I might or might not have totally binged on those until I got sick… but how could you not?! I mean look at these: A thick layer of buttery almond shortbread covered with soft maple caramel and topped with cinnamon chocolate ganache. This Holiday Millionaire’s Shortbread – a seasonal twist on a classic just in time for Christmas – is definitely one of the most divine treats I’ve made in a while, if not one of the best of all time. Seriously. SO GOOD.
I do have to admit that the first batch of these was a total fail. I made a rookie mistake and I want to share it – although it was a pretty dumb mistake and I’m not assuming you’re as dumb as me. Anyway, first mistake I made was thinking that evaporated milk is kind of the same as condensed milk and would work. So yes, this can happen even to a seasoned baker. In my defense, I am not using this stuff a lot so I really didn’t know there is a significant difference. Evaporated milk is literally just richer, evaporated milk and is totally liquid. Condensed milk is very thick. It’s milk that has been cooked down with lots of sugar. So everyone but me probably knows this but if you didn’t, here you go.
Second mistake I made was that I immediately poured it over the shortbread and it made the shortbread very soggy (and since the caramel was liquid it actually made the shortbread float on top which is almost to embarrassing to even tell you).
Anyway, be sure to use condensed milk (even though you CAN in fact use evaporated milk to make caramel but just not in this case), and let it sit and cool and thicken for just a couple of minutes, so it won’t soak your shortbread. Putting it in the fridge right away also helps it set quicker.
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1.5 sticks butter
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 stick butter
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup dark or semi sweet chocolate chips
- ½ stick butter
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- Heat the oven to 350F and grease an 8x8 inch rectangle baking tin.
- To make the shortbread, mix the all-purpose flour, almond flour, almond extract, and sugar in a bowl. Rub the softened butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Knead the mixture together until it forms a dough, then press into the base of the prepared tin.
- Bake the shortbread for 20 minutes or until firm to the touch and very lightly browned. Leave to cool in the tin.
- To make the caramel, place the butter, maple syrup, and condensed milk in a pan and heat, stirring occasionally.
- Bring caramel to a boil, stirring all the time, then reduce the heat and simmer very gently, stirring continuously, for about 5-10 minutes or until the mixture has thickened slightly.
- Let the caramel cool down and thicken for about 10-15 minutes, then pour over the shortbread and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to cool.
- For the topping, melt the chocolate and butter slowly in a bowl over a pan of hot water or the microwave. Once the chocolate and butter has melted, add cinnamon.
- Pour over the cold caramel and leave to set. Cut into squares or bars.
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