Salted caramel bars with cashews have a shortbread cookie base topped with gooey salted caramel and cashews. Easy to prepare and the perfect blend of salty + sweet!
I've come to the realization that I am one of those people who gets fixated on stuff, and can get a little obsessive at times.
I know I wasn't the only twelve year old whose room was plastered with Jonathan Taylor Thomas posters from Teen Beat magazine. Oh, JTT...
I also know I'm not the only person to get fixated on a TV series and power through it on Netflix. {What on Earth am I going to do when we are finished watching Friday Night Lights?!}
Clearly I am also a little obsessed with food! I tend to get fixated on certain ingredients in particular: coffee...kale...strawberries...chocolate...and now: salted caramel. Enter these Cashew Salted Caramel Bars.
Reasons you'll ♡ these salted caramel bars
- they require just 15 minutes of preparation
- they are the perfect blend of sweet & salty
- they're super popular and taste amazing
I have made salted caramel before for these Salted Caramel & Chocolate Espresso Thumbprint Cookies, and they were To. Die. For. Seriously, I don't know why it took me so long to make more salted caramel!
The caramel in those thumbprint cookies was a tad too syrupy, and I wanted to find the best salted caramel to top these cashew salted caramel bars, so I went on a bit of an obsessive mission. I'm not sure how many batches of salted caramel I made, I actually lost track. I tried with corn syrup, without corn syrup, more cream, less cream, less butter, with vanilla...I had lumpy caramel, grainy caramel, liquidy/syrupy caramel, and too firm of caramel.
And you know what? I ended up with something very close to the original recipe {facepalm}.
Although, I learned a LOT of lessons about making caramel. Namely, what NOT to do.
Like: do not make your caramel in a teeny tiny pot. Use a medium-sized, heavy bottomed pot, because when you add the cream and butter, it will bubble up quite a bit. And smelly burning caramel stuck on your stove top is not so fun.
Also: resist the urge to stir your caramel. I just had to get in there and stir things up. Then had bits of caramel stuck on the side of the pot that turned into a big old clumpy mess later. Blerg.
And: maybe don't try to make this while your baby is in his high chair. He will inevitably get grouchy at the exact moment when the sugar begins to caramelize, leaving you with a very important question: screaming baby and perfect caramel? Or happy baby and burnt caramel.
I tried making my caramel without corn syrup, but I actually liked it with a bit of corn syrup. For one thing it helps get things boiling faster. And the resulting texture was a touch softer.
And then, because I guess it's not really much of a dessert to eat the salted caramel by the spoonful {although in my world, that's totally acceptable}, I stirred in some roasted cashews and poured it over a buttery shortbread crust....let it set for a few hours...
...And proceeded to chip away at these cashew salted caramel bars, sliver by sliver. Calories totally don't count when you only take a sliver...you heard that here first. And I'm a scientist, so I tell scientifically accurate truths.
Tips & equipment for salted caramel cashew bars
- for this recipe, you'll need a 9 inch baking pan and an electric hand mixer
- while I recommend storing in the fridge, you'll want to let the bars warm up a touch before serving
- looking for more delicious dessert recipes? Check out these Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Cream Cheese Frosting, this Bourbon Pumpkin Pie with Salted Brown Butter Pecan Streusel, and these Key Lime Pie Sandwich Cookies
Salted Caramel Bars with Cashews
Ingredients
Shortbread Base
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (170 g; softened at room temperature)
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar (48 g)
- 1 ½ cup all purpose flour (187 g; fluffed spooned & leveled)
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
Salted Caramel
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- ⅓ cup heavy cream (or whipping cream 35%)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (42 g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt (plus more for sprinkling)
Toppings
- 1 cup roasted cashews
Instructions
Shortbread Base
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Line a 9X9 inch pan with aluminum foil. Spray bottom and sides and set aside.
- Cream together butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, mix together flour and baking powder. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet for several minutes until it is no longer crumbly and forms a dough ball.
- Using your hands, press the dough into the bottom of the 9X9 pan.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until edges have *just* begun to brown. Allow to cool .
Salted Caramel
- In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Once the mixture becomes liquidy and begins to simmer, do not stir. Allow to simmer for 4 or so minutes, until it turns a dark amber color. {*If it starts to caramelize faster on one side than another, gently swirl the pot to mix}.
- Stir in the butter, and gently pour in the cream, vanilla and salt {careful, it will bubble up and may spit}, stir with a clean spatula. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for another two or so minutes until it thickens slightly.
- Stir in half of the cashews. Pour the caramel/cashew mixture over the cooled shortbread crust. Tilt the pan to get the base completely covered. Scatter additional cashews and sea salt.
- Allow to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature, then an additional hour or two in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
- Shortbread base adapted from Allrecipes
The Food Hunter
Love everything about this recipe
Julie
Made these last night! Surprisingly easy for my first time making caramel. Really delicious!
Denise
I'm so glad you liked the bars, Julie, and I'm very glad the caramel was easy for you to make!
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom
just saw these on Pinterest. . AMAZING!
Denise
Thanks, Alice 🙂 I need to make another batch!
stephanie
These look and sound amazing. Love cashews. On my list to make! Pinning and sharing.
Cheers,
Stephanie
Denise
Thanks, Stephanie! Cashews make everything better, don't they? Hope you like the bars!
Jo Ellen
Did you by chance try the microwave caramel that cooks in 6 min? It's made with sweetened condensed milk? I can't make candy but this recipe turned out great. Thanks
Denise
Hi Jo Ellen! I have never seen those microwave caramels before, but they sound great! I will keep my eyes open for them 🙂
Denise
Alright, good...we are on the same page then!
Denise
What a complement, Jessica! Thanks so much 🙂
Averie @ Averie Cooks
Making caramel can be a pain but these bars certainly look worth any issues you had...so awesome, Denise! Pinned 🙂
Denise
Thanks Averie! Even with all the batches I made it was completely worth it 😉
Julia | Orchard Street Kitchen
I'm happy I discovered your blog, because these bars look absolutely delicious! I love shortbread, salted caramel and cashews and can't wait to try them all together. And I definitely eat my baked goods sliver by sliver...even if its within a span of a few minutes, it doesn't feel as naughty!
Denise
Thanks, Julia! I hope you like the combination. It's dangerous...in a good way 😉
katie
These look to die for! and I like your science! kind of like how you can eat the potato crumbs at the bottom of the bag because we all know those don't have calories either 🙂
Denise
We totally have the same logic! Those potato crumbs definitely don't have calories, I can tell you that with 100% certainty!
Emma
So naughty and decadent! They look fab Denise, and who doesn't lurveee Salted Caramel?!
Denise
Thanks, Emma! Everything is 1000X better with salted caramel, I've decided!
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel
These look amazing! The caramel looks PERFECT. And I like your science.... because I would definitely eat the entire pan. 😉
Denise
Yes! No calories in a sliver, I tell you!
Carrie Pacini
Your caramel bars look amazing. I know my kids would love this. I am thinking for Halloween 🙂
Denise
Oooh, yes, they would be great for Halloween! I guess they have a bit of a 'fall' vibe...but no pumpkin, at least 😛
Thalia @ butter and brioche
these bars look delicious! i love salted caramel when paired with nuts... definitely craving a bar right now. pinned!
Denise
Thanks, Thalia 🙂
Denise
Thanks, Arpita! Salted caramel and cashews go together like two peas in a pod 😉
Krystle(Baking Beauty)
I love the idea of combine caramel with cashews. Almost like a cracker jack combo. These look so decadent and delicious!
Denise
Love cracker jacks...haven't had them in ages! The cracker jack people should try adding a pinch of salt...salted cracker jacks! They would be amazing 🙂
Chrissy
Calories definitely don't count in slivers. I like the idea of adding corn syrup to caramel, but I admit I go with the water/sugar method rather than straight up sugar. I wonder if it'd work with that...anyway, now that you're done with FNL...check out Bones! 9 seasons of greatness 🙂
Denise
Yeah, Chrissy, I like the way you think 😉 We have watched a few seasons of Bones, we'll have to pick it back up!
Helen @ Scrummy Lane
Denise, I had to chuckle a little at your caramel turning out like the original recipe. I've lost count of the number of times I've tried to tweak something and ended up deciding the recipe was like it was for a reason!
I have to say I'm very impressed with your final result, though. I definitely would have been chipping away at this all week, too!
Denise
I pretty much went in a giant circle with this recipe, ha! I guess it's good for learning why certain things are the way they are in a recipe! Thanks, Helen!!
Leah | So, How's It Taste?
Look at that layer of caramel! I am swooning over here! You so described me when you mentioned powering through Netflix. I'm catching up on True Blood and I'm binge-watching like crazy!
Denise
Oh I love True Blood...or loved...up until the last season. I read the books and when they got all crazy and off-book {aka: Lillith} they kind of lost me. If we had True Blood on Netflix Canada I would totally be all over them, even the latest season! Thanks, Leah 🙂
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
You just described my room to a T when I was in high school, Denise! I had JTT, Mark-Paul Gosselar, and Leonardo DiCaprio all over my walls! These bars look like the perfect, caramel treat. Gorgeous pictures!
Denise
Yay, glad I wasn't the only one with JTT posters...and totally remember Leo and Mark-Paul being in all those magazines, too 🙂 Thanks, Gayle!
Kathi @ Deliciously Yum!
Beautiful pics, Denise! That caramel layer is simply to die for!!! Also, you've got excellent taste in TV shows - Tim Riggins for life, yo ;). I can only imagine what a great night a couple of these bars while watching an episode or an entire season would make. Pinned!
Denise
I am literally eating these bars while watching Friday Night Lights right now! Ha, Tim Riggins...love him {if only he wasn't such a depressing character though}
Denise
Ha, that's a great way to make new friends, Shelley 🙂
Geraldine | Green Valley Kitchen
Yum, these look good! I love caramel and cashews so will be definitely trying this. Thanks for the detailed instructions - love it when you know what NOT to do. Thanks, Denise.
Denise
Thanks Geraldine! The only way I learn is by doing it the wrong way...lots of times 🙂