Maple Shortbread Bars

So Halloween is coming up and I am craving some homemade candy bars! These Maple shortbread bars are kind of a cross between a twix and a snickers bar. starting with a thick layer of buttery shortbread, then pecans covered in a maple caramel and then topped with a layer of chocolate! These bars are basically like a fall candy bar which you are going to love!

It is the end of September, the beginning of October, the air is getting crisper and the leaves are getting brighter… which means it officially Fall! I have been doing a lot of fall baking. pretty much since the end of august... which may have been a little too early but not for me! Im slightly fall obsessed so the earlier the better. So far I have made tones of pumpkin recipes... tones of pumpkin recipes but what i havn't made yet ( which is a major fall flavor) is MAPLE recipes. I feel like maple is one of the biggest underrated and forgotten fall flavors. I don't know why because it is amazing and gives me major fall vibes. So here is my first maple recipe and i think you are going to love it!

PURE MAPLE VS. REGULAR MAPLE SYRUP

So maple syrup is a syrup that is made and extracted from a sugar maple, red maple, or black maple tree. when buying maple and you want this REAL maple syrup you have to make sure you buy syrup that say PURE maple syrup. otherwise all the others are made with sugar, corn syrup and chemically made flavors. So For this recipe I highly recommend pure maple syrup because if not your bars will just taste like sugar and the maple flavor will be hard to find.

HOW TO MAKE MAPLE SHORTBREAD BARS

These bars are layers with shortbread, pecans, maple caramel, and chocolate. lets make them step by step.

Shortbread. In the bowl a stand mixer combine your butter, sugar, flour, salt and vanilla. whisk until combined and crumbly. Take your crumbly mixture and transfer it into your prepared baking dish. Using your hand press your dough down into your dish. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes. Take out and let cool.

Pecans. roughly chop your pecans and roast them in the oven for 5 minutes. this step is not required but i recommend it because if you directly heat up the nuts it releases the natural oils in the nuts and tastes stronger! Once done, evenly place these nuts on top of your shortbread

Maple Caramel. In a medium sauce pan combine your butter, sugar, condensed milk, and maple syrup. simmer on a medium heat while CONSTANTLY stiring. your mixture will combine, slightly bubble and thicken. simmer for 20 minutes. Then remove from heat. Pour your cooled mixture over your pecans. and chill until your caramel is cooled

Chocolate. chop up your chocolate and add it to a medium bowl. In a medium sauce pan add your heavy cream and warm it up on low hear until it gets steamy (do not boil). Then pour cream over your chocolate. let it sit for a minute. Then slowly stir until combined. Pour chocolate over your cooled caramel. Store bars in the fridge, slice and serve!

MAPLE SHORTBREAD BARS INGREDIENTS/ SUBSTITUTION

BUTTER. butter is in the shortbread which gives it that buttery texture and in the caramel which gives it the creamy texture

SUGAR. These bars are super sweet! but in a good way.

FLOUR. flour is in the shortbread.

SALT. salt helps balance the sweetness and i like to add this to the shortbread

VANILLA. I always use pure vanilla extract and this adds great flavor.

PECANS. These bars have pecans in them which is very fall, but you can switch this out for other nuts like almonds or walnuts if you desire.

MAPLE SYRUP. I use pure maple syrup. not artificial syrup or the maple flavor of your bars may be hard to find.

CONDENCED MILK. This helps thicken your caramel.

DARK CHOCOLATE. I use chocolate that is at least 60 percent coco but i prefer 70 percent coco. this adds a rich coco flavor.

HEAVY CREAM. this helps make your chocolate ganache layer. you can substitute this for half and half as well.

Lastly, if you try out this recipe, be sure to leave a comment/rating on how they turned out. I love hearing from you guys and will try my best to reply to every comment! And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!