Millionaire’s Shortbread

By Samantha Seneviratne

Total Time: 1¾ hours
Rating: 4(2,775)
Notes: Read community notes

Plain shortbread, a combination of the most basic ingredients in the baker’s pantry, is an understated sweet, but millionaire’s shortbread is a spectacle. It’s a flashy cookie, topped with swoops of chocolate and chewy caramel made from condensed milk, butter and Lyle’s Golden Syrup. A British confection made from cane sugar, Lyle’s is found near the honey and maple syrup in any well-stocked supermarket, but if you can't find it, corn syrup makes a fine, if slightly less flavorful, substitute.

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Ingredients

Yield:32 bars

For the Shortbread Layer

12tablespoons/170 grams unsalted butter (1½ sticks), at room temperature but not too soft
½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
1½cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
½teaspoon kosher salt

For the Caramel Layer

1(14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4tablespoons/55 grams unsalted butter (½ stick)
2tablespoons Lyle’s Golden Syrup or light corn syrup
½teaspoon kosher salt
½teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Chocolate

8ounces/226 grams semisweet chocolate, chopped

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Make the shortbread layer: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add flour and salt, and beat on low just until the mixture is evenly combined and the texture of coarse sand.
Step 2
Tip mixture into prepared pan, and press down firmly into an even layer. Bake until top is dry and light golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
Step 3
Make the caramel layer: In a medium saucepan, combine condensed milk, butter, Golden Syrup and salt. Cook mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until it has thickened and changed from a milky yellow color to the color of butterscotch pudding, 10 to 20 minutes. It should read 220 degrees to 225 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Adjust the heat as necessary to keep the bottom from scorching. Stir in vanilla extract. Immediately pour the caramel over the baked crust and spread it into an even layer.
Step 4
Prepare the chocolate: In the microwave or over a double boiler, melt the chocolate in short bursts, stirring often. Spread melted chocolate in an even layer over caramel. Chill until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. To serve, cut the parchment-free sides away from the pan with a sharp knife, then transfer the shortbread to a cutting board using the parchment overhang. Cut into 32 small bars.

Ratings

4 out of 5

2,775 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Andrea5 years ago

Paul Hollywood uses la different recipe that I like better. I use this shortbread recipe and his caramel. Makes a perfect cookie. ¾ cup packed light brown sugar ⅓ cup sweetened condensed milk 3 tbsp. golden cane syrup (such as Lyle’s Golden Syrup)

Margaux Laskey, Staff Editor6 years ago

You can pop it into the fridge while you melt the chocolate, but it's not 100% necessary. It's more important that you allow the shortbread to cool before spreading the caramel on top.

Adrienne6 years ago

Delicious and easier than I expected! Next time I may actually increase the amount of chocolate—maybe do 8oz semisweet plus 4-6oz bittersweet or unsweetened—because the chocolate layer was pretty thin and I am a fiend.

Emily6 years ago

Delicious! Only thing I did differently was to butter the pan before lining with parchment paper. Not too sweet and perfect amount of salt in the caramel layer.

Victoria Maras5 years ago

The second time I made these, I embedded some mini pretzels into the caramel layer, then added more on top of the chocolate. I thought it was an upgrade-- added some more salt and texture without changing too much of a pretty great recipe.

LH4 years ago

cookingforfunnt5 years ago

I didn’t love the flavor of the caramel when cooking - it wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet; it just tasted too much like condensed milk. Based on other comments, I therefore used 10 oz (instead of 8 oz) of bittersweet chocolate (instead of semi-sweet) and I sprinkled sliced almonds and sea salt over the top. The caramel did harden as it cooled and became difficult to spread, and the bars took longer than 30 min to cool in the fridge. However, they were devoured too rave reviews. Will def make again!

TheAdventuresofDarbs5 years ago

So rich and decadent! We love eating Millionaire's Shortbread in Ireland and the UK so we were excited to recreate this to share with friends at home in California. I would strongly suggest finding Lyle's Golden Syrup if possible as it lends to a more rich and flavorful finished product. If you can'd find it in your local shop, Amazon sells it. Buy a two-pack and make this gorgeous dessert all year long. Your friends will LOVE you!

Theo6 years ago

I'm not an intuitive cook. This is why I use a recipe and this one was annoyingly vague. It was hard to get the caramel to 220 without it becoming quite thick and on the verge of scorching. Yes, you can spread the just melted chocolate (don't let it start to cool down and thicken) over the hot caramel, which sets up quickly. I like the taste of sweetened condensed milk, but it really overpowered this dessert and in the end I found it cloyingly sweet.

David Breitenfeld5 years ago

Use your torchier to super heat your chefs knife

rebecca4 years ago

I actually prefer the shortbread used in this recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018402-spiced-pecan-date-shortbread-bars it only uses powdered sugar in the shortbread and it is spectacular, the best shortbread ive ever made.

Schwalker4 years ago

Very simple recipe, followed directions almost exactly, very pleased with results. Regarding challenges faced by others: caramel really does need to be stirred constantly as it comes to temp, and use metal whisk instead of a spatula - whisk pulls the caramel from bottom of the pot much more efficiently than spatula. Don't heat knife when cutting - it melts the chocolate, and mars the layers of the cookie. Don't use extra chocolate - it eclipses delicate caramel flavor. Highly recommend recipe!

Eli5 years ago

Hi, I just wanted to ask: is the shortbread suitable for freezing? If not, how long is it safe to keep it?

scraps3 years ago

I made these exactly as written and I found the taste to be just perfect, if not a tad on the sweet side. My beef with this is the cutting is nearly impossible. Even with the sharpest of knives, the chocolate cracks, it smooshes the caramel, and you can not get the beautifully cut bars in the photo. Instead, use half the caramel, half the chocolate. Slightly freeze after the addition of caramel. After the chocolate is added, cut while the chocolate is not fully hardened. Use a warm, wet knife.

Margaux Laskey, Staff Editor6 years ago

I'm afraid not, but you could certainly add a touch more salt to the caramel for balance.

joshc3 months ago

I was short on parchment and made them using cupcake paper instead. Worked well, but you have to cook the shortbread at the shortest possible time and spread the caramel like you mean it or have a partner to help you do it before it sets. Not the prettiest, but delicious. I found it helpful to stir the caramel with a whisk, grease the bottom of the pan before the parchment (both with cupcakes and the normal method), and to mix in a tiny bit of coconut oil with the chocolate while melting.

Andrea6 months ago

I made these for the first time and they are delicious. One improvement I would make is to increase the butter in the shortbread as it ended up a bit dry. I think 2-3 T more would do it.

Jenny6 months ago

My family LOVED these! I did add a little extra chocolate. Also, it was so close to Christmas that everyone was out of Lyle's syrup. I did half light and half dark corn syrup. The first batch was eaten so quickly that I have to make again for gifts! The recipe is quite