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 1x
- 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
Tina says
Delicious! I’ve now made 5 or 6 times! Taste just like you described! A big hit!
Julie says
So glad! Thank you, Tina.
Tammy mitchell says
I have made these heavenly bars so many times. The first time my daughter tried them she said she wanted these for her birthday. No cake, and I make cakes and desserts for a living. This recipe is by far the best find ever. Thank you for sharing. Look forward to more recipes from you.
Jana L Ziegler says
Hello, I, too can’t wait to try these. However I am always looking for shortcuts. So, at the grocery store, I found some Mrs. Richardson’s Sea Salt Caramel Dessert Sauce. (like, for ice cream topping…) I was wondering if this would work for the caramel layer, or do you think it might be too thin?
Julie says
Hi! It will be too thin, sorry! I promise these are worth it!
Jana L Ziegler says
Thank very much for your prompt rely!!!! I will try them per the recipe.
POLLY&JACK says
So good and very rich I would cut them smaller, we loved them thank you!! I would give you 10 STARS!!!
Vallerie says
Hello. I was looking forward to trying this, but then realized it called for heavy cream… my family is lactose intolerant. 😕 Can I substitute something else for the cream? Whole milk (lactaid)? Lactose free coffee cream? Any ideas?
Sandy says
You can get lactose free heavy cream – at least in Canada (Lactantia is the one I use – haven’t seen any other brands yet) 👍🏻
Marla says
Silk brand makes a dairy free heavy whipping cream. That may work for you!
Lisa Hilarides says
I made these for a family reunion last summer. They were a hit.
I am giving them as gifts this holiday. How long do they keep? Do they freeze well? If I bake them a week ahead of time, should I freeze them?
When I shopped yesterday, the grocery store had Club Crackers on sale . . . buy two, get one free!
Julie says
I’m glad to hear that! I have not tried freezing them (that I can remember), but I don’t see why not… I think we have kept them for up to a week. It also depends on the humidity where you live… it’s very dry here so the cracker stays crisps. Hope this is helpful!
Julie ONeill says
How should we store these; assuming there may be any leftover to keep for later. 😉
Julie says
I keep them in the fridge 👍🏻
Pamela says
I find most crackers, including Club Crackers, to be sooooo salty. Would this recipe work with unsalted crackers of some sort – maybe saltine crackers?
Kay says
Hi Julie I am so loving these decadent bars.
Just curious!!! did you live in Umhloti in KZN.?
Pamela Cook says
I saw your recipe some time ago and thought they sounded divine! Finally got around to trying them to bring to a party yesterday. Unfortunately, we had to leave before dessert due to another commitment so I never got the group’s feedback! I used my nice sharp 10″ Wustoff chef’s knife, but I still had difficulty cutting them; several fell apart or crumbled a bit. They were no where near as “pretty” as yours! I sampled a broken one though. I loved the crunchy/salty/sweet effect, however I am not a fan of the flavor of butterscotch chips…they have kind of a “fake” flavor to me. So next time I will try using all milk choc. chips instead to see how that works out. Any cutting tips to keep them together a little better? Thanks!
POLLY & JACK says
We have made your recipe many times & everyone LOVED them………….THANK YOU!!!
Wendy says
These look delicious. I want to give them. As try but I’m not sure what you mean by Club crackers. I live in Newfoundland Canada. Do you mean soda crackers? If not, what would we have in Canada that’s close to Club crackers.
Wendy 🙂
Brenda Clark says
I was wondering what Club Crackers were, too, Wendy. Us poor Canadians (I’m in Alberta) don’t seem to get half the products that the Americans do. I was thinking they were saltine or soda crackers, as well, judging by the colour of them in the picture. I am looking forward to trying them too. They look delicious.
Brenda
Kerry says
We can get them in Canada made by kellogs. However a ritz cracker wpuld be the next best thing
Think rich, buttery and salty crackers.
Sandy says
I’m thinking Toppables (available in Ontario – probably Alberta too?) are the type that is needed?
Cheryl says
I used Toppables last year when I made these and they worked great! Everyone loved them!
Kelly says
Awesome – the answer I was looking for in Manitoba!
Heather says
I made these before and they were a hit! So good. Can I use 1/2 & 1/2 instead of heavy cream?
Julie says
Hi! Not sure that will be ok to sub… could turn out runny.
Teri Dingler says
I made these for our club’s campout last weekend and they were the hit with all the campers! A great recipe, one that could easily be divided for small gifts! Will be making this one again…and again!
Julie says
Hi Teri, glad you liked them! They would make great gifts. Thanks for taking the time to leave me a note. Happy baking!
Kristin says
This sounds amazing! Has anyone ever made it with dark or semi-sweet chocolate?
Traci says
Delicious!!! Closest thing to a Twix bar I have ever had that is homemade. Don’t take any shortcuts on this one. It really doesn’t take that much time to make and is worth every minute of preparation! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Carol L Ferensak says
These sound delicious! Do you think they’d be as good using semi-sweet chocolate chips? My family prefers semi-sweet chocolate to milk chocolate.
Julie says
Yes, you can use semi-sweet if your family prefers it. Enjoy!
Blair says
Hands down best cracker cookies ever! The combination of butterscotch, milk chocolate and the salty crackers was amazing. The 9×12 pan was gone in 2 days. I think I ate 1/4 of that pan!
Darlene says
Can I leave out the peanut butter in the topping? My family has nut allergies.
Julie says
That’s ok to try, but the peanut butter does keep the chocolate topping from setting too hard. Maybe add just a teaspoon of oil to compensate.