Contest Winner! Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Squares (a.k.a. Millionaire’s Shortbread)
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With a layer of shortbread, a layer of soft caramel and a layer of chocolate, these bars taste like gourmet Twix bars.
Thanks to all who participated in my holiday cookie contest! I received many wonderful family recipes but, in the end, these Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Squares of Scottish origin won me over. Known as Millionaire’s Shortbread, presumably because they are so rich, they consist of a layer of crumbly shortbread, a layer of soft caramel and a layer of chocolate. To me, they taste just like gourmet Twix bars. Congrats to Carrie H. of Rockville, MD, who submitted the recipe!
Other cookies submitted were wonderful too, particularly Dianne’s Dark Chocolate Buttercrunch with Sea Salt and Amy’s Snickerdoodles. I’ll be sharing these recipes on the site soon. (2-Tier Server by Julia Knight)
What you’ll need to make the shortbread squares
How to make them
Begin by making the shortbread layer. Simply combine all of the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.
Blitz to blend, then add the butter in chunks.
Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, then add the ice water and egg yolk.
Pulse until the dough comes together in wet clumps.
Dump the dough into the prepared pan and press into an even layer.
Prick the dough all over with a fork and bake until lightly browned.
Meanwhile, make the caramel by combining the sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, butter, golden syrup, vanilla and salt in a medium sauce pan.
Cook until the caramel is smooth and thickened, and the temperature reaches 225 degrees.
Immediately pour the caramel over the crust and let set for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the chocolate glaze by combining the chocolate pieces and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl.
Cook in 20-second intervals, so as not to scorch the chocolate, stirring in between, until the chocolate is smooth and creamy. Spread the melted chocolate over the set caramel.
Chill the bars for about an hour, or until the chocolate is completely set.
Then lift the bars out of the pan and cut into small squares.
Note: You’ll need a candy thermometer for this recipe to measure the temperature of the caramel. You can find one at any kitchen supply store. Don’t be intimated to use it; it’s easy!
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Millionaire's Shortbread
With a layer of shortbread, a layer of soft caramel and a layer of chocolate, these bars taste like gourmet Twix bars.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (½ cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon ice water
- 1 large egg yolk
For the Caramel Layer
- 1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons golden syrup (such as Lyle's Golden Syrup) or dark corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Generous pinch salt
For the Chocolate Layer
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, broken into small pieces, best quality
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
For the Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil, pushing the foil neatly into the corners and up the sides of the pan, using two pieces if necessary to ensure that the foil overlaps all edges (the overhang will help removal from the pan). Spray the foiled pan with nonstick cooking spray or grease with butter.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine the flour, brown sugar, cornstarch and salt; process until well combined and no lumps of brown sugar remain. Add the butter and pulse until a coarse meal forms. Add the ice water and egg yolk and blend until moist clumps form. Dump the dough into the prepared pan and press with your fingers into an even layer (dust your fingers with flour if the dough is too sticky). Pierce the dough all over with a fork and bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
For Caramel Layer
- Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, butter, golden syrup, vanilla and salt together in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, the butter melts and the mixture comes to a boil. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and boil gently, whisking constantly, until the caramel is thick and the temperature registers 225 degrees F, about 6 minutes. Pour the caramel over the warm crust; cool for about 15 minutes, or until caramel is set.
For Chocolate Layer
- Place the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is about 75% melted. Stir, allowing the residual heat in the bowl to melt the remaining chocolate, until smooth (if necessary, place the chocolate back in the microwave for a few more; just be sure not to overheat or the mixture will curdle). Spread the chocolate over the caramel layer. Refrigerate the bars until the chocolate is set, at least 1 hour. Using the foil overhang, lift the bars out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into small squares and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Note: The shortbread layer will crumble a bit when you cut it; that's just the nature of it.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: These can be frozen for up to 3 months. After they are completely cooled, double-wrap them securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (25 servings)
- Calories: 174
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 23 g
- Sugar: 17 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 54 mg
- Cholesterol: 27 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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The chocolate and caramel parts were great. However the shortbread was too soft and crumbly. I think it needed a few more minutes in the oven. The sides were starting to brown, but the center looked a little raw. It was just okay. I would prefer a Twix.
