Millionaire’s Bar is a sweet, layered dessert made with a shortbread crust, caramel filling, and a semi-sweet chocolate topping. Try my Caramel Shortbread Pie for another decadent treat made with shortbread and caramel.
Millionaire’s Bar
Millionaire’s Bars, also known as caramel shortcake or caramel squares is a recipe that starts with a homemade shortbread cookie crust. The buttery cookie is the perfect complement to the homemade caramel filling. And, the chocolate layer on top makes this ‘rich’, three-layer dessert worthy of its name!
Millionaire’s Bars Ingredients & Substitutions
There are three parts to this recipe–the shortbread cookie crust, the caramel filling, and the chocolate topping.
Superfine Sugar: Also known as caster sugar, the superfine crystals make a difference in the shortbread recipe. If you don’t have caster sugar, simply process granulated sugar in a food processor for about 30 seconds. (Granulated sugar causes the cookies to be too coarse and confectioners’ sugar will make the cookies too dry.)
Corn Syrup: Corn syrup is an important ingredient in candy recipes, including this homemade caramel. It is processed from cornstarch and gives the caramel layer a smooth, glossy texture. It also keeps it from being grainy.
Semi-sweet Chocolate: Semi-sweet chocolate keeps these already sweet treats from being overly sweet. You can use milk chocolate in a pinch.
Challenge Butter: It’s all about the butter in my shortbread cookie recipe, as well as the caramel filling. So, of course, I used my favorite Challenge butter. Challenge Butter is made the old-fashioned way, churned fresh daily from the freshest milk and cream from happy cows at family-owned dairies since 1911. I used unsalted butter in this recipe, but salted butter would be fine to use as well.
Caramel Filling Tip
I would suggest pulling up a stool or a chair when you are about the make the caramel. You will be stirring constantly (yep, no breaks) for at least 15 minutes as the mixture reaches 236°F on a candy thermometer. If you stop stirring, there is a chance the caramel may burn, causing unsightly flecks in your beautiful caramel filling. If you notice that happening, quickly reduce the heat (but don’t stop stirring)!
Serving and Storing Millionaire’s Bars
Once the chocolate is set (but not solid), cut the dessert into squares or rectangles to serve. Keep the dessert in the refrigerator, stored in an airtight container, for up to a week.
More Delicious Bars
Millionaire’s Bars
Ingredients
Shortbread
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) unsalted Challenge butter, cold
- 1 ¾ cup (219 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (32 g) cornstarch
- ⅔ cup (150 g) superfine sugar, or caster sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Caramel Filling
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) unsalted Challenge butter
- 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup (119 g) heavy cream
- ½ cup (170.5 g) light corn syrup
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Topping
- 8 ounces (226 g) semisweet chocolate baking bar, broken into pieces
Instructions
Shortbread
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt at low speed until combined (about 5 seconds).
- Cut the cold Challenge butter into ½-inch cubes. Place the butter cubes in a small bowl and toss with ¼ cup of the flour mixture.
- Add the floured butter (with any extra flour) to the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix on low speed until the dough is light yellow in color and small crumbs (about 4 minutes).
- Remove bowl from stand mixer and use your hands to toss the mixture and rub any remaining butter bits into the flour mixture.
- Press the shortbread mixture firmly and evenly into the lined pan, smoothing it with the back of a spoon. Using a fork, pierce dough at 1-inch intervals.
- Bake 35-40 minutes, or until the top and edges are lightly golden brown.
- Remove the shortbread from the oven. While the crust is still hot, press it down with a spatula and set it aside to cool while you prepare the caramel filling.
Caramel Filling
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the Challenge butter.
- Add sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, corn syrup, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla. Stir until combined.
- Continue cooking until the mixture reaches 236°F on a candy thermometer, stirring constantly (about 15-18 minutes).
- Pour over the cooled shortbread crust and spread to an even thickness. (The mixture will be very hot). Let cool completely in the refrigerator, about 1½ hours.
Chocolate Topping
- Add the chocolate pieces to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat the chocolate bits up in 30-second intervals, stirring in between each time, until the chocolate is completely melted with no lumps.
- Spread the melted chocolate over the caramel. Set aside until chocolate is set (about 10 minutes).
- Cut into strips or squares and serve.
Video
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I made these bars and they turned out great…..the only problem is that I can only eat so many lol….Do they freeze well ?
Yes please- all sounds great! Count me in!
I live in NZ. Switched the cornstarch for cornflour and the corn syrup for glucose syrup (found at Countdown) I just made this. If I was to make it again I’d make it in a bigger baking tray. The caramel and base was way too thick for my liking, the tray I used anyways was slightly a bit bigger than the recipe suggested (I’d still go bigger).
Can you double recipe in a 9×13 or are you better off making 2 8×8 pans?
Made In larger pan as to thick for my liking.
This is delish as all your things are.
Thank you,followi.gong time.
I made this as a thank you treat for some colleagues. Everyone loved them. I loved them and made more. The recipe is perfect. They are thick bars, but the recipe makes enough to bake in a 9 x 13 pan instead (adjusting the cook time on the cookie layer), making them easier to shove in your mouth and devour while on the go….
This sounds amazing but it’s a lot of trouble to go to for such a small dish. I would like a recipe that makes a 9×13. Can this recipe be doubled?
It’s definitely some time & effort, but it is worth it. The bars can be cut small and are very rich, so should be on the smaller side. I don’t recommend doubling this recipe as I don’t think it will fit in a 9×13.
My caramel remaind a wiggly goo. Not as set as jello, but a bit more than pudding. What went wrong?
Hi, Colleen! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. The most common reason for caramel not setting is that the caramel did not reach a high enough temperature. Be sure to use a candy thermometer to get the temperature just right. I hope this helps, and have a wonderful day!
i made this and it turned out amazing! i followed the recipe exactly and had great results! the only thing i would change is a little less caramel as it can be a bit overpowering, but other than that fantastic recipe!
I really loved these. Now I must watch and need a diet to go with them. Thank you