Hi there, it’s me again! I made these Homemade Caramel Almond Shortbread Bites a few weeks ago, and I’m so excited to finally share them with you! Oh man, these little naughty bites are what my dreams are made of. Buttery shortbread, creamy caramel, chopped almonds, and milk chocolate – I know this probably doesn’t sound very humble, but I think these are the might be the best thing I’ve ever made!
My friends, there is something about homemade caramel that just makes me so happy. I’m definitely not above using a jar or melting down candies when you are in a hurry, but those little shortcuts don’t even hold a candle to the real deal. If you enjoy homemade caramel, you must invest in a digital candy thermometer. This makes all the difference for me between getting the caramel to the right consistency, and ruining the whole batch! There’s no guessing with a digital thermometer, and the response time is so much faster than the old school type of thermometer. You don’t even want to know how many times my old thermometer fell off the side of the pot straight into my boiling caramel!
I loved these so much I had to give them away. Not like if I don’t give these away I will eat them all. More like, everyone must taste these once in their life in order to have lived a full and happy life! They remind me a little bit of a Twix candy bar, but just so much more amazing!
Helloooo melted chocolate!
And helloooo little heavenly Homemade Caramel Almond Shortbread Bite lovies. I miss you. Come back soon!
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Homemade Almond Caramel Shortbread Bites
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 64 small squares 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Tiny pieces of chocolate covered shortbread topped with the best ever homemade caramel and almonds!
Ingredients
Shortbread
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Caramel
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
- 2 cups heavy cream, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chopped almonds
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips for melting/dipping
Instructions
Shortbread
- Line a 9 by 9 inch baking dish with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together. Then add flour and salt and mix until the dough comes together and forms a ball.
- Press the dough into the bottom of the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool. While the shortbread is cooking, you can start on the caramel layer.
Caramel
- In a large heavy bottomed pot (I used a 3.0 quart), stir sugar, corn syrup, 1 cup of heavy cream, and salt together over high heat. You need to stir constantly with a wooden spoon until it reaches 240 degrees. Then, add 1/2 cup more cream, and bring it back to 240 degrees, stirring constantly. Add the last 1/2 cup of heavy cream, and bring it to 240 degrees.
- Pour the hot caramel over the shortbread layer, and sprinkle the almonds on top.
- Allow the caramel to fully cool and set before cutting. I find it easier cut when the caramel is slightly chilled, but not hard as a rock. I like to lift the whole thing out of the pan using the parchment paper lining and cut on a cutting board.
Chocolate
- Melt chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, or use a double boiler. Dip the bottom half of each square into the chocolate, using a toothpick inserted into the caramel layer to hold it as you dip. Place them on a parchment or silicone baking mat to set the chocolate.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Shortbread Bite
- Calories: 124
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 41mg
- Fat: 6.2g
- Saturated Fat: 3.6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.2g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 17g
- Fiber: 0.3g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 13mg
Disclaimer: the links in this post for the digital candy thermometer are Amazon affiliate links.
Allison - Celebrating Sweets says
These look amazing. All my favorite flavors rolled into one. Pinned to try!
Julie says
Hope you enjoy! Thanks!
Valerie | From Valerie's Kitchen says
Julie, these are just downright dangerous! They include pretty much all my favorites – shortbread, caramel, nuts, and chocolate. Perfection!
Julie says
Thank you Valerie!
Maureen says
This looks amazing. This has to be one of my dream food. It’s buttery and the caramel is just so attractive plus the almonds. Mouthwatering indeed!
Julie says
Thank you Maureen!
finn says
These look so deadly delicious! I’ve always shied away from making my own caramel but I think I should make an exception for these. Perfect combination!
Jodi says
Hi!
These look amazing, but one quick question about the caramel-is it supposed to be brown sugar? I made them as the recipe called and ended up with liquid for the caramel…
Thanks!
Julie says
Hi Jodi, sorry to hear your caramel didn’t thicken up right. I double checked the recipe, and everything looks good. You were right to use white granulated sugar, not brown sugar. It sounds like maybe your thermometer might not be accurate, and the caramel didn’t get hot enough. Wish I could be more helpful.
April Kudrna says
Can these be frozen. Thank you
April Kudrna says
Can these be frozen. Thank you
Cheryl A Garrett says
I believe there is an error in your directions for the caramel. You list 1 1/2 cups heavy cream in the ingredient list but your directions end up using 2 cups….start with 1 cup, add 1/2 and at end add 1/2.
These look wonderful and I plan to save the recipe.
Cheryl A Garrett says
Ignore my previous comment….I actually miss read ingredient list.
Definitely will be trying these!
Julie says
Thanks Cheryl! I was trying to figure out where I had made the mistake. Thanks for your comment, and I hope you enjoy these. They are a little time consuming but oh so good!
Marianna says
The Caramel turned out great! Unfortunately, when I dipped the squares in the chocolate, the shortbread came off in the chocolate. Any suggestions?
Julie says
Oh dear, sorry to hear they are not sticking together. I’m not sure why that would be… it’s been a long time since I’ve made these, so sorry I’m not more helpful.
Lisa Kraft says
I’m curious if you used white corn syrup or golden?
Julie says
Hi Lisa, I used white corn syrup for this recipe. Thanks for your question.
Sher says
This was a horrible experience!!! I used the size of pan you said to use and it about boiled over several times. I had to move off burner so it would go down. It never did reach 240 even after 20 min. So I scrapped the whole mess. How aggravating!!!
Daphne says
Are you able to freeze these? They look absolutely delicious!