Dulce de Leche Granola Shortbread Cookie Bars

Dulce de Leche Granola Cookie Bars are lick the crumbs off your fingers and the plate because you don't want any of it to go to waste, kind of good.

What's in these Decadent Shortbread Cookie Bars?

Let's just jump right in and break these bad boys down.

#1. Shortbread cookie base.

An ode to shortbread: Oh, shortbread, how I love thee. You're simplicity is a disguise that begs to be unwrapped so that we can delight in your buttery, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth perfection....

I don't know where this is going, but probably nowhere good, so let me just say that the shortbread crust in these cookie bars requires only that you pulse the ingredients in a food processor, press it into the pan and bake.

It's crumbly, buttery, and the perfect contrast to the crunchy granola and gooey dulce de leche.

#2. A Thick Layer of Dulce de Leche

Whoever discovered that you can turn sweetened condensed milk into the dreamy caramely substance we call dulce de leche has my undying love for all of eternity.

I just purchased a can of the heavenly stuff from my local grocery store, but it's also super simple to make. This Homemade Dulde de Leche recipe from April Flours is sublime.

#3. Granola.

These cookie bars contain lots and lots of granola, so choose a good one. My preference is for this homemade granola because...

1. It's better than any granola I've ever purchased
2. It contains nice big crunchy clumps of granola (ain't nobody got time for that loose, gravely stuff)
3. We always have some in the house because if it runs out we all get cranky. True story.

Also, it's hard to find granola without dried fruit in it (dried fruit in these cookies is something I don't really love).

And, see all those nice big chunks of almonds in there? You have total control over the fruit and almond situation if you just make it yourself.

More Popular Bar Cookie Recipes:

• Brookies ~ Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Bars
• Cherry Shortbread Crumble Bars
• The BEST Melt-in-Your-Mouth Lemon Bars
• Chocolate, Fruit, and Nut Shortbread Bars
• 8-Layer Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Bars
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
• And also, if you love Dulce de Leche, try this Dulce de Leche Baked French Toast

Continue to Content

📖 Recipe

Dulce de Leche Granola Shortbread Cookie Bars

Yield: 9 cookie bars

These cookie bars are messy, gooey, lick-the-caramel-and-crumbs-off-your-fingers-and-the-plate-because-you-don't-want-any-of-it-to-go-to-waste, kind of good.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 1 large egg yolk
• 13-oz dulce de leche
• 2 ½ cups granola

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Line a 8 or 9-inch square baking dish with foil, making sure the piece of foil is large enough to come up and over the sides by an inch or so. Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Add the flour, brown sugar and ½ teaspoon salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a couple of times just to combine. Scatter the butter over the top of the mixture and pulse 5 or 6 times, just until it looks like coarse meal.
3. Remove the lid from the food processor and drizzle the egg yolk over the surface of the mixture. Put the lid back on and pulse another 3 or 4 times to incorporate. Be careful to not over process the dough.
4. Dump the mixture out into the foil lined baking dish and press it down to cover the bottom. Cover the surface of the shortbread with a piece of plastic wrap, and use a spatula to pack it down into the pan, pressing the spatula with the heel of your hand to pack it in tightly.
5. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven to a wire rack and let cool completely.
6. Turn the oven temperature up to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
7. Scoop the dulce de leche into a bowl and heat in the microwave for 2 minutes at 50% power, stopping to stir every 30 seconds.
8. Scatter 1 ½ cups of the granola over the top of the shortbread crust. Drizzle the dulce de leche over the granola to cover. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes, until the dulce de leche is bubbling slightly around the edges of the pan.
9. Remove the pan from the oven to a wire rack. Working quickly, sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt over the hot dulce de leche and scatter the remaining 1 cup of granola in an even layer over the top of the bars. Using a spatula, gently press the granola into the dulce de leche.
10. Let cool completely, then slice into 9 bars. (NOTE: Placing the pan in the refrigerator for an hour or two after the bars have cooled to room temperature makes them a bit easier to cut.)

Notes

What Granola Should You Use in This Cookie Bar Recipe?

My favorite granola to use in these cookie bars is this Homemade Granola. We pretty much always have some of this granola in our cupboard, because if we don't, we all get a bit cranky about it. It's just the perfect thing to have on hand to sprinkle over yogurt in the morning, or grab a handful for that mid-afternoon snack, or to make these delicious cookie bars.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 9 Serving Size: 1 cookie bar
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 469Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 213mgCarbohydrates: 57gFiber: 3gSugar: 32gProtein: 10g

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