A Christmassy Salted Caramel Millionaire Shortbread

This post for Salted Caramel Millionaire Shortbread was firstly published on the 13th December 2020.

Millionaire Shortbread has been a staple at my house since I could ever remember. Coming from an Irish-Italian household, Christmas has always had a mixture of traditions. And of course, we were all happy to celebrate them. I can still remember how my grandparents’ house smelled over the Christmas period and how many fond amazing memories we have made over food. After all, that is why Christmas is so exciting and it should revolve around great food and family time.

As a result of having mixed traditions, we had it all on the table. It ranged from tasty lasagne or a good plate of pasta with homemade Bolognese sauce to a roast of Game, vegetables and a side of Brussels Sprouts. But when it came to desserts, that’s where the variety started to be: we had the Traditional Pandoro or Panettone – if not both since not everyone is a fan of candied fruits. But we also had Christmas Pudding, which my grandma used to make well ahead and had it LOADED with whisky. “Otherwise it won’t flame properly” was the best excuse she could come up with. Cheeky Grandma!

Aren’t they all cheeky, the grandmas? With their secret recipes, and their secret stash of alcohol. Or chocolate. Or both, if it came to my grandma! This recipe is a testament to how much I have learnt from her, and I hope you cherish your grandma as much as you can. Now back to the recipe

The one food we all agreed on and there never seemed to be enough of was her Salted Caramel Millionaire Shortbread. Gosh, it was oh so good. I remember the gooey caramel oozing out, as us children always had a first taste for assisting the bake. Or even the mouth melting shortbread alone, which I have NEVER ever been able to recreate. We all know how difficult it is to recreate recipes from our grandmas. And when it comes to their secrets, it’s very rare they give it up.

The recipe I want to share with you it is not a family recipe unfortunately, that has gone lost with my grandmother’s passing.

But rest assured this is as tasty and easy to make as hers was! What I found while making these Salted Caramel Millionaire Shortbread is that they are really quick to prepare, but also to assemble and they are so scrumptious! Plus you can add your own twist to them and they will be still easily made and delicious.

What is Millionaire Shortbread?

You probably know it already, but in case you don’t, here it goes. Millionaire shortbread, also known as caramel square or slice in some areas of the UK, is a bake composed of layers of buttery shortbread, caramel and chocolate. The topping is generally a milk chocolate melt, and the variations in this dessert are too many to even be able to recall all of them.

Fun facts about the millionaire shortbread? You’ll be able to read their story below but considering this is a traditional dessert where we live. And, when in Scotland, it is often served to the first visitor to a house on New Year’s Day. I will, from now on, make sure I am visiting random houses in Scotland at the crack of the morning, making sure I am the first visitor of that house. And the many more after that. Crazy idea, right?

But, why are they called Millionaire Shortbreads?

Well, to understand why and how they came to us, we need to travel back to Elizabethian-Era Scotland, where the base of our tasty Millionaires, the shortbread, was born. And you want to know a fun crazy fact? The filling and chocolate layers were not added until the 19th century! Talk about a dessert that needed time to be built. Oh, the jokes are finishing right about now, I can promise. It’s hard to resist the urge for bad jokes sometimes.

During medieval times, shortbread was called biscuit bread. Which meant that any leftover of any bread dough would be left to dry in an oven slowly. Over the years yeast was replaced by butter and the shortbread was born. As you know, we find history fascinating around here and knowing the food we know and love is so old and full of history makes me all excited. Possibly quite more than the recipe itself. You can see my course of study is very much apt for me! Back to the shortbread though.

Shortbread was an expensive luxury and for ordinary people, shortbread was a special treat reserved just for special occasions such as weddings, Christmas and New Year.

So, without further ado, who is ready for some Salted Caramel Millionaire shortbread?

What ingredients do I need to make this Salted Caramel Millionaire Shortbread?

Starting with the shortbread and working our way upwards, this is what you will need for everything. Flour, of course, and great quality butter. I cannot stress out how important it is the butter in this recipe! Make sure you find a great one with a high content of fat. Then a dash of water and sugar is all you need for the shortbread. Easy, right?

For the caramel, you will need butter again, but also cream and sugar. We have also used water and glucose syrup as per the recipe we followed. You can find glucose syrup at any supermarket or Amazon easily.

And at last, the topping. Now, I know the tradition is milk chocolate and that is what we used. But if you decide to go for dark or white chocolate, the world is literally your oyster here.

Also, when it comes to the additions. I have put crushed hazelnuts, but you can either decide to leave them whole or don’t put them altogether. You can actually opt for a different nut, or not add anything. These are going to be great either way. And if you want to be a little crazy and add the nuts to the shortbread, then be it. Be that strong-will person who can do anything they like. And let me know if they taste even better that way, as I have just thought of it and I cannot wait to make these salted caramel millionaire shortbread again. Honestly, they are like the gift that keeps on giving. Lush, delicious and easy to make. Plus a trillion of different options. If you are not sold on this now, I don’t know how to change your mind anymore.

How do I make this Salted Caramel Millionaire Shortbread?

The whole process might sound daunting, I know. In the beginning, I was scared too. Three different elements I have to make by myself? I enjoy baking, but this was no easy task in my eyes. I was wrong. The shortbread is honestly a matter of mixing, flattening in the tin and baking. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. The caramel… Well, the caramel was definitely a different story. Alas, I conquered that too and I must say it came out so good I want to make it again. I would definitely recommend being very careful with splashes and such, but you shall be fine. At the end of the day, I was and I survived caramel-making.

