I always bring these caramel bars as a dessert to potluck parties and they have always been a hit! Just the rights sweetness, soft, and nutty – best paired with coffee or tea!
Let your cravings lead the way. This phrase holds true for this recipe. I’ve been craving for Max’s caramel bars, and as the nearest Max’s restaurant is a 30-minute drive from where I live, I thought I should be able to make something similar in my own kitchen. My version, though more on the cakey side is equally good, easy, and cheaper to make!
These caramel bars are made from simple ingredients – flour, butter, eggs, vanilla, brown sugar, and cashew nuts.
I prefer to use light brown sugar over dark primarily because of the nice, golden brown color it gives, but if you don’t have one then dark brown sugar is okay.
A Note About Tempering Eggs
In Step 5 of the the recipe instructions, you would see that we need to temper the eggs. If you’ve never done it before, tempering eggs is nothing to fear.
Tempering means mixing a small amount of the hot liquid (such as hot milk or hot, melted butter) into the cold eggs. What we’re doing is slowly raising the temperature of the egg yolks so they don’t scramble. If you just combine the two mixtures, you’ll end up with cooked scrambled eggs in your sauce.
To do this, pour *some* of the melted butter mixture into the egg mixture while whisking constantly, then pour it all back into the saucepan with the remaining melted butter and continue mixing until smooth.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Shop efficiently (treat this as your grocery list) and gather your ingredients at home without running circles in your kitchen. (i.e. One trip to the fridge to get all your dairy needs.) You can still find the full printable recipe at the end of this post.
TOOLS & EQUIPMENT:
REFRIGERATED:
- butter. 227g/ 1 cup or 2 sticks of butter cut into cubes. The butter need not be at room temperature because we’ll be melting it in a pot anyway.
- eggs. 3 large eggs or 150g (weight is without shell).
PANTRY:
- flour. 156g or 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour. I highly suggest you weigh your flour. If you’re going to measure by cup then make sure to use the “spoon & level” method.
- baking soda . 1/2 teaspoon
- salt. 1/4 teaspoon fine salt/ table sale
- brown sugar. 250g or 1 3/4 cup packed of light brown sugar or golden yellow sugar.
- vanilla extract. 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
- cashews. 1/2 cup of chopped cashew nuts.
How To Make Step-By-Step
STEP 1.Preheat oven to 350°F/ (177°C) (no fan).
Mis en place. Have all the ingredients measured. Prepare the saucepan, mixing bowls, whisk, and a spatula.
Line the bottom of an 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and grease and flour the sides.
STEP 2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
STEP 3. In another mixing bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla extract.
STEP 4. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar and mix until combined.
STEP 5. Temper the eggs by adding about ⅓ of the butter mixture into the egg mixture while whisking constantly (to avoid cooking the eggs).
When they are mixed, return the eggs back in the saucepan (that is still over low heat) with the remaining butter mixture. Mix thoroughly with a whisk. Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture until combined. Be careful not to overmix or the bars will be tough. Turn off the heat.
STEP 6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
STEP 7. Evenly distribute the batter into the pan by gently spreading the batter to the sides using a spatula.
STEP 8. Sprinkle top with chopped cashew nuts.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick/ cake tester inserted into the centre of the bar comes out clean.
Cool completely before slicing them.
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Caramel Bars
Ingredients
- 156 grams (1 1/4 cup) bleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 227 grams (1 cup) unsalted butter
- 250 grams (1 3/4) cup light brown sugar
- 3 pieces large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup cashew nuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/ 180C. Line the bottom of an 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and grease and flour the sides.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.156 grams (1 1/4 cup) bleached all-purpose flour1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt
- In another mixing bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla extract. Set aside.3 pieces large eggs1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar and mix until combined. (Do not turn off the heat yet.)227 grams (1 cup) unsalted butter250 grams (1 3/4) cup light brown sugar
- Temper the eggs (Note 1) by adding about ⅓ of the butter mixture into the egg mixture while whisking constantly (to avoid cooking the eggs). When they are mixed, return the eggs back to the saucepan with the remaining butter mixture. Mix thoroughly with a whisk.
- Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture until combined. Be careful not to overmix or the bars will be tough. Turn off the heat. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Evenly distribute the batter into the pan by gently spreading the batter to the sides using a spatula.
- Sprinkle top with chopped cashew nuts. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick/ cake tester inserted into the centre of the bar comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting them.1/2 cup cashew nuts
Thanks for the recipe. I just tried this and it was a hit. ? But I wanted it to be more moist, what ingredient will i need to increase?
Thanks for sharing your feedback! =) Sugar adds moisture but I’m afraid it might be too sweet if you add more. Also, two of the common reasons baked goods are on the drier side are they’re either overbaked or there’s too much flour. If you measured your flour by cups, try measuring by weight next time.
Hi. Can i just use the ordinary all purpose flour instead of bleached flour?
Yes, you can!
Thank you for sharing recipes! it was a great help to us..
Thanks, Michelle. 🙂 So glad to know that!
Hi! My batter ended up really oily. The butter and the sugar didn’t mix well. I did use low heat while mixing continuously. What did I do wrong? I have yet to bake the product and I’m alreadt worried about the outcome.
Hi, Aivee. I’m sorry your batter didn’t end up well. There could be many reasons: the butter, sugar, or flour may not have been measured correctly; or the sugar and melted butter needed more mixing. By the time you add the flour, the batter should be on the thicker side (as shown in the step by step photos) but not oily.
“Really enjoyed this blog post.Much thanks again. Really Cool.”
Thank you! =)
Where do you use the milk?
Milk is not needed in the recipe. When I added the “Here’s What You’ll Need” section, I must have mistakenly copied it there. I have updated it – Thanks for pointing that out!
The recipe card and step by step instructions are showing the correct list and amount of ingredients.
Hi! Is milk needed in the recipe?
Milk is not needed – sorry for the confusion! The printable recipe is correct. I have updated the ‘Here’s What You Need’ section to be the same with the printable recipe.
Hi! I used bleached flour but it still came out dark brown on top and brown inside like your unbleached photo. Any suggestions to what else I might’ve done wrong?? Could it be from the brown sugar??
Hi, Tiff! Yes, the color of the brown sugar definitely affects the color of your finished product. I tried this using light brown, brilliant yellow, and dark brown sugar and they all taste the same to me; they just slightly differ in color. I find that the light brown sugar yields the nicest golden brown color. Hope this helps. 🙂
Hi! When I return the eggs in the saucepan is it still on medium heat?
Hi, Monique! When you return the egg mixture back into the saucepan it should still be in low heat. Turn off the heat on step 5, after adding the flour. Hope this helps!
Better than Max’s! 😀 Good Job Trish!