Million Dollar Bars are made from layers of shortbread, caramel, and chocolate — and they might remind you of a Twix Bar. They’re super decadent and ridiculously easy to make with a few simple ingredients.
WHAT IS A MILLION DOLLAR BAR?
Million Dollar Bars go by many names: Millionaire’s Shortbread, Chocolate Caramel Shortbread, Thousand Dollar Bars, and homemade Twix Bars … just to name a few.
But have you ever wondered where Million Dollar Bars came from? The story goes that Million Dollar Bars are an adaptation of a 12th century Scottish shortbread recipe that just got more and more decadent as the years went by.
It’s thought that caramel came along in the 1950s and chocolate in the 1980s. Which is shortly after the Twix bar came to the US.
Coincidence? I think not.
As for the name “millionaire,” it likely came from Scotland as an indication of just how decadent they are.
If you like this old fashioned bar recipe, you’ll love my Hello Dolly Bars and Coconut Dream Bars.
YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE THESE
Million Dollar Bars are so easy and impressive, and perfect for the holidays, potlucks, baby showers, or just coffee with friends.
Fast and easy. This recipe is filled with shortcuts that make putting these Million Dollar Bars together a snap.
Rich and decadent. Buttery shortbread + chewy caramel + rich chocolate; this is the formula for deliciousness.
Impressive. There’s something about layers that just makes these cookie bars look like, well, a million bucks.
Like a buttery Twix bar. If you’re on team Caramel Twix candy bars (sorry Peanut Butter Twix), these will remind you of your favorite candy bar, but butterier.
INGREDIENTS
The ingredients in this recipe are simple and putting them together is a piece of cake.
Shortbread cookie crumbs. The shortbread layer is super easy to make by grinding up store-bought shortbread cookies.
I used 1 full package of Keebler Sandies Classic Shortbread cookies, which measured out to about 2 ½ cups of crumbs.
Butter. Butter helps hold the crust together and give even more rich flavor to the shortbread crust.
Sugar. The sugar is important as a binding agent in the crust. As it bakes, it melts, then firms as it cools, and helps hold the crust together.
Caramel bits. Millionaire Bar recipes often call for making homemade caramel sauce, with a mixture of sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, light corn syrup, butter, heavy cream — and a candy thermometer. No need.
All you need are handy caramel bits. If you can’t find them in the baking aisle, check the candy aisle. You can also order them from Amazon.
Milk. You need just a little bit of milk or almond milk to melt the caramel.
Milk chocolate. I’m usually a die-hard dark chocolate lover, but this time, I had to go with a milk chocolate coating so I could get these as close to a Twix bar as possible.
Shortening. I prefer melting chocolate with shortening because once the chocolate cools, it won’t melt in your hands as quickly as coconut oil does.
Flaky sea salt. All this sweetness needs a little relief. Flaky sea salt adds the perfect saltines and a little crunch.
VARIATIONS
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