Ok, I’m going to start right off and say these are a complete and total mess. Seriously, if you’re a neat freak step just away quietly. But if you like messy shortbread-y, caramel-y, chocolate-y deliciousness, then you are absolutely in the right place. Welcome!
Ingredients
Shortbread:
· 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened to room temperature
· 1 cup powdered sugar
· 2 t vanilla
· 2 cups flour
Caramel:
· 2 11 oz. packages of caramel squares
· ½ cup heavy cream
Chocolate:
· 1 cup milk chocolate chips
· 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
· 1 T shortening
Directions
First we’re going to make a shortbread crust. Butter and flour a 9” x 13” pan. In a large bowl beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla until well-blended. Next, add in the flour and beat that until everything is well-blended.
Take the dough and press it into the bottom of the pan. Prick the crust with a fork multiple times – like, take out some aggression.
Bake at 300 for 35-40 minutes, until the edges and the top are a light golden brown. Move to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Next, we’re doing the caramel. You’re going to have to unwrap every single one of those individually wrapped caramels. It takes a long time and it’s kind of a pain but it’s worth it in the end. Dump all the caramels along with the heavy cream into a small saucepan and warm over a very low heat, stirring regularly until the caramels are melted and the caramel and cream are combined.
Pour the caramel over the cooled shortbread and put in the fridge to cool for about a half hour.
Finally, on to the chocolate. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolates and the shortening over a low heat. I use half milk and half semi-sweet chocolate but you can use two cups of one or the other if you prefer. Pour that over the caramel layer and chill until it’s hard enough to cut.
This will be, as I say above, a HUGE mess. And everyone will love it because of its extreme deliciousness.
Ugly Desserts 