Salted Caramel Bars

These salted caramel bars are incredibly easy! A buttery shortbread crumble surrounds a salted caramel filling for the perfect salty-sweet dessert!

These salted caramel butter bars are the recipe I pull out when I need something indulgent that comes together in under an hour, because, you know, even busy moms need a treat. The shortbread base is rich without being heavy, and the caramel layer is soft enough to give when you bite into it but firm enough to slice cleanly.

If you are looking for more easy desserts, check out these lemon blondies or this easy chewy blondie recipe! For a more ornate bar, check out these maple pecan blondies!

• Salted Butter: The foundation of the shortbread, and the reason these bars taste so rich. You can use unsalted butter, of course, if that’s what you have. Just add 1 tsp of kosher salt to the dough.
• Sugar and Powdered Sugar: These two work together to give the shortbread its texture. Granulated sugar adds a slight crispness to the base, while sifted powdered sugar keeps the crumb tender and fine, which is what I always look for in a proper shortbread.
• Vanilla Extract
• All-Purpose Flour
• Caramel Candies: The base of the filling. A full 14-ounce bag of wrapped caramels melts down into a smooth, soft layer that slices cleanly once cooled. If you prefer to skip the candy-melting step entirely, you can swap in 1 cup of homemade salted caramel sauce instead.
• Milk or Cream: Thins the melted caramel to a pourable, spreadable consistency. Cream will give you a slightly richer filling; whole milk works fine if that is what you have.
• Coarse Sea Salt: Scattered over the top before baking. Fine salt disappears into the dough; coarse salt gives you those distinct, occasional bursts of contrast that make these bars worth making again.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations on This Salted Caramel Butter Bars

• Change the filling. You swap out the caramel for your favorite jam or jelly! Take inspiration from these cranberry cinnamon jam bars!
• Apple Caramel Bars! Layer in some apple pie filling, drizzle with caramel sauce, and top with the dough. Bonus points for adding apple pie spice to the dough.
• Carmelita inspired! Add some chocolate chips to the base before you add the caramel sauce! Just like when making this carmelitas recipe!

Professional Tips

• Press the base layer thin and even. One-third of the dough needs to cover a 9×13 pan in a uniform layer, roughly a quarter inch thick. Uneven spots mean the thinner areas overbake before the thick spots are done. Use the bottom of a flat measuring cup to help.
• Refrigerate the reserved dough while the crust bakes. Cold dough crumbles rather than smears when you scatter it over the caramel. If it warms up and turns soft, it will press together and bake into a solid sheet instead of a sandy topping, which is the one thing that will ruin the texture contrast.
• Let the bars cool completely before cutting. The caramel filling needs time to set, and cutting too soon gives you a layer that oozes out rather than holds its shape. I tested cutting at 30 minutes versus fully cooled, and fully cooled wins every time for clean squares.
• Line the pan with parchment. Leaving an overhang on two sides lets you lift the whole slab out before cutting, which gives you much cleaner edges than cutting and serving from the pan.

How to Make Salted Caramel Butter Bars

Start by getting your crust dough together first, since it does double duty as both the base and the crumble topping.

Step 1: Preheat the oven and prepare your pan. Set the oven to 325°F. Butter a 9×13 baking dish or line it with parchment paper.

Criss-cross parchment is what I always do here because it makes lifting the bars out for clean cutting much easier.

Step 2: Cream the butter and sugars. In a large bowl, combine the room temperature butter, sugar, and powdered sugar. Mix on medium speed until the mixture is creamy and uniform, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. The mixture will look pale and slightly fluffy.

Step 3: Mix in the flour to form the dough. Add the flour on low speed and mix until a smooth, soft dough forms. It will come together into something that feels like a cross between shortbread dough and cookie dough, tender but not sticky. Do not overmix once the flour is incorporated.

Step 4: Press the base layer and bake. Press one third of the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Refrigerate the remaining two thirds. Bake the base at 325°F for 20 minutes, until the edges are a pale golden brown. The center may still look slightly underdone, which is completely normal. It will continue to bake with the filling on top.

Step 5: Melt the caramel candies. While the crust bakes, place the unwrapped caramel candies and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, then stir. If the caramels are not completely melted, continue microwaving in 30-second intervals, stirring after each one, until the mixture is fully smooth. Stir in the vanilla and set aside until the crust finishes baking.

If your melted caramel seizes up or looks grainy after stirring, it likely needs another 15 to 20 seconds in the microwave. A small splash of additional cream will also smooth it back out. The caramel needs to be fluid enough to pour evenly over the crust.

Step 6: Assemble and bake. Pour the caramel filling evenly over the baked crust. Sprinkle the coarse sea salt directly over the caramel, then crumble the remaining two thirds of the refrigerated dough over the top in irregular pieces. You want some gaps in the topping so the caramel can bubble up through. Bake at 300°F convection or 325°F conventional for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is visibly bubbling around the edges and the topping is firm and lightly golden.

The refrigerated dough will be firm when you pull it from the fridge, and that is fine. Cold dough crumbles more easily into uneven pieces, which gives you a better-textured topping than if you tried to work with it at room temperature. Just break it apart with your fingers directly over the pan.

Step 7: Cool completely before cutting. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool at room temperature until the caramel has set and is no longer liquid when you press near the center, which should take at least 1 to 2 hours. The caramel will still look slightly soft when the pan comes out, which is completely normal. It firms as it cools. Once cooled, cut into squares and serve. (I know, I know, go ahead and cut a corner out for quality control. The things we must do as bakers.)

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

These buttery, salted caramel bars are the kind of thing that disappears before you expect it to. If you want more recipes like this one, browse my brownies and bars recipes or just make these 7 layer bars next!