Fruit & Nut Caramel Shortbread

Fruit & Nut Caramel Shortbread is a simple twist on classic Millionaire’s Shortbread. Rich & buttery shortbread biscuit is topped with raisins, cranberries and nuts, then covered in thick, smooth caramel and a thin layer of milk chocolate. These bars are a real treat.

If you don’t live in the UK, you might not have heard how cold it is over here at the moment. We are in the midst of a prolonged period of sub-zero temperatures even though it is the end of February and spring should be on the horizon. Not many people are happy about this – only the kids who have enough snow for school closures and are able to take to the nearest hill with a sledge. However, extended winter does mean we are entitled to a little more comfort baking, so I’m rolling out these Fruit & Nut Caramel Shortbread bars today.

Caramel Shortbread (aka Millionaire’s Shortbread) is one of those treats that seems to be universally popular. Hand on heart, I can tell you that I have yet to meet anybody who professes to not liking this bake. But, since there are already plenty of recipes out there for Millionaire’s Shortbread, I’ve come up with a twist. The simple addition of dried fruit and chopped nuts tunes this already decadent bake up a notch further.

Fruit & Nut Caramel Shortbread is as good as it sounds. It’s the same delicious layers of buttery, crumbly shortbread, silky smooth, golden caramel and chocolate, but with a few additions. For me, those extras were:

• Dried cranberries
• Raisins
• Hazelnuts
• Peanuts

All of these were scattered on top of the shortbread before the molten caramel was drizzled on top. Oh, and I also added a touch of sea salt since salt, nuts and caramel are all best buddies. Of course, you can leave out the salt if desired and make substitutions. Almonds and macadamia nuts would work very well in this recipe too.

As with the majority of Millionaire’s Shortbread recipes, my fruit & nut variation makes a generous about of bars – I blame the size of the condensed milk tin. Just ensure you have plenty of people to help polish off these bars since not only are they more or less impossible to resist, these bars are best eaten within 4 days.

Good luck resisting.

P.S. These bars make a lovely homemade gift.

Fruit & Nut Caramel Shortbread

Jane Saunders

Fruit & Nut Caramel Shortbread is a simple twist on classic Millionaire’s Shortbread. Rich & buttery shortbread biscuit is topped with raisins, cranberries and nuts, then covered in thick, smooth caramel and a thin layer of milk chocolate. These bars are a real treat.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Baking - traybakes, Dessert

Cuisine: Worldwide

Keyword: caramel recipe, caramel shortbread, fruit and nut shortbread, millionaires shortbread, traybake

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

For the Shortbread

• 120 g/ 5/8 cup Caster sugar
• 225 g/ 2 sticks Butter, unsalted (softened)
• 250 g/ 2 cups plain (all purpose) flour
• 100 g/ 1/2 cup Semolina (fine)
• Pinch Salt

For the Fruit & Nuts

• 2 tbsp Dried cranberries
• 4 tbsp Raisins
• 2 tbsp Peanuts (unsalted, shells removed)
• 2 tbsp Hazelnut (unsalted, blanched)

For the Caramel

• 1 tin (397g/ 14 oz) Condensed Milk
• 110 110g/ 1/2 cup Dark brown sugar
• 85 g/ 3/4 stick Butter (unsalted)
• 2 tbsp Golden syrup
• 1/2 tsp Sea salt flakes (optional)

For the Chocolate Topping

• 200 g/ 1 1/3 cups Milk Chocolate
• 40 g/ 1/4 cup Dark Chocolate

Instructions

Make the Shortbread

• Preheat oven to 150C/ 200F/ GM2 and line a 30cm x 20cm baking tin (at least 2.5 cm/ 1 " deep) with baking parchment
• Put all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and rub the butter into the dry ingredients. At first it will resemble breadcrumbs but keep on rubbing in until it comes together in a dough
• Spread the dough out evenly into the base of the baking tin, press down firmly and evenly. Prick all over with a fork and bake for 30-40 mins until golden
• Let cool

Add the Fruit & Nuts

• Roughly chop the hazelnuts and peanuts then scatter over the cooled shortbread
• Likewise, scatter the cranberries and raisins over the shortbread

Make the Caramel

• Grind the sea salt using a pestle and mortar
• Put all of the caramel ingredients (except the salt) into a heavy based pan set over a medium heat. Stir frequently until the sugar has dissolved
• Turn up the heat slightly, and allow to boil gently until the temperature reaches 112°C – 115°C (234°F – 240°F). This is the soft ball stage. If you do not have a sugar thermometer, you can test for readiness by dropping a small amount of the caramel into some chilled water - it should form a firm ball that does not flatten when removed from the water, but squishes when squeezed
• Once the caramel is ready, take the pan off the heat, add the salt, then stir thoroughly. Plunge the bottom of the pan into cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside and allow to cool for 5 minutes
• Stir well, then pour over the shortbread, fruit & nuts. Set aside for at least 2-3 hours to firm up and cool completely

For the Chocolate Topping

• Melt the milk chocolate and the dark chocolateand spread over the caramel layer
• Working quickly, pour the milk chocolate over the caramel and spread it out to cover it entirely. Pipe or drizzle thin lines of dark chocolate over the milk chocolate and drag a cocktail stick through the chocolate to create a feathered effect
• Allow to cool and set before cutting into squares (tip: if you can be patient, using a warm knife to score through the chocolate helps to stop the chocolate cracking in all directions and gives you neater squares).
• Keep in an airtight container for up to 4 days

Have you tried this recipe?Mention @jane_littlesugarsnaps or tag #littlesugarsnaps!

Do you want more caramel bars? Try these:

• Millionaire’s Caramel Krispie Squares
• Salted Caramel Pecan Krispie Treats

Pin Fruit & Nut Caramel Shortbread