Salted Caramel Shortbread Bites
This is my homemade version of a Twix bar. It came together with a happy mistake I made while preparing a batch of my Sea Salt Caramels. I neglected to cook the caramel long enough so it never set, leaving me with more of a caramel sauce. It is delicious and I immediately thought about all the ice cream I was going to put this on. I had just finished making dozens of chocolate covered pretzels for a Mother’s Day event and had leftover melted chocolate, so I combined the two. One of my favorite cookies is a shortbread and Walker makes a near perfect version, so the homemade Twix was born.
Tips:
I prefer the bite-size pieces, since they are easier to dunk in chocolate and the perfect mouthful, but you can leave the cookie whole and make a proper Twix bar size.
You can use any shape for this recipe. They have a round cookie that would be cute too.
I love sprinkles on desserts, but freeze-dried fruit or flowers would be really pretty on this cookie too.
You will not use all of the caramel sauce. Place the remaining caramel sauce in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
Salted Caramel Shortbread Bites
Makes 24 bites
PREP 10 minutes
COOK 20 minutes
SEA SALT CARAMEL SAUCE
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon fine sea salt like Malden
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
COOKIE
1 box of Walker Shortbread Fingers
12 oz. melting white chocolate
Sprinkles of your choice
INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium saucepan combine the sugar, water and corn syrup over a medium-high heat. Do not stir the mixture, but rather swirl the pan as the sugar begins to get darker. Boil the mixture until you reach a golden brown color. A candy thermometer is really handy here since the caramel gets very dark and you may second guess yourself, thinking it is burning. You want the sugar to reach 285 degrees F.
While the sugar is boiling bring the cream, salt and butter to a simmer in a small saucepan. Once the mixture begins to simmer, turn off the heat and set aside until you are ready to add it to caramel.
Slowly add the cream mixture to the caramel. IT WILL BUBBLE A LOT, so be careful. Stir in the vanilla.
Carefully pour the caramel into a container and place it, uncovered in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or longer to cool and firm up a bit.
Make the Shortbread Bites: Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Cut each shortbread cookie into thirds with a chef knife.
Use an offset spatula or spoon to dollop some caramel sauce on top of each piece of shortbread. Place the bites on the baking sheet and place the whole tray in the freezer for 20 minutes to allow the caramel is harden a bit.
Melt the chocolate in a small glass bowl, careful to not burn it.
Using a fork, dip each shortbread bite into the melted chocolate, tapping the fork on the side of the bowl allowing extra chocolate to fall back into the bowl.
Place the bite on the baking sheet and immediately top with sprinkles, since these will harden quickly.
Continue with all the bites, then store the sheet in the refrigerator to make sure all the bites have hardened.
Once the chocolate has set they are ready to enjoy. I like to place them in mini cupcake liners, which hides any messy spots on the shortbread bites and helps keep hands mess free. Enjoy!