Billionaire's Shortbread

Posted By Jenn Iverson

This is my recipe from the cookie swap that I never got around to submitting until now.  It is a conglomeration of many recipes, created in hopes of recreating an amazing bar I had at a Starbucks in London 10 years earlier.  I think these bars measure up -- they fulfilled my dreams anyway.  But the recipe is pretty intense.

Billionaire’s Shortbread

Shortbread Layer:

3 sticks butter, softened

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

¾ tsp. salt

2 cups chopped pecans, optional

Caramel Layer:

4 cups sugar

2 cups corn syrup

4 sticks butter

1 cup cream

1 cup evaporated milk

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Chocolate topping:

12 oz. good quality white chocolate (I used Ghiradelli bars)

½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 tsp. shortening

Shortbread Layer:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a large jellyroll pan with cooking spray.  Coat with flour, tapping off excess.  Place flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.  Mix in butter with pastry blender or knife until mixture resembles peas.  Press shortbread mixture into prepared pan and bake 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely.  Sprinkle with chopped pecans, if desired.

Caramel Layer:

In a large, heavy pot, melt butter partially in pan, then add sugar and corn syrup and cook on medium heat while it boils gently until mixture is light and thick and beige in color, about 15-20 minutes.  Stir often with wooden spoon.  Meanwhile, mix cream and evaporated milk.  Pour mixture into the pot SLOWLY so boiling doesn’t stop, and stir CONSTANTLY.  Cook on medium heat until 230-235 degrees, using a candy thermometer.  At this point, test the caramel using the ice water test.  Pour a small amount of caramel into ice water and gather into a ball with your fingers.  Taste.  If the caramel is starting to get a chewy texture, it is done.  If it’s not yet chewy, keep repeating the ice water test every few minutes until it is chewy.  For these bars I like to stop cooking right when it starts to get chewy.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  Pour immediately over shortbread layer in jellyroll pan.  I actually think it’s better to NOT pour the entire batch of caramel in, because it makes the bars too thick.  I reserve about a cup of the caramel and use it for something else (apple dip, hot chocolate spoons, just eating).  Cool or refrigerate until caramel layer is firm enough to spread with chocolate.

Chocolate layer:

Break white chocolate bars into small pieces in a glass bowl.  Microwave at 50% power for one minute.  Stir.  Continue to microwave at 50% power  for 30-second intervals, stirring in between until smooth.  Pour and spread evenly over caramel layer.  In another glass bowl, microwave semisweet chips and shortening at 50% power for 30-second intervals, stirring in between until smooth.  Transfer to a Ziploc bag.  Trim a small corner off the bag.  Drizzle chocolate over white chocolate in diagonal criss-cross pattern.  Refrigerate just until chocolate layer is hard to the touch.

Cut bars into small pieces, and prepare to discover why I would have the audacity to call these Billionaire Shortbread Bars!  Makes 40-60 bars.