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?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #lovelylittlekitchen
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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
Kathie Yoder says
Can a jar of caramel topping be substituted for the homemade caramel?
Julie says
Hi Kathie, I don’t think you would have the same outcome with a jar of caramel topping. In this case, I would advise sticking with the recipe.
Kathie Yoder says
I did follow the recipe after all, and it wasn’t as hard as I thought. I was nervous from
Watching all the failed caramel making attempts on GBBO.
These were a HIT! They are especially good chilled. New family fan favorite!
Wendy says
It would be lovely to see pictures of the layers in process instead of all the pictures being of the finished product. It looks delicious and can’t wait to try it out for my camping group.
Gina says
if you go to You Tube she has a video under lovely kitchen for this recipe. It is a very well done video: not too much talking and step by step instructions following recipe without being overly long.
Bev glissan says
What are club crackers . Not sure I have seen them. I live in Australia
Amy says
Hi–they’re buttery crackers, similar to ritz, but lighter. Sorry, I’m an American who used to live in Australia–I’m not sure what the equivalent is. Go for the butteriest crackers you have.
Dana Thomason says
Club crackers are rectangular butter flavored crackers. You can find them on Amazon under Keebler brand or Happy Belly country club crackers. Just look for the ones that are $0.25 – $0.27 per ounce. The others are over-priced! I will definitely have to try this recipe, as it sounds delicious!!
Bunnie says
Didn’t have club quackery used saltines instead. No one notice as there were no leftovers ❤️
Lady Lindsey says
I was just searching through the comments to see if anyone had tried saltines. I have some lingering in the pantry. This would be a nice way to use them up.
ELLEN L. BREHNE says
OMG, thanks for sharing
Lori Griffin says
We love Sweet & Saltines (Trisha Yearwood recipe). These bars are like a sweet & saltine and a scotch-a-roo bar had a baby. They are exactly as you describe them. DELICIOUS! Because I love caramel, I made 1-1/2 recipes of the caramel sauce to put in the bars. Otherwise, followed the recipe exactly. We will, no doubt, be making these often. ❤️😋
Sherry says
Lori, I’m with you………the more caramel the better. Thanks for sharing that increasing the caramel worked.
Diana says
I’ve made these 3 times – the first time, I had no problems at all – followed the directions and they came out picture perfect! The second time, I thought I did exactly the same thing and they broke into shards when I tried to cut them. I immediately went to the store the try again thinking I’d overcooked the caramel somehow to make it harden too much, but they broke again in the third batch when I tried to cut them (crackers separated top from bottom, chocolate layer came off). I know it’s got to be a personal problem and likely something simple I’m messing up with temperature or the knife? Any ideas? These were such a hit with everyone the first time I made them, but I can’t justify wasting the time or ingredients. Thanks for a yummy recipe!
Crystal Lantz says
When I was cooking my caramel, I wasn’t sure what an official boil would look like to begin my 7 minutes, so I stopped my 7 minutes early and it paid off. You can get a cup of ice water and drop some of the caramel in to test how it will turn out. Then fish the caramel out and try it.
Candace Gibbons says
What is the best way to keep the bars – on counter in airtight container or in the refrigerator ?
Julie says
I prefer to keep them in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Candace Gibbons says
What is the best way to keep the bars – on counter in airtight container or in the refrigerator ?
Colette H says
These were surprisingly excellent. I followed recipe and they came out great, easy to cut, salty and sweet mmm good. It’s a keeper for sure.
Shannon says
My caramel separated & got really thick ….the butter literally had to be poured off….don’t know what went wrong. Wasn’t spreadable .
Robyn T. says
I am not a fan of peanut butter, could I just omit from the recipe? Or would I need to make any other adjustments?
Beverley says
I want to make this for a MOPS meeting but I don’t want to use peanut butter. What is a good substitute?
Barbara says
Can you freeze these to keep them fresh and make ahead ?
Caroline says
I’ve made this recipe several times, all turned out great. My question is the same as Barbara’s: Can they be made ahead and frozen?
Diana says
When I made these the first time they came out picture perfect and we’re all gone at the end of the event I brought them too (Win!) the second time when I tried cutting them they broke – crackers separated too from bottom and chocolate layer detached. I *think* I let them cool long (6+ hours) and the caramel was too hard to cut nicely? But it may be a completely different problem. I’d love any suggestions to remake the beautiful ones from my first attempt. I hate to waste time and money, but love eating and making them when they work as planned!
Jackie says
Can peanut butter be left out or substituted. More chocolate maybe?
Shannon says
When I made them my caramel seized so I just about threw everything out …fortunately I spread it anyway the best I could & they turned out delicious….it was a fight but glad I didn’t give up !!!!
Beth says
I just made these and they were delicious but the caramel was almost too gooey if that’s possible? They were very difficult to cut/separate. Did I not cook the caramel long enough?
Victoria Bennett Beyer says
I had the same problem. Is there a solution?
A. Martin says
As I was lying the second layer of crackers the first layer was rising up and so they will not have even layers
Bonnie says
Hi, I had these yesterday for the first time at Liberty Market, absolutely loved them. Will be making them very soon!
Mina says
So freaking good! My caramel burned on the bottom(but was still good on top) as it was still cooking and bubbling for a full minute after I took it off the heat. Next time I will take off the caramel 1 minute early. But these were so yummy! Will keep these in my recipes rotation.