This Millionaire’s Shortbread is the perfect trifecta: Sweet simple, crisp shortbread, rich chewy, homemade caramel, and thick dark chocolate ganache. ย Sprinkle everything off with a scattering of sea salt and you have a decadently rich treatย that lives up to every penny of its lucrative name.
I don’t think (and I’m sure they’ll correct me if I’m wrong) I’ve ever given my siblings anything really bad to eat.
Sometimes they eat my recipe fails, but only the most edible ones (cupcakes that are just slightly too dense, cookies that are a tad too crumbly), and I never did anything as treacherous as trying to pass off bean brownies for regular brownies, which one of my sisters actually did do to me one time ย (a deception I’ll never forgive).
So it’s slightly insulting to me that, when presented with any dessert that isn’t an obvious cake, cookie, or cupcake, they proceed with severe trepidation. ย Forks hoveringย nervously over their plates, eyes narrowed, skeptical, seeming to suggest — ย It could be an anthrax pie, how can we be sure it’s not?ย So much for gratitude.
But after explaining for the fourth time to my fourth sibling what Millionaire’s shortbread evenย isย (“It’s like a fancy, homemade, gourmet twix bar”)ย not a single one seemed the least bit disappointed when they took their first bite.
There’s nothing to be disappointed about when it comes to Millionaire’s shortbread. ย This is a recipe I’ve been wanting to try my hand at for a while now and after a lot of running around in the kitchen I’m very happy to share it with you.
I don’t think I need to reiterate the fact that it’s a rich dessert — in fact I suggested to my sisters and brother that they cut each giant square into quarters, because while big squares look pretty in these pictures, they’re so rich that it’s a challenge to actually eat a whole one.
The shortbread (a faux shortbread, more on that below) is slightly sweetened but serves as the crispy vehicle to transport chewy caramel and a blanket of chocolate ganache. ย To make things even more decadent, it’s all topped off with a sprinkle of sea salt. ย It’s not called Millionaire’s shortbread for nothing!
As attaining millionaire status can change a person, so it has changed our “shortbread” cookie crust here. ย Surprise, it’s not a “true” shortbread. ย When I decided to give this classic recipe my own spin, this is one of the first changes I made.
Classic shortbread is made of only three ingredients — butter, flour, and sugar, but this is Millionaire’s shortbread so we’re making sure it lives up to its name.
An egg yolk, some brown sugar, and vanilla extract all make this cookie crust extra flavorful, and slightly softer than standard shortbread as well. ย Because of the added ingredients, your finished millionaire’s shortbread will cut more easily than standard shortbread (which usually breaks unevenly with jagged edges and scatters crumbs everywhere) but is still crisp and snappy beneath the soft chocolate and chewy caramel.
Andi liked the cookie layer so much she asked me to make her a pan of just that alone, nothing else.
I really wish that I could photograph the processes for these multi-step recipes — a picture of how the crumbled cookie dough should look, the caramel at its peak just before pouring it over the shortbread, the glossy chocolate ganache, etc… but since I only have two days of the week to shoot 3-4 recipes, I usually have to prepare the food Friday night, and there’s no light to take decent pictures then.
To make up for this, I try to include very detailed descriptions in the recipe, and you can always shoot me an e-mail, leave a comment, or drop by my Facebook page if you have any questions.
That being said, I don’t really think you’ll have any problem with this recipe, the trickiest part is the caramel and it doesn’t even require a candy thermometer!
I hope you enjoy this Millionaire’s shortbread as much as my siblings ultimately did!
Millionaire's Shortbread
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
- โ cup (70 g) sugar
- โ cup (70 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg yolk
- ยพ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- 2 ยผ cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
Caramel
- 2 14-oz cans (792 g) sweetened condensed milk
- 14 Tablespoons (198 g) unsalted butter cut into Tablespoon-sized pieces
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar packed
- โ cup (80 ml) light corn syrup
- ยพ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Ganache
- 2 cups (340 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- ยฝ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
- sea salt for sprinkling
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (177C) and line a 13x9 baking pan with parchment paper.
- Using an electric mixer, beat butter until well creamed.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
- Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds.โ cup (70 g) sugar, โ cup (70 g) light brown sugar, packed
- Add egg yolk and vanilla extract and stir well, pausing to scrape down the sides and mixing until ingredients are well-combined.1 large egg yolk, ยพ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add flour, gradually (about ยฝ cup at a time), pausing to scrape down sides of bowl. Halfway through the addition of the flour, sprinkle in the salt with the beater still running. Don't over-beat the dough, you want it to be slightly crumbly to make it easier to press into the pan.ยฝ teaspoon salt, 2 ยผ cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
- Drop dough over prepared pan and gently, firmly, evenly, press dough into the bottom of the pan. To make it easier, I usually lay a piece of wax paper over the dough and use the palm of my hand to smooth the surface (and then discard wax paper).
- Bake on 350F (177C) for 20-25 minutes -- edges should be lightly golden brown.
- Allow to cool while you prepare your caramel topping.
Caramel
- Combine condensed milk, butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.2 14-oz cans (792 g) sweetened condensed milk, 14 Tablespoons (198 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, โ cup (80 ml) light corn syrup, ยพ teaspoon salt
- Stir frequently until butter is melted and ingredients are well-combined. Continue to stir constantly until mixture begins to boil (this could take several minutes, but you don't need to increase the heat).
- Once mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer (slowly bubbling), still stirring constantly. ย Continue to stir 10-15 minutes until mixture turns a rich caramel color and has thickened (should begin pulling away from the sides of the pot as you stir). If using a candy thermometer, the caramel should reach 225F (107C)
- Remove from heat and immediately stir in the vanilla extract.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour evenly over prepared shortbread, use a knife to spread evenly if needed.
- Allow to cool at room temperature for several hours or in the refrigerator for 1 hour before topping with chocolate.
Chocolate Topping
- Combine chocolate chips and heavy cream in a small saucepan over low heat. ยยฝ cup (120 ml) heavy cream, 2 cups (340 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- Stir frequently until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
- Remove from heat and allow chocolate to cool just slightly for about 5 minutes, and then evenly spread over prepared caramel layer. ย Wait several minutes/until chocolate begins to set and then sprinkle with sea salt. ยsea salt for sprinkling
- Allow chocolate to harden (I recommend placing in refrigerator for about 30 minutes -- my family prefers these treats refrigerated anyway) before cutting and serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
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Holly Rain
Can you freeze them
Teresa
I am also interested to know if these can be frozen….? Anyone have any idea?
Sam
Hi Teresa! Unfortunately I haven’t tried it myself to be sure, but I don’t think it would be a problem to freeze them.
Linda
Look delicious. Any suggestions on making Gluten Free?
Thanks
Sam
Hi Linda! Unfortunately I’m not familiar with gluten free baking so I can’t be of much help with that, I’m sorry!
Erin
Have you tried these with GF flour?
Sam
I have not so I can’t be sure how they would turn out that way, sorry!
Angelika
OMG! I made them today and they are soooo delicious. So yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad that you enjoyed! Thanks for letting me know how they turned out for you, Angelika!! ๐
Judy
I made these gluten free by using 1 cup almond flour, and 1 1/4 cup all purpose gluten free flour. No one knew! YUM!
Sam
Yay! Glad everyone enjoyed, and happy to know that they work gluten free, too!! ๐
Jen
These cut much easier than shortbread I made in the past, five stars, the only millionaire bars I’ll ever make again!!! I’m making them again for a friend this weekend, can’t stop!!
Sam
I’m so glad that you like them, Jen! I knew I wasn’t the only one who wanted easier to cut shortbread! ๐
Nora
Hi Sam!! I tried your recipe yesterday and it’s so f***ing good!!!! Absolutely easy to follow. I used Mocca Chocolate for the Ganache and it works perfectly with the caramel layer. Not too sweet.
Happy Sunday!!
Sam
Hi Nora! I’m so SO happy to hear that you loved the recipe so much, and Mocca chocolate sounds PERFECT for the ganache! Thanks so much for coming back and commenting how these turned out for you!! ๐
Henrik
Thank God I caught in time, I’m Swedish so I was following the metrics but 1 teaspoon is 5 ml, I was about to dump 125ml (25 TEASPOONS) of vanilla extract into the chocolate lol.
Sam
Omg good catch! The 120ml is supposed to be for the heavy cream, I corrected that!!
Jeannie
I saw these on Instagram and HAD to try them. I’m so glad that I did! They took a bit of time to make with the waiting for the caramel and chocolate to cool, but it was worth every second, these are incredible!!!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Jeannie! Thank you for commenting and letting me know how they turned out for you! ๐
olga
Es la primera vez que visito tรบ blog y aquรญ seguirรฉ ….Hmmmm que rico todo lo que compartes .Muchas gracias .
Sam
I am glad you found my blog, thank you for visiting, Olga! ๐
Hira
One word: yum! These look amazing, Sam. I will definitely make these soon, and let you know how they turn out. ๐
Sam
Thank you, Hira!! ๐
Sues
I’ve had Millionaire’s Shortbread on my must-make list forever and yours looks SO delicious!! Twix is my fave candy bar, so this is dreamy to me. Your siblings are lucky!!
Sam
Thank you so much, Sues!
Marsha | Marsha's Baking Addiction
I LOVE millionaires shortbread! I just think the cookie, caramel, and chocolate pair perfectly together! These look so good, Sam!
Sam
It is the PERFECT combination, isn’t it! Thanks so much, Marsha! ๐
Mikaru86
Those look amazing. I’ll definitely have to try those soon.
Sam
I think you will like them! Definitely let me know how they turn out for you!! ๐
Lisa
I’m speechless! These look too amazing to even eat! It’s been years since I’ve had Millionaire bars but I will be trying your recipe out this weekend!
Sam
I hope you love them, Lisa!! ๐