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Salted Caramel Butter Bars have a rich buttery shortbread crust topped with creamy caramel and sprinkled with salt! Pretty much melt in your mouth buttery goodness.
One of the things on my list to bring home from my recent trip to France was some French salt or Fleur de Sel. If you haven’t ever tried fleur de sel before, you must. I knew I wanted to use my new salt in a salted caramel recipe, and these bars were the perfect choice.
This recipe has three of my favorite things, salt, caramel and butter. And boy do these bars have butter. Yes, the recipe is correct. The recipe calls for 1 lb. of butter. They are called butter bars for a reason!!
You can use individually wrapped caramel squares but I like to use the Kraft Caramel Bits. No more unwrapping individual caramels!!
What Type of Salt is best for Salted Caramel
When making salted caramel, you need a good salt. Do not use the stuff that comes out of the blue container with the little girl with the umbrella. A coarse salt is best and since you all can’t hop on over to France to buy some you can find the same salt I brought home with me right here on Amazon! It’s a little bit more expensive than what I paid for but there is no plane ticket required. And besides being amazing salt, it comes in a super cute container. Don’t skimp on the salt. It adds amazing flavor to the butter bars.
So be warned, these things are amazing and addictive and you are going to want to eat the whole pan but be nice, share with someone you love.
Check out more of my favorite salted caramel recipes:
Salted Caramel Butter Bars
Ingredients
- 1 lb. salted butter softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 T vanilla
- 4 cups flour
Caramel Filling
- 1 bag 12 oz. caramel bits
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp coarse salt fleur de sel
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 Degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray.
- Beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- Add in vanilla and mix to combine.
- Add in the flour and beat on low until dough forms.
- Press half the dough into the bottom of pan, evenly. Refrigerate remaining dough.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges just begin to turn golden brown.
- While dough is baking begin the filling.
- Place caramel bits, whipping cream and vanilla in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat and stir until completely melted.
- Pour caramel filling evenly over baked crust.
- Crumble refrigerated dough evenly over the caramel.
- Sprinkle with salt.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the toppiong is firm and beginning to turn golden brown on the edges.
- Cool and cut into squares.
Nutrition Facts:
Dorothy says
Leigh Ann,
I’m having trouble finding the caramel bits. Do you suppose a jar of Mrs. Richardson’s Butterscotch ice cream topping would work just as well? Or would it be too runny?
Leigh Anne says
DOrothy, That would probably be too runny. Try using the Kraft caramels. The kind that come individually wrapped for caramel apples.
Margaret Coker says
Would Kosher salt work?
Leigh Anne says
It would, you just want a coarse salt. There will be a flavor difference.
Erin says
Wow, Leigh Anne, these look so good. I’m curious if you think there would be a noticeable difference in flavor if I used the fleur de sel rather than the Trader Joe’s sea salt that I already have in my pantry. Thanks!
Leigh Anne says
I think the TJ salt would work fine. The French salt is a little “stronger” though I think.