Millionaires Shortbread Bars

Millionaires Shortbread. My first thought was that I couldn't afford to make something with that name ... but it turns out they're just made with the usual suspects that I always have on hand. Butter, Sugar, Chocolate, and so forth. They're made with a simple shortbread dough, with homemade caramel Dulce De Leche on top of it, and then another layer of bittersweet chocolate on top of that. Sounded like something I could get into.

Line a 9 x 9 inch pan with aluminum foil so edges are sticking over on all sides. Grease the pan with butter or non-stick spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

3/4 cup of butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups of all purpose flour

Beat the butter and sugar until it's fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour and mix until the dough just comes together. Press into the bottom of your prepared pan, and make several pricks with a fork. Bake for 20 minutes.



Caramelized Milk Layer, also called Dulce De Leche.
Empty 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk into a large microwave safe bowl. I used a very large Pyrex mixing bowl. It will overflow in anything smaller than a large bowl.

Microwave on medium power for two minutes.

Remove from the microwave and stir with a wire whisk. Be very careful; the mixture and bowl will get very hot! Once it gets hot putting in the cool whisk may make it boil up a bit, so use a pot holder

Microwave on medium power for another two minutes. Remove and whisk again

Microwave on medium-low power for 16-24 minutes or until it turns thick and caramel color, stirring every two minutes.

Chocolate topping

6 ounces of good quality bittersweet chocolate
1 teaspoon of butter

Melt them together and then pour the chocolate over the caramel layer.

Let the chocolate set before cutting with a sharp knife.

Here's the finished product, with it's rich ingredients and fancy name.