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Super simple, extra delicious, and perfectly sweet Chocolate Covered Brown Butter Millionaire’s Bars. Easy shortbread, made with nutty brown butter, baked and layered with caramelized sweetened condensed milk caramel, with hints of luscious vanilla throughout. Each sweet bar is then covered in chocolate and finished with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Similar to a classic Millionaire’s Bar…but with some extra special touches that make them even more delectable. These sweet little bars are perfect for the holidays so be sure to include them on your Christmas table or in your upcoming Christmas cookie boxes. Your friends and family will be so glad you did!
An extra sweet Tuesday present for you guys in the form of the most delicious brown butter Millionaire’s Bars. Buttery shortbread, topped with chewy, buttery caramel, then covered in rich, creamy milk chocolate, and finished with just the right amount of sea salt.
Two simple words…incredibly delicious.
A Millionaire’s Bar, but better.
And just what is a Millionaire’s Bar? Well, these bars got their name because they taste so rich. From what I’ve read, they originated in Scotland, but have since become very popular worldwide. To me, they seem similar to a Twix Bar or 100 Grand Bar. Either way, they’re truly delicious.
And while my recipe is not traditional, it’s the same concept, just all done up for the holidays.
Soo, that’s the backstory on these bars. But the bottom line – they’re delicious. And very easy to make!!
The idea, the inspiration, and all my thoughts.
As always, I spend a lot of time thinking about what recipes to share with you guys, but especially my holiday recipes. These are my favorite recipes of the year, so I want them to be extra special. Each and every single one. Because of this, I tend to take way too long brainstorming, developing, and styling each recipe, but it’s worth it to me.
And that was the case with these. I had seen Millionaire Bars on Pinterest. I immediately thought about how cute they could be if made as mini chocolate covered presents. And what a great item to include in a cookie box too!
So I did some digging and then some testing and here is where I landed.
Now onto the details.
Start with the shortbread. I just kept it simple, but I did brown the butter, which is really key to adding delicious flavor to an otherwise flavorless base. Don’t skip! The nutty browned butter pairs so nicely with the flavors of the caramel.
Once the shortbread layer has baked, start the caramel. This is not your average caramel. In fact, it’s actually caramelized condensed milk, which might just be better. It’s sweet, chewy, buttery, and made with just the right amounts of vanilla and salt. And the best part? It’s so easy to make. Just boil the condensed milk until thick and golden in color. It takes about fifteen minutes. You need to stir the mixture often, but there’s nothing fancy or complicated about this caramel.
It’s easy and delicious.
Once the caramel has turned thick and golden in color, immediately pour it over the shortbread and spread it in an even layer. At this point, chill the bars to help the caramel set up. Then cut the bars into cute little rectangles or squares and cover them entirely in chocolate.
Yummm. My mom says this recipe might be one of her favorites for the year. She’s been trying to avoid sugar the last few years. But said to me this morning in a text, and I quote…
“So much for me saying…I don’t really eat sugar anymore…your cookies have completely blown that…thanks so much!”
So you see? These really are that good.
A Couple Tips For Success…
Tip one, make sure the bars are thoroughly chilled before dipping them into chocolate. This is probably my biggest tip. If the bars are frozen, the chocolate will quickly set up on the bars and be easier to work with. Trust me, freeze the bars, then dip them through the melted chocolate.
Tip two, if you want a thick chocolate-coated bar, dip your bars once, re-freeze until set (which will only take a matter of minutes), then dip in chocolate again. This is not NEEDED, but it sure is a good idea. Double the chocolate, please.
My initial thought was that these chocolate presents will be great for our Christmas Cookie Boxes. But that’s when I realized how late into December it’s already becoming.
I’m recognizing just now, as I type this, that I’m a little late this year. Late with what? Late with my 2020 Christmas Cookie Box. I’m not sure why, but I was thinking I had time to post this and get it up for you all. But in looking at my calendar, I’m realizing, I am actually behind. My plan is to get my box up by the end of the week, so be on the lookout for that!
Until then, enjoy these cute little “presents” and start prepping them to include in this year’s cookie boxes. Trust me, everyone you gift these to is going to find them delish!
Or? Simply make them for yourself. It’s December and we all need sweet treats! Just one thing…don’t skip that sprinkle of flaky sea salt at the end. Love a good salty, sweet chocolate dessert, you know?
Yes, yes, let’s take some time to do a little Tuesday night baking. It’s cold, so the extra time next to the oven is always welcome. Enjoy!
Looking for other holiday dessert recipes? Here are my favorites:
Salted Caramel and Milk Chocolate Brownies
Salted Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter Blondies
Slice n’ Bake Bourbon Caramel Pretzel Cookies
Lastly, if you make these Chocolate Covered Brown Butter Millionaire’s Bars be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Chocolate Covered Brown Butter Millionaire's Bars
Servings: 48 squares or 24 bars
Calories Per Serving: 213 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Shortbread
- 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Caramel
- 2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter
- 1/4 cup real maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 24 ounces semi-sweet or milk chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- 1. Add 1 stick butter to a small saucepan set over medium heat, cooking until the butter begins to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Stick in the freezer to chill, 10-15 minutes, but no longer.2. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9x13 inch baking dish with parchment paper. 3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the remaining stick of butter, the cooled browned butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add the flour and mix until fully combined. Press the dough into the prepared baking dish. Bake 20-22 minutes, until lightly golden and toasted. Remove from the oven and let cool.4. To make the caramel. In a medium pot, combine the sweetened condensed milk, butter, and maple. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking consistently. Cook the mixture until it turns golden brown in color and has thickened, about 15-20 minutes. Make sure to stir often to avoid burning the milk. Little brown bits are OK. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla. Immediately pour the caramel over the shortbread and spread in an even layer. Transfer to the fridge to chill, at least 1 hour or 30 minutes in the freezer. 5. Melt the chocolate and coconut oil together in the microwave until melted and smooth. 6. Cut the bars into 24 rectangle bars or 48 square bars. Freeze another 10 minutes to make dipping easier, then cover/dip each bar in chocolate. Return to the freezer to let the chocolate set up, about 10 minutes. Keep stored in a cool dry place or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
This post was originally published on December 8, 2020
Super good! Honestly I didn’t know how to dip them fully without breaking them so I just dipped them up to the caramel. Turned out amazing still. I’m going to attempt them again and dip them fully.
Hey Christol,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it worked out for you! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
my caramel never set and was still soft and sticky even after being placed in the freezer. Do you think it could be because the caramel was not cooked long enough?
Hey Shianne,
So sorry you are having issues with the caramel, yes if it is not cooked long enough it will have a hard time setting, you either need to let it cook longer or place in the freezer. I hope this helps! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I made these today for my holiday boxes. All went perfectly right up until the cover/dipping of chocolate. What a disaster! I had chocolate everywhere ? I tried dipping, I tried spooning it over, then I did your trick with the bag and just drizzled. But they aren’t very pretty! Can you give me some tips for next time? Thank you! They are delicious.
Hey Jaye,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it worked out for you! I just dip them in the bowl of chocolate and move around with a spoon to coat. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I just realized I don’t have enough chocolate bars for this. Can I use chocolate chips instead of chopping a bar of chocolate?
Hey Sarah,
Yes, that will work. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Looks delicious! So excited to try! Is there a step-by-step video by chance? Or will there be one?
Hey Daria,
I have these saved to my highlights on IG. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I accidentally browned all the butter instead of half, flavor was excellent. A little crumbly but honestly not troublesome! I would increase butter a bit if you decide to go that route. The caramel mixture takes a LOT of elbow grease, I whisked for 16 straight minutes and still some burned onto the pan (it came off and tasted great) Also would advise people to be generous with the coconut oil! It gives a good shine, better consistency and also the chocolate needs help to set. Overall a delicious recipe that is a labor of love!
Hey Alisha,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it worked out for you! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
My shortbread came out WAY too dry. I let my butter sit out for over an hour to come to room temp and let the browned butter chill for 15 minutes. I thought when baking it would maybe come together…but it’s not looking great. Any tips? Or how should the dough look before baking? Will try again :)! Still 5 stars because 99% of your recipes turn out amazing and I know it can’t be a success 100% of the time. Thank you!
Hey Laura,
I am so sorry about the shortbread! Since it can already be a crumbly dough, next time skip the brown butter and use 2 sticks of soft butter. I hope this helps! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
These are delicious, however my shortbread broke away when I cut them. Can you tell me what I did wrong?
Thank you!
Hey Linda,
So sorry about this!! Next time try using 2 sticks of soft butter instead of the brown butter, this should help! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
These are so yummy. Made them this weekend for friends and family. How do you get them to cut so neatly? My shortbread wanted to crumble, maybe the dough was to dry for me to begin with. Otherwise perfect.
Hey Crystal,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe! So sorry about this, shortbread can be quite crumbly. Try using a super sharp hot knife to cut these. I hope this helps! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I made these and they turned out great! I read the comments about the base being crumbly, so decided to not brown the butter. The base was still delicious, and did crumble slightly when I cut it.
These bars do turn out quite thick, so the caramel layer could be reduced if you want to avoid ending up with a chunky bar. I made squares and intended them to look like little chocolates, but they turned out huge! My mistake there.
I refrigerated the base + caramel overnight (uncovered), then cut it into squares and froze those for about an hour. This made them way easier to dip in chocolate. For dipping I just lowered each piece into the bowl using two forks, and they turned out pretty tidy. If you are trying to do the same decoration as in the photos, just cut the TINIEST corner off a snaplock/ziploc bag and you will end up with perfect skinny stripes.
Would definitely make these again, thanks Tieghan!
Hey Leni,
Thanks so much for trying out the recipe, I am thrilled it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I followed the recipe but when I went to slice the bars, the shortbread was really crumbly and a lot of it fell off the bottom of the bars 🙁 Do you have any guess what I might have done wrong?
Hey Mims,
So sorry about this!! Was there anything you may have adjusted? Next time try using 2 sticks of soft butter and skip the brown butter. I hope this helps! xTieghan
I was so excited to try this recipe, but after freezing the bars and attempting to cut them for dipping, the shortbread crumbled away and separated from the caramel! Any tips?
Hey Katie,
So sorry about this!! I am wondering if your caramel was too hard? Next time, reduce your cooking time slightly. I hope this helps! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I made these today, but when I tried to dip them in the chocolate the caramel layer separated from the shortbread. Any thoughts on why this happened, and can they be salvaged? I just put them back in the freezer for now;)
Hey Cindy,
So sorry about this! Was your caramel on the harder side? You want to make sure you don’t overcook the caramel so that it stays a little soft and sticks to the shortbread. I hope this helps for next time! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
D E L I C I O U S ! ! ! So decadent and perfect for the holidays. A lot of steps but they are easy and even better if you break it up over 2 days. Whats the best way to store them after made?
Hey Josiline,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad you enjoyed the bars! I like to store in an airtight container on the counter or in the fridge. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Hello! Just gave these a shot and when I went to cut the bars, the caramel and the flour base didn’t stick together. Any thoughts on why that may be? The bottom is also pretty crumbly which is making it hard to navigate dipping. Any thoughts on where a first timer may have gone wrong would be helpful!
Hey Emiy,
So sorry you had issues with the caramel and the crust. Next time, try using 2 sticks of butter in place of the brown butter, I hope this helps! Happy Holidays! xTieghan