Hi Jenn!!
I love all your recipes, you are always my go to! I am wondering if there is a way to may these in a 13x9in pan? With my large family, these would not last long at our house:)
Thank you!
Hi, for the best results, I’d use two 9-inch pans. Hope everyone enjoys!
Any advice on how to cut these? I made them last year and the Carmel oozed out and the chocolate layer cracked. I tried using a knife warmed in hot water, freezing, for a bit, and neither made much of a difference. Thank!
Hi Mama K, I wouldn’t freeze them as that’s why the chocolate cracked. Just make sure you slice them immediately after removing them from the fridge when the caramel is solid. (And I always use a sharp chef’s knife to cut these.) Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn
I made these last year and they were a hit. I want to use the caramel in this recipe to make turtles but I noticed that you say to refrigerate. Why is that? If I use this caramel for chocolates would they need to be refrigerated? Not enough corn syrup to be shelf stable? Thanks so much in advance for any advice! I want to start a small in home chocolate business so I am trying to make sure my product doesn’t go bad at room temp.
Hi Jennifer, I’m not 100 percent sure they’d be shelf-stable, so to be safe, I wouldn’t recommend it. Sorry (but good luck with your business)! 🙂
This was another bar cookie I made for the first time this past Christmas to give to friends. It was a very popular addition. So delicious and easy to make.
I always make millionaire shortbread at Christmas and I was looking for a new recipe of it and stumbled upon this one. I was a little intimidated making the caramel but it was so delicious and a nice thick layer. Loved it! As did those I gifted them too!
Just asking out of curiosity: most shortbread recipes I’ve seen don’t call for brown sugar or egg yolk, right? I was wondering if you had any guesses as to why this one is so different? No complaints – it’s delicious! I was just wondering about the difference between this crust and a classic shortbread with just butter, powdered sugar, flour, vanilla and salt.
Hi Kelly, This recipe is actually not mine (it was submitted as part of a cookie contest I was having) but I believe that the brown sugar and egg yolk just add more flavor and richness. Hope that clarifies!
I have been making traditional Scottish shortbread for many years, based on a newspaper article on variations of shortbread. It does indeed call for brown sugar and an egg and is baked in a pan and cut into bars (or wedges). Typical American shortbread seems to be made with icing sugar and no egg, and is baked as cookies on a sheet. The base of Millionaire’s Shortbread is Scottish shortbread.
I have also been making a version of Millionaire’s Shortbread since the 1990’s, found in a Safeway Christmas recipe flyer. It was called Chocolate Caramel Squares and is very similar to this one, but with a shallower caramel layer. Always a family favourite!
Oops! They were called Caramel Toffee Squares, and the base didn’t include an egg.
This was my first time making millionaire’s shortbread. Each individual layer tasted great, but the chocolate overpowered the caramel, which is, in my view, the best part. I couldn’t even taste it when I had it all together. It mostly tasted like chocolate covered shortbread. I’d have to cut the chocolate layer in half or use a stronger caramel if I were to make them again.
Had to use what I had in the pantry and they still turned out great!! I had pecan sandies purchased for another recipe but I couldn’t remember that recipe (how many others do this?). Finely processed in the food processor meant that I didn’t think they needed any more butter so pressed into 9” pan and heated in 300 oven 5 minutes. I also didn’t have dark corn syrup or brown sugar but that was no issue. No candy thermometer here so used my (clean) meat thermometer. So yummy!! Could this caramel recipe be used to make soft individually-wrapped caramels? Next time it’s likely I won’t have the cookies on hand but think I will add finely chopped pecans to the shortbread recipe.
So glad you enjoyed these! I don’t know whether or not the caramel will work as individually wrapped candies. For the most predictable results, I’d probably look for a specific recipe for that.
I made this recipe and it was great! Some adjustments – used normal brown sugar, skipped the golden syrup. For the chocolate layer I just melted 150g callebaut dark choc chips 10g of unsalted butter, stirred in a spoon of nutella for good measure. They do however take more than an hour to chill… mine took about 2h before all the layers were set.