Saturday, October 8, 2011

Caramel crumb bars and recipes perfect for sharing

Caramel crumb bars / Barrinhas de caramelo

Every time I want to bake something for my coworkers I look for recipes that yield a lot – I want them to eat and have seconds if they feel like it (the sweet tooth in me finds that kind of thing important). :D
Therefore cakes, bars and brownies baked in a 13x9in pan are perfect – like these delicious caramel bars that so far have been the quickest baked goods to disappear at the office (beating these brownies’ record).

Do you have a great recipe that feeds a crowd? Maybe from one of the books I own? I would love to know. ;)

Caramel crumb bars
from the delicious Saveur

Crust:
1 cup (224g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups (350g) all purpose flour, divided use

Filling:
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 395g (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 32x22cm (13x9in) baking pan, line with foil, butter and flour the paper and the sides of the baking pan*.
Start by making the crust: in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until creamy. Add 2 ¼ cups (315g) flour; mix. Transfer ¾ of the dough to pan; press into bottom; chill. Rub remaining dough and remaining ¼ cup (35g) flour into large crumbles; refrigerate. Make the filling: combine butter, brown sugar, syrup, and sweetened condensed milk in a 2-qt. heavy saucepan. Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until thick and creamy and the mixture pulls away from the sides and bottom of the saucepan, 8–10 minutes. Pour over dough; scatter crumbles over top. Bake until golden, 25–30 minutes (mine needed 40). Let cool. Cut into bars.

* I made the exact recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan with a removable bottom – therefore, I just buttered and floured the pan, without the need of using foil

Makes 32

9 comments:

  1. oh my lord, I knew I shouldn't have clicked over here for this recipe...

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  2. I always bake Cream Cheese Brownies... they are such a winner :-) people can't get enough of them.

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  3. love your pictures... i would like to invite you for beta testing on http://tastingspot.com

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  4. Looks pretty tasty! Do you use natural lighting for your pictures, or do you use artificial? I am having trouble to say the least with lighting!

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  5. I love these kind of bars, so easy to take away for a quick lunch :-)

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  6. Love these! I'm also always looking for recipes that are good to share with a large group, and these look perfect! Yummmmm. :)

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  7. Hey, Gena, yes, I always use natural light. :)

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