Lovely caramel bars, not overly sweet, they are just right.
With every bar cookie, the same standard applies, for neatly sliced bar
cookies, chill before removing the entire bar from the baking pan before you slice.
Parchment paper not only saves time scrubbing the baking pan, the overhangs
make it easy to remove the bar intact. I didn’t chill these, I wasn’t preparing
them for company, I waited until the bar cooled down to room temperature. I had
a hard time melting the caramels, I bought them last December for a Christmas
cookie that never happened and by now, they were rock hard. I think if I melted
them in a double boiler it would have been an easier task.
Caramel Walnut Bars
2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 + 1/4 cup cold butter
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
24 caramels
1 can sweetened condensed milk [not light]
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving overhangs [for easy grasping] on the long sides of the pan.
- Place the flour and the brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and whisk.
- Rub 1/2 cup of cold butter into the flour mixture by hand or pulse it in the food processor a few times until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
- Add the egg and mix it into the crumb mixture throughout.
- Add the walnuts and mix to combine.
- Take out 2 cups from the crumb mixture and set it aside for later use.
- Press the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile remove the wrappers from the caramels.
- In a heavy saucepan, over low heat, or in the top of a double boiler melt the caramels with the sweetened condensed milk and the remaining 1/4 cup of butter.
- Pour the caramel mixture over the prepared crust.
- Top the caramel layer with the reserved crumb mixture.
- Bake the bar for 20 minutes or until bubbly.
- Cool and cut into bars.
