla Bean Caramel Blondies — These very soft, slightly chewy, buttery blondies are topped with the most amazing vanilla-spiked caramel glaze.
Salted Caramel Candied Pecan Carmelitas — Biting through the layers of the chewy oatmeal crust, the chocolate chips, the crunchy pecans, the salty-and-sweet caramel sauce that’s gooey and wonderful, and the crisp topping is pure heaven.
Haven’t made yet, bu t plan to make tonight. Will useNestle dulce la lechera caramel and it is quite thick. Should i try and heat the caramel before spreading or should it be alright straight from the can?
also, should i add salt to the caramel, or should it be alright as is? :)
You’ll have to use your judgment as to whether to heat it or not as well as with the salt since everyone’s palate and preference for salt is different.
Decadent bars! Simple to make, I even made the homemade caramel sauce the evening before. So delicious, thank you.
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! And glad you made the homemade caramel, too!
Never thought I’d be saying this, but this had way too much better. I use KA flour, added a tablespoon, cooked a few extra minutes, and it’s still a greasy mess. So much potential, though! Next time I’m going to try decreasing the butter just slightly and add another T of flour. Maybe have the crumble spend extra time in the fridge, too.
All brands of butter, flour, and climates vary and sounds like in this case perhaps a tiny bit less butter and a tiny bit more flour would have done the trick. Thanks for trying the recipe and with baking, sometimes you do have to make small tweaks based on all the variables.
If I’m pressed for time could I shorten the 2 hour cooling by placing the bars in the fridge?
Probably yes, noting that sometimes the texture of baking goods changes upon refrigeration.
made these today for teacher appreciation! will give them tomorrow :) from what i’ve tried so far though, they are delicious. the caramel is the hardest part for me, however. it’s so thick and difficult to drizzle – i don’t know how you managed to do so on the top layer of yours!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Drizzling for photography purposes is an exercise in patience, and practice :)
Tried these. It ended up a buttery greasy mess. I’m thinking 2 stick s of butter is too much
Thanks for trying the recipe and 2 sticks is the correct amount. That is a lot of butter for a recipe this size, but it does work. Sometimes flour and how absorbent (or not) that it is can play a role in baking. I use King Arthur brand all-purpose flour and swear by it.
Hi! I tried your recipe today and followed it exactly (adding a bit more flour, but I must have needed more), but I found my dough was so buttery that the streusel bits melted! It seemed just way too buttery to look like the shortbread-looking photos. I used the amount in the recipe (2 sticks), but I’m wondering if I did something wrong!
I use King Arthur brand flour and find it’s truly the best for baking, especially in recipes like this. There’s a bit more gluten so dough comes together much better. With other brands, you may indeed need more flour AND it’s also summer and humid and in general with baking, you’ll need more flour when it’s humid than when it’s not. I would say switch brands of flour to KAFlour and be heavy-handed in this warm weather and I think you’ll see the crumbly bits stay intact. Thanks for trying the recipe.
I made these today and they are really lush! However I’m not sure I got the quantities quite right as the dough was very crumbly (still yummy though). We measure in weight not volume in the UK as I’m sure you know. Would it possible to give me your recipe in ounces or grams as trying to convert as I went along proved rather complicated!
I don’t have measurements in any other way than what I wrote. Sorry that it’s complicated for you! If the dough was very crumbly, there’s a chance the flour was over-added but then again it’s hard to say. Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it still tastes yummy!
There are sites on the web you can google to find, that help enormously with converting from weight to volume and vice versa. Good luck!
Here is a site I have used before, for Common Weight and Mass Conversions:
https://www.OnlineConversion.com
I just made these and they are so delicious. I had store bought caramel sauce on hand but when I make them next time (there will definitely be a next time!) I will make caramel.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that you’ll even make them again with homemade caramel! (If you have a Trader Joes by you, their caramel is almost as good as homemade and way easier :))
I made these yesterday, one word…Phenomenal.
Oh that’s awesome to hear! Thanks!
Even as a staunch chocoholic, I doubt I’d miss it in these bars either! Those gorgeous crumbs in the topping… The sweet caramel sauce… I feel like I need to go run 10 miles right now because of how many I want to eat! ;)
Mmmmm, just give me all of these bars, and no one gets hurt!!! ;) They look heavenly, Averie!
LOL you’re too funny and that’s kind of how I felt!
These bars were so good! Just made them yesterday and shared on my blog!
https://www.thesilverbird.com/salted-caramel-buttery-crumb-bars/
I’m so glad you liked them! So good that you had to send them away :)
Made this tonight. OMG, It’s ooey-gooey good! I used Nestlé La Lechera Dulce De Leche Caramel Sauce but plan to make your homemade caramel sauce soon.
I made a mistake that you mentioned not to do in the instructions: my dough was too sticky. But I didn’t realize quite how sticky it was until I had already started pressing it down, so I just continued on. This meant that later it wouldn’t crumble, so I just put an even layer on top instead. It all worked out in the end and was still yummy.
I have one question: After the crust bakes for 20 minutes, what should the texture and color be? Crisply browned? Or still soft?
Glad it all worked out and they’re great!
After 20 minutes for the curst, you just want it to be set, with almost no color because it’s going back into the oven for another half hour or so and overbaking the first time could result in bars that are way too dry.
Made these this morning and just ate one, so good!! I used a jarred caramel sauce (no whipping cream on hand) and just cracked some sea salt over the caramel. Loved them!
I used jarred caramel for these too :) and glad you loved them!
These look amazing! So crumbly and chewy! Pinned for later!
Thanks for pinning!