Caramel Chocolate Bars
Caramel Chocolate Bars are loaded with layers of flaky, homemade crust, caramel, and chocolate. Every bite explodes with the rich flavors of chocolate and caramel and rich, buttery crust.
Chocolate and caramel is a classic combination that everyone seems to love, and we love to use it at any opportunity. These caramel chocolate bars are a particular favorite of ours because the final product looks so fancy, but it’s actually incredibly easy to make. So we look like baking super heroes, when really, it was a relatively simple process. You have to love that!
Table of contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It uses simple ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.
- It’s a fancy-looking recipe that’s actually very easy to make.
- It’s loaded with rich caramel, chocolate, and flaky crust layers.
🛒Ingredients
You’ll only need a few basic ingredients to make these bars, and practically every ingredient is probably in your kitchen right now. If you do happen to need anything, you’ll find it in just a few minutes at your local grocery store.
All the ingredients you need to make these bars are listed here, but you can find their exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
For the Crust
- Flour
- Brown sugar
- Cornstarch
- Salt
- Butter – chilled
- Cold water
- Egg yolks
Caramel
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Brown sugar
- Butter
- Corn syrup
- Vanilla
For the Chocolate
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Heavy cream
- Flaky sea salt
🔪 How to Make Caramel Chocolate Bars
Just looking at these bars, you might think they’re difficult to make, but they really aren’t. Even though every part of these bars is homemade, the entire recipe is made using simple steps that even beginners can follow.
Step 1: Prep
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line an edged 12×17 baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2: Make the Crust Dough
Combine the flour, brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl. Then, using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the chilled butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the cold water and egg yolks and mix until the dough begins to form a ball.
Step 3: Bake the Crust
Press the dough firmly into an even layer across the bottom of the baking sheet. Then, prick it all over with a fork and bake for 20 to 22 minutes until golden brown. Remove it from the oven and let it cool completely.
Step 4: Make the Caramel
Add the milk, sugar, butter, corn syrup, and vanilla to a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar has fully dissolved and the butter has melted. It should take about 8 minutes, and the caramel should have thickened.
Step 5: Pour and Cool
Pour the caramel over the cooled crust and let it cool completely.
Step 6: Cut
Using a spatula, cut the entire pan in half across the middle and stack the layers on top of one another.
Step 7: Make the Chocolate
Add the chocolate chips and heavy cream to a microwave-safe bowl and heat at 10 to 15-second intervals, stirring between each interval, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
Step 8: Pour and Cool
Pour the chocolate over the caramel crust layers and spread evenly. let the chocolate cool and sprinkle with salt. Cut into bars and enjoy!
📝Variations
- Use semi-sweet, milk, or dark chocolate to change the flavor of the bars.
- You can melt caramel squares if you prefer.
- For a fully sweet version, omit the sea salt.
If this combination of chocolate and caramel already has you hungry, then you’ll love these salted caramel chocolate bars.
🥄 Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- 12×17 rimmed baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Spatula
- Mixing bowl
- Microwave-safe bowl
🥫 Storage
Store these bars in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. For longer storage, refrigerate them in an air-tight container for up to a week.
Serve With
These delicious bars are perfect with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea. They’re also lovely when paired with fresh fruit and/or caramel and chocolate pieces.
💭 Tips
- Cube your butter and keep it in the refrigerator so it’s as cold as possible when you’re ready to cut it into the flour mixture.
- Stir constantly while making your caramel, and keep the heat low to avoid scorching it.
- 15 seconds is the maximum time you should microwave your chocolate and heavy cream mixture to avoid burning.
⁉️ FAQ
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
These caramel chocolate bars are dessert bars made with layers of homemade pie crust and caramel topped with homemade chocolate sauce.
Temperature! Keep your heat low to avoid scorching. Everything should melt and thicken slowly so the flavors meld, and you have zero chance of creating a burned flavor.
It’s important to stir your caramel mixture constantly while cooking it to avoid scorching.
If you microwave your chocolate and cream for intervals longer that 10 to 15 seconds, there’s a good chance that it could scorch.
🍽 More Recipes
Do you enjoy dessert bars? Then try these delicious recipes:
- Lemon Cheesecake Bars with Lavender
- Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars
- Chocolate Chip Espresso Shortbread Bars
🧾Recipe Card
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe, so you can find it later.
Caramel Chocolate Bars
Equipment
- mixing bowls
- Pastry cutter
- parchment paper
- 12×17 baking sheet
- medium saucepan
- microwave-safe
Ingredients
Ingredients for crust layers:
- 2 cups flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 4 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter chilled
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 2 egg yolks
Ingredients for caramel layers:
- 28 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup butter
- 4 tablespoons corn syrup
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
Ingredients for chocolate layer:
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cornstarch and salt.
- Using a pastry cutter, or 2 knives, cut in the chilled butter until you have coarse crumbs.
- Add in the cold water and egg yolks and mix until it starts to form a ball.
- You may need to add a bit more water if necessary for the dough to come together.
- Using a piece of parchment paper, line a 12” x 17” baking sheet with sides.
- Press the dough firmly into an even layer covering the bottom of the pan.
- The dough does not need to go up the sides, just the bottom. Using a fork, poke holes randomly across the bottom to allow the crust to vent.
- Place in the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove and allow to cool completely.
- In a medium sized saucepan, place the milk, sugar, butter, corn syrup and vanilla over low/medium heat, stirring constantly.
- Cook until the sugar has fully dissolved and the butter has melted.
- The caramel will start to thicken in about 8 minutes.
- Remove from heat and pour over the cooled crust, creating an even layer.
- Allow to cool.
- Once it has fully cooled, cut the entire pan in half in the middle and using a large spatula, stack the 2 layers on top of each other.
- Using a microwave safe bowl, place the chocolate chips and heavy cream in the microwave and heat in short bursts (10/15 seconds).
- Stir each time you stop it until the chocolate has completely melted and is smooth.
- Pour over the top of the caramel and spread in an even layer.
- Let cool before sprinkling with salt so the chocolate doesn’t absorb it.
- Once cooled, slice into bars of desired size.
