Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Bars

I was invited to a gigantic BBQ for memorial day, so I needed something impressive to bring. After crowdsourcing suggestions, I stumbled upon this recipe after someone suggested a different recipe from this site. I’m a BIG fan of salty sweet combo, and we’re a dark chocolate house, so it seemed like a good fit. But pie didn’t seem like the most practical thing to bring to a BBQ. I figured I could switch the recipe into bars fairly easily. I also doubled the recipe due to the number of guests 

Crush the Oreos in the food processor, or by hand. I had to do it in two batches because two packages of Oreos won’t fit in my food processor, but it was still quick work.

  Cut two sticks of butter into chunks and melt them in a microwave safe dish for 30 seconds. Stirring should melt any remaining pieces, but, if some remain, microwave for 15 seconds until melted.

  Mix the melted butter into the cookie crumbs until incorporated.

 Line a 9”X13” cake pan with parchment paper, making sure the sides of the pan are covered as well as the bottom. I used baking spray to grease the parchment paper. Pour the cookie mixture into the pan and pound it flat with the bottom of a heavy glass. Then freeze the crust for 10 minutes.

Cut two more sticks of butter into chunks and throw them in a small sauce pan. Add 1 1/3 cups of brown sugar and mix over medium heat until it begins to bubble. (As I write this, I wonder if I actually let it bubble – I don’t remember bubbles.)

Cook for one more minute, then remove from the heat and stir in half a cup of whipping cream.

Let it sit for 15 minutes and then pour it on top of the cookie crust. Spread the mixture evenly and put the cake pan back in the freezer for 30-45 minutes. Now this is important – make sure the pan is flat in the freezer. Otherwise, the caramel will pool in a corner. Not only will your caramel be uneven, but the structural integrity of the bar will be fucked up.

When you’re almost ready to take the pan out of the freezer, put 24 OZ of dark chocolate chips into a large microwave safe bowl. Melt the chips at 30-second intervals, stirring in between.

When the chips are melted, add two cups of whipping cream and stir until it looks chocolatey and shiny. Pour the chocolate over the caramel and freeze for another 30 minutes. Then place the cake pan in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.

  
Slice into bars of desired size. They are very rich, so I’d go small and let people have seconds. Right before serving, sprinkle some sea salt on top. Table salt will work if that’s all you have, but it won’t give the same visual flourish.

These were a huge hit at the BBQ. One guy called them life changing! Just so you know, I was speaking from experience when I wrote about freezing the caramel on an uneven surface. The bars fell apart that were cut from the side where the caramel pooled. The chocolate slid right off as the caramel oozed out. Still delicious, but less impressive… And we all know how important it is to be impressive. Also, as far as BBQ food goes, these are not the ideal dessert to have out in the sun. I’m sure the people who got to them early had a cleaner experience. If I did this over again, I’d probably make mini pies in cupcake wrappers, so that you get the hand held dessert, but with a little more protection from it dripping down your hand. Also, mini pies would be much easier to transport in my awesome cupcake caddy—which is also very impressive.