Dulce de Leche Squares

 

These Dulce de Leche bars were a delicious mistake invention. They were supposed to be Caramel bars with  a lovely homemade caramel in the middle, but we won't discuss what happened there. Luckily I remembered the can of Dulce de Leche hiding in the cupboard, and voila...Dulce de Leche bars! With the coconut in the crust, the caramel and chocolate, they reminded me of Samoas, one of my favorite Girl Scout cookies. They just needed some toasted coconut on top (which I didn't have because I'd used it all in the macaroons that I'll post later.) I liked that the crust was not sweet... it made a perfect base for the creamy caramel and fudgy frosting. They were very easy to make, and would be perfect for the special time when you want to make someone happy. And that includes yourself. Cut these small..share the love.

 

Dulce de Leche Bars (printable recipe)

Ingredients
Bottom crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 scant teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup desiccated coconut (This can often be found in the organic or health food section of the grocery store.)
1 stick butter
Middle layer:
1 can Dulce de Leche (I found it in the Mexican food section of my grocery.)
Topping:
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (I used Bakers) broken into pieces for easier melting
1/2 stick butter
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8"x8" baking pan. Cut parchment to fit into the bottom to make the bars easier to remove. Lightly grease parchment.
• For crust: Mix together flour, baking powder, salt and coconut. Melt butter and mix with the dry ingredients. Press into prepared pan.
• Pour Dulce de Leche over the crust. Bake at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.
• Place butter, chocolate and corn syrup into a small saucepan or double boiler. Melt over very low heat to avoid burning the chocolate. When chocolate and butter have melted, remove from heat and add vanilla. When mixture has partially cooled, whisk together until smooth and glossy. Pour over cooled Dulce de Leche. Allow chocolate layer to harden, and cut into small squares.