Oh, friends. I’m so very thrilled to be sharing this amazing Salt River Bars recipe with you! These Salt River Bars and I have been well acquainted with each other for a long while, but until recently I could only enjoy them when I went to one of my favorite restaurants, Liberty Market, in Downtown Gilbert. Locals, you know how delicious these Salt River Bars are, right?
I really never even thought to try to recreate them as they seemed to be complicated with those fancy layers, and I couldn’t quite nail down the flavors. Then I decided to do a little googling and found that even though they are a local thing, there are a few copycat recipes floating around out there. I studied as many as I could find, combined and tweaked them just a bit, and came up with a very, very tasty version of my beloved Salt River Bar.
Some have even said they are better than the original, but I’ll let you make them and see what all the fuss is about for yourself. I sent out a few samples to my parents, grandparents, friends, and sweet neighbors and they loved them as much as we did! When something is this good, you really wanted to share it.
A Salt River Bar is essentially two layers of caramel in between three layers of Club Crackers. The topping is a thick blanket of chocolate, butterscotch and peanut butter. Maldon sea salt is the crown jewel. Sweet, salty, chewy, creamy, chocolatey perfection.
What is Maldon sea salt?
Maldon sea salt is an English salt known for its pure, clean salty taste without bitterness. It is soft and flakey, and while it can be used in cooking, it is often used as a finishing salt. It makes everything taste more flavorful, without being overly salty.
And on top of all that, these Salt River Bars really aren’t too difficult to make. Especially if you have a kiddo handy to help you lay out all the crackers. The caramel comes together quickly with just four ingredients. One of them will really surprise you! Hint: more crackers!
I’ve written that the recipe will yield 30 bars. This is based on the assumption that you will cut the 9 by 13 inch pan into five rows with three squares each, and then cut each of those fifteen squares into two rectangles. These babies are rich. Sometimes I like to pace myself and cut them into tiny squares, so I can lose count of how many I’ve had!
Please leave me a comment if you’ve tried the original Salt River Bars from Liberty Market. I think we’ll be making these bars for years to come! Hope you enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
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Salt River Bars
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 30 bars
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Salt River Bars are sweet, salty, chewy, creamy, crunchy, chocolatey PERFECTION! Everyone who tries them LOVES them!
Ingredients
- 90 Club crackers
- 1 cup butter, salted
- 2 cups light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 3/4 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup butterscotch chips
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- Maldon sea salt for finishing
Instructions
- Prepare a 9 by 13 inch pan (very helpful if the pan has straight sides, like this one) by lining it with parchment paper, leaving the two long edges a bit long so that it can be used to remove the bars from the pan later. Spray the parchment and sides of the pan with nonstick spray.
- Cover the bottom of the pan with the first layer of crackers on top of the parchment. Cut the crackers to fit as needed. I used five rows of six crackers, which covered my pan perfectly.
- In a medium sized heavy bottomed pan, melt butter, brown sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and heavy cream together over medium heat, stirring constantly.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, continuing to stir, and boil for 7 minutes.
- Pour half of the caramel mixture over the crackers, spreading it evenly to the edges of the pan. Working quickly, add another layer of crackers over the caramel.
- Pour the rest of the caramel over the second layer of crackers, and then add a final layer of crackers.
- Refrigerate the pan to chill and set the caramel layers while you make the chocolate topping.
- To make the chocolate topping, add milk chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and peanut butter to a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 30-45 seconds, then stir. Microwave the chocolate in 15 second intervals, stirring in between until smooth. Pour the chocolate topping over the final layer of crackers, spreading it evenly to the edges. Sprinkle sea salt over the chocolate layer to taste. I used about 1 teaspoon.
- Chill for 1-2 hours before using a sharp knife to cut into bars. Sometimes I like to use the parchment paper edges to lift the whole thing out of the pan to make cutting easier.
Notes
This recipe was adapted from Take Two Tapas Salt River Sticks.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Bar
- Calories: 269
- Sugar: 20g
- Sodium: 192mg
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated Fat: 8.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6.8g
- Trans Fat: 0.3g
- Carbohydrates: 29g
- Fiber: 0.8g
- Protein: 2.7g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
Rose says
Can you use a ready made Carmel topping instead of having to make it?
Julie says
No, it will be too runny
Ruth says
Can you substitute dark chocolate chips instead of milk?
Jodi Burton says
Made these for get together with neighbor friends. They were a hit! Even with picky husband. I used semisweet chocolate chips and half the amount of butterscotch chips called for since it seemed plenty sweet already. I also added coarsely chopped pecans on top. Sinfully delicious.
Sandy says
I saw the name of these and new I had to try these. Lived in Arizona in the 80’s and knew Salt River right off the bat. I don’t have to try these to know they are super good but I am going to make them soon.
Missy says
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I am a huge fan of Liberty Market’s Salt River Bars and would pick them as my Birthday free treat every year when we lived in AZ! I have missed them so much. Time to introduce Texas to this AZ awesomeness.
Jessica says
Hi there can you freeze these?
MaryAnn says
Looks yummy! You give a calorie count for these squares, however you don’t say how big a square is! If it’s a 9×13” pan, how many squares are created when you cut it?
Just wondering how many squares is in the yield from this recipe. Thank you!!
Kathy says
The recipe looks amazing! What could I use instead of club crackers. I don’t have access to those. Thanks
Rachael bultman says
Any kind of buttery or plain cracker works.
Mary says
OH MY GOSH these are soo sooo good. 2nd time making them. I did not have the butterscotch chips so I just put another 1/2 cup of Chocolate chips and then the peanut butter. Thank you for this recipe.
Lindsey says
Love this recipe! I made it for Father’s Day and it was a huge hit! One thing I’d recommend is using some sort of blender to crush the Graham crackers. The second time I made these I did that and it was so much easier and much quicker. My husband requested that I make more of these as soon as what we had was consumed. I think these will be my new go to pitch-in item!