And then it comes to the topping – you’ll just need to melt chocolate, really! One point I do recommend when it comes to chocolate though is to let the tray of shortbread and caramel come out of the freezer and wait a bit. My chocolate topping, for how artistic it looks, is the result of me being impatient. And the tray itself being completely frozen. So by the time I started spreading the chocolate, it had gone solid again. I think this was most definitely my low point – the girls were worried I was going to chuck everything in the bin. And I must admit that, for a split second, that’s all I wanted to do.

But just bear this in mind and you will not find yourself in my shoes. You are oh so welcome!

Tips & Tricks, plus some help for a vegan version of this delicious Millionaire!

These Millionaire Shortbread are super easy to turn vegan too! Swap the following ingredients for:

1. Butter for margarine or sunflower spread (we love the Flora one!)
2. Heavy Double Cream for any plant based whipping cream. Loads of companies nowadays make whipping cream for vegans. We recommend Elmea as it’s the most closest to the “cow based” one and won’t affect the taste. Just make sure you keep your heat on low to medium the whole time!
3. Milk Chocolate for 100% Cocoa! Just add a little agave syrup in to sweeten it up a little if you want that sweet spot.

You also don’t need to use hazelnuts, that is just what I love! You can add any nut you like, to add a little more texture into the bake. Or completely omit them, if you feel you don’t need the crunch.

Decorating the topping can be done as you wish! We recommend adding some rock salt or some herbs, like rosemary for a little flavour kick. The only real tip, though, is do not add anything heavy, or it will sink into the chocolate. And I am quite sure you do not want that for your salted caramel millionaire shortbread!

Not a fan of chocolate but fancy something more Christmassy? We got you sorted with our super easy Mince Pies!

Millionaire Shortbread

Federica

The most gooey and delicious salted caramel millionaire shortbread you’ll ever taste!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Sweet

Cuisine English

Servings 24 slices

Ingredients

  

• For the shortbread
• 250 g of plain flour
• 175 g of good quality salted butter cut into pieces
• 75 g of caster sugar
• A glass of cold water
• For the salted caramel
• 200 ml of double heavy cream
• ¾ teaspoon of sea salt
• 225 g caster superfine sugar
• 3 tablespoons of glucose syrup
• 4 tablespoon of water
• 65 g of salted butter
• 100 g of crushed roasted hazelnuts
• For the chocolate topping
• 200 g of good quality bakers chocolate

Instructions

 

START BY PREPARING THE SHORTBREAD

• Preheat the oven to 180C (fan oven – gas 4).
• In a bowl combine the sugar and flour until well mixed.
• Add the butter, cut into pieces, and rub it in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs – you should still have pieces of butter visible.
• Knead until it forms a dough and then press it into the baking tin, lined with baking paper.
• Ensure all the corners of the tin are well covered. Once ready, poke gently with a fork and bake the biscuit for 20 minutes, or until golden.
• Once ready, leave to cool on the side.

MAKE THE CARAMEL

• Once the shortbread is baked, you can start on your caramel.
• In a small saucepan, warm the cream and the salt over low heat and stir constantly until warm – should not be boiling.
• Once ready put on the side.
• In a large saucepan, dissolve the sugar and glucose with the water, on medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until the liquid turns golden-dark. You can choose to stop it at golden.
• Once ready and while still hot, slowly pour the contents of the large pan into the slow pan – it will bubble and sizzle, which is normal.
• Stir the mixture in only once the bubbles have stopped, and add the butter in.
• Stir in well and add the hazelnuts in.
• Pour instantly on the shortbread, and level up with the help of a spatula.
• Let it rest in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes.

MAKE THE TOPPING

• While the caramel cools on the shortbread, you can make the topping.
• In a pan with about 1/3 of water on low heat, place a heatproof bowl with the chocolate broken into chunks.
• Stir it occasionally until all the chocolate has melted.
• Once fully liquid, pour the chocolate on top of the caramel, decorate as you please and leave to cool.

READY TO SERVE!

•  

Notes

Before serving, cut the tray bake into squares with a knife that has been run under hot water – this will help keep it together!

The Caramel recipe if from the Queen of Caramel herself, Chloe Timms, who owned one of our favourite businesses in London, Fatties. Unfortunately, she has ceased to trade in 2018.

Keyword SALTED CARAMEL MILLIONAIRE SHORTBREAD

Shop the post

Salted Caramel Dreams Book, £8.49 / Premium Quality Chopped Hazelnuts, £8.49 / Square Baking Tin, £10.99

Not into Salted Caramel Millionaire Shortbreads?

Aside from being ever so slightly unbelievable, I mean, who does not like Salted caramel millionaire shortbread? Really? Okay, I stop. Well, we have you covered. Why not check some of these out: we have a vegan clementine curd, the cutest stained glass window cookies, mini Christmas puddings bonbon, southern buttermilk pie and some no-bake cookie truffles. But also a bourbon berry pie from Fred, some white chocolate fudge, a blood orange negroni, a gingerbread syrup recipe, a spicy eggnog easy recipe and some mini candy cane cookies from Lynn. And if you are after a vegan main, check out this mushroom Wellington recipe with a side of satay roasted brussels sprouts.

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