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Chocolate Crunch Bars with Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Categories baking, chocolate, cookies, desserts, food, menu, recipes, sauces

Last month I participated in Bakin’ Friends. This month I put on my baking pants again to make these Chocolate Crunch Bars with Bourbon Caramel Sauce.

Chocolate Crunch Bars with Bourbon Caramel Sauce

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Pictures Updated August 2015

I had never made caramel from scratch. And to be honest it took me a couple of attempts. The first time it was too runny. The second time the consistency was great but the flavor was not what I was looking for. Luckily third times the charm!

Bourbon Caramel Sauce

The shortbread on these bars are like my Twix Bars but I decided to use brown sugar this time. The mix of semi-melted chocolate chips with the toffee crunch and let’s not forget the caramel make these bars decadent! Since caramel is John’s favorite I knew adding a splash of bourbon would just give it just one more layer of flavor. The best part is you can serve them warm and a la mode or cold right from the fridge with a huge glass of milk.

Chocolate Crunch Bars with Bourbon Caramel Sauce

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Chocolate Crunch Bars with Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup toffee bits
  • *Shortbread
  • 1 stick butter cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • *Bourbon Caramel
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Bourbon

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all shortbread ingredients in food processor and pulse a few times until you get a crumb like mixture.
  • Line 8 x 8 pan with foil (this helps you pull the bars out easily at the end). Butter the bottom and sides of foil/pan. Pour shortbread mixture into pan and press down to form a layer on the bottom. Bake for 12 minutes. Let shortbread cool for about 15 minutes.
  • Add chocolate chips and toffee bits to form another layer on top of shortbread crust. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a towel in the fridge.
  • While cooling, make the caramel. Mix brown sugar, cream and butter over medium low heat. While cooking whisk gently for 5-7 minutes or until thick. Add in vanilla and whiskey. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
  • Turn off heat and cool completely.
  • Drizzle caramel on bars. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Serve warm for a softer gooey bar with ice cream or cold for more of a hard crunch bar.

 

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