These salted caramel butter bars are sweet, salty, and dangerously good. With a buttery shortbread crust and creamy caramel layer, they melt-in-your-mouth with a soft and chewy texture!

A stack of salted caramel butter bars on the counter with unwrapped caramel candy nearby.

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Salted Caramel Bars

Salted caramel butter bars are buttery like my ooey gooey butter cake with a caramel layer like oatmeal carmelitas recipe and a shortbread cookie crust. It’s worth the amount of butter and sugar in every bite! 

I love making these bars after Halloween when there’s always an opened bag of caramel candies in the pantry. When I don’t have caramel candy on hand, a quick salted caramel sauce works perfectly too.

  • Texture and flavor. They’re made with a sweet and salty chewy caramel filling sandwiched between a crispy and melt-in-your-mouth buttery shortbread.
  • Easy to make. With just 30 minutes of prep time, most of which is baking the crust, these salted caramel bars are ready in just over 1 hour.

 Ingredients Needed

Caramel butter bar ingredients including unwrapped caramel candy, butter, flour, cream, sugar, powdered sugar and vanilla on the counter.

See full printable recipe below.

  • Butter: I like to use salted butter for the shortbread crust to balance out the amount of sugar. Remember to soften butter ahead of time to room temperature .
  • Two kinds of sugar: Both granulated and powdered sugar are used to make the crust. Powdered sugar helps it to bind and adds a slightly chewy, melty texture and the granulated white sugar adds the sweetness.
  • All-purpose flour: The base of the crust and topping, this type of flour keeps its structure and is perfect for a crumbly texture.
  • Caramel filling: Soft and chewy caramel candy, heavy cream and vanilla make a quick and easy caramel sauce.

How to Make Salted Caramel Butter Bars

Cream room temperature butter and both sugars in a mixer, add vanilla then flour until a smooth soft dough forms.

Press one-third of the dough into bottom of baking dish and bake for 20 minutes until pale golden brown. Cool bottom crust for 15 minutes.

Buttery shortbread crust in a baking dish for caramel butter bars.

Combine caramels and milk (or heavy cream) in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute and stir until smooth. Add vanilla then pour overtop cooled crust.

Sprinkle with flaked sea salt (or coarse sea salt) then break up remaining chilled dough into crumbles and drop on top of the caramel layer. 

Salted caramel over a shortbread crust with a buttery shortbread topping covering some of the top.

Transfer the baking pan to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove bars from the oven and allow it to cool and set completely.

This makes 24 bars, but that all depends on how big or small you slice yours. Enjoy!

Close-up of salted caramel butter bars showing the crumbly shortbread topping and creamy caramel filling with flaky sea salt in the background.

Tips for Success

  • Grease your dish well. Even though there’s plenty of butter in the dough, the sugar in the bars can cause sticking. Use cooking spray so the bars release easily and hold their shape.
  • Measure flour correctly. Too much flour will make the bars dry or dense. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife instead of scooping.
  • Don’t overmix. Mix the dough just until combined to avoid a tough, heavy texture once baked.
  • Helpful tools. A stand mixer with the paddle attachment makes the dough easy to prepare, but an electric hand mixer and a large bowl work too. For melting the caramels, you can use either the microwave or a double boiler.
Stack of salted caramel butter bars with a buttery shortbread crust and gooey caramel layer, with caramel candies scattered on the side.

More recipes with caramel I love include homemade toffee, caramel apple pie bars or this twix cookies recipe, next!

More Caramel Recipes

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See all
Stacked caramel butter bars on counter.

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

5 from 39 votes
Recipe by: Jamielyn Nye
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 49 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 24
These salted caramel butter bars are sweet, salty, and dangerously good. With a buttery shortbread crust and creamy caramel layer, they melt-in-your-mouth with a soft and chewy texture!
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Video

Ingredients 

Crust

  • 1 ½ cups salted butter , at room temperature
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour

Filling

  • 14 ounces caramel candies , unwrapped (about 50 pieces)
  • ⅓ cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Flake sea salt

Instructions

Crust

  • Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the 1 1/2 cups butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes. Mix in the 1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla until combined. Turn the mixer to low and mix in the flour, until a soft dough forms.
  • Press 1/2 of the dough evenly into the bottom of the baking dish. Wrap the remaining dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.
  • Bake the pressed dough for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool 15 minutes.

Filling

  • In a microwave-safe bowl, add unwrapped 50 caramel candies and 1/3 cup heavy cream. Microwave on high 1 minute. Remove and stir until smooth. If not completely melted, microwave on high for 30 seconds, stirring between each, until smooth. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
  • Pour the caramel evenly over the crust, and sprinkle with flake sea salt.
  • Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble evenly over the top of the caramel.
  • Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the topping is lightly golden brown.
  • Let cool completely before cutting into 24 squares.

Last step: Please leave a comment and rating after you make the recipe.

Notes

Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. 
Freezing: The bars can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 273kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.5g, Cholesterol: 32mg, Sodium: 134mg, Potassium: 61mg, Fiber: 0.4g, Sugar: 23g, Vitamin A: 367IU, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 33mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.

Recipe FAQs

Can I use store-bought caramel sauce instead of melting caramels?

Yes, just make sure it’s a thick caramel sauce. Thin ones can seep into the crust and make the bars soggy.

How to serve salted caramel butter bars?

A scoop of vanilla ice cream with an extra drizzle of caramel on top!

Can I use unsalted butter instead of salted?

Yes, but add a small pinch of salt to the dough so you don’t lose that sweet and salty flavor balance.

Do these need to be refrigerated?

No, but you can keep them chilled in the fridge if you would like. Whether you store them at room temperature or in the fridge, store in an airtight container so they stay fresh.

Can I freeze them?

Wrap them individually in plastic wrap so you can thaw only what you need. You can also separate them by using parchment paper and storing them in a freezer-friendly bag. They’ll keep frozen for up to 3 months.