This Millionaire’s Shortbread is the perfect trifecta: Sweet simple, crisp shortbread, rich chewy, homemade caramel, and thick dark chocolate ganache. Sprinkle everything off with a scattering of sea salt and you have a decadently rich treat 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 (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. Forks hovering nervously over their plates, eyes narrowed, skeptical, seeming to suggest — It could be an anthrax pie, how can we be sure it’s not? So much for gratitude.
But after explaining for the fourth time to my fourth sibling what Millionaire’s shortbread even is (“It’s like a fancy, homemade, gourmet twix bar”) 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. 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. To make things even more decadent, it’s all topped off with a sprinkle of sea salt. 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. Surprise, it’s not a “true” shortbread. 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. 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
- ⅓ cup (70 g) sugar
- ⅓ cup (70 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ 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
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) light corn syrup
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Ganache
- 2 cups (340 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ 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.⅓ cup (70 g) sugar, ⅓ 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, ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add flour, gradually (about ½ 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.½ teaspoon salt, 2 ¼ 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, ⅓ cup (80 ml) light corn syrup, ¾ 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. 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.½ 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. Wait several minutes/until chocolate begins to set and then sprinkle with sea salt.sea 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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Josephine Bauer
This recipe is delicious! The only thing that didn’t work was when everthing was assembled i was cutting into bars and the carmel layer was separating from the chocolate layer, but GREAT recipe!
Jennifer Gibson
Can you use a 9 x 9 pan?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Jennifer! You will probably want to cut the recipe in half for that size pan.
Kelsey
Love these and plan to make again for Xmas, but I think I’ll have to make them ahead due to timing. Any suggestions on storage? Normally I’d freeze or refrigerate things, but I’m worried about the top blooming.
Sam
Hi Kelsey! They will be good at room temperature in an air tight container for 3-5 days. I haven’t personally frozen it. I would wrap it tightly before freezing. To reduce the risk of blooming I would thaw it (covered) in the refrigerator for several hours or even over night before bringing to room temperature. While it could bloom, I think it’s unlikely. 🙂
Lindsey
These were incredible, everyone loved them! Thank you
Pat Ellis
Over the top delicious, but I did have a problem with the butter separating out from the caramel mixture. I had heated the ingredients very slowly with constant stirring, so not sure why this happened. . I was able to save it by mixing in a little cornstarch slurry, and then also stirring vigorously with no or very little heat until the butter reabsorbed. Do you think an extra heavy pan would help prevent this?
Sam
Hi Pat! I’m glad you enjoyed it! A heavy bottom pan does help heat things more evenly which could help keep the butter from separating.
Nicole Tedrow
The butter separation happened to me also. I made 2 batches and the first one turned out perfectly. I did everything the same on the second batch and the butter separated. I took your cornstarch tip and it fixed it. Thank you!
Cindy
This looks great but I won’t have time for the prep as I’m fixing a meal also. I hate to freeze these beautiful cookies… but will they freeze well?
Sam
Hi Cindy! These should freeze without any issues. 🙂
Mike
Sam,
I made this recipe for the first time and everyone loved it. I was very worried about my caramel because I obviously heated it a little quickly because I was getting separation. I was able to rescue it by turning the heat down and really stirring the caramel very fast. It came back together and the bars came out great. That one was on me…. I wasn’t patient enough.
Sam
Great job saving it, Mike! I’m so glad you enjoyed the bars. 🙂
Vicki Diane Vandevelde
can i use this caramelfor filling cupcakes?
Sam
Hi Vicki! That should work. It’s a bit thick so it may come out in kind of a lump when you bite into it. You may want to make it slightly less thick. 🙂
Dee Dee
Can this be made with gluten-free flour? If so, what type would you recommend?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Dee Dee! We haven’t tried it, but we suspect a gluten free 1:1 flour would work just fine here. Let us know how it goes for you!
Connie Myrick
these look amazing! I wanted to know if I already have caramels that I made earlier, can I melt them down and use them in this recipe instead of making new caramel? if so, how do I do that.
thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Connie! They should work. You will want to just melt them and pour them over the prepared shortbread like we do with the homemade version. Enjoy!
Connie S. Myrick
thank you! would you add cream to the caramel to heat it up? it is homemade as well just already set in pieces. thank you for your response.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
It’s hard to say. If it’s not thinning out, you could always add a splash!
Hannah
These sound delicious and I can’t wait to try them! An odd question: can these be shipped?
Thank you so much for all you do 🙂
Sam
Hi Hannah! I don’t typically ship baked goods, but I would be concerned that the chocolate and caramel would melt in any bit of heat.
Sweettooth
I end up with a puddle of butter floating on the top of caramel, what am I doing wrong?
Sam
This usually happens if the caramel is heated on too high of a heat or too quickly 🙁
Honey
Can the caramel be made in advance and melted slightly to pour over crust?
Sam
I generally don’t recommend it as reheating it needs to be done very carefully and slowly and just be aware that it’s prone to separating when reheated. Just a heads-up!
Anna
I got up early this morning and made these, then when I got on Instagram, I saw you had posted the recipe today! We must have been on the same wavelength😁😁
It’s the second time I’ve made these, and they’re still great. I’m going to take half of them to work tomorrow for a treat for my friends. Thanks for the recipe!
Erin
Hello. Could I substitute carnation condensed milk for heavy cream in the chocolate layer? That substitution works well for cream pies but wasn’t sure if it would work here. Thanks
Sam
Hi Erin! I have never tried it, but I think it could work. Let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