Salted Caramel Butter Bars

Buttery richness wrapped around caramel goodness.  These bars are delicious. 

With Paula Deen proportions of butter in this recipe, what is not to love about this easy and tasty recipe.  I did have to bake the bars longer than the recipe says and I still think I could have left them in 5 more minutes....but all in all
this is a keeper.

Salted Caramel Butter Bars
source:  http://www.pipandebby.com/pip-ebby/2012/2/21/salted-caramel-butter-bars.html

Servings: 16    
Ready in: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients:
4 sticks (1 lb) salted butter, 
     at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla
4 cups all-purpose flour
One 14-oz. bag caramel candies, 
     unwrapped
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars. Using hand-held mixer on medium speed, beat 
together until creamy. Add vanilla and beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter 
mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Press one 
half of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust. Place remaining dough in 
refrigerator.
3. Bake until firm and edges are pale golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. 
While the bottom crust is baking and the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel 
filling. Place the caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream and vanilla, and
microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If 
caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring 
after each interval, until smooth.
4. Pour the caramel filling over the crust. Sprinkle the salt over top. Remove remaining dough 
from refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel. Return the pan to the oven and 
bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, 
about 25-30 minutes. Let cool before cutting into squares.

Enjoy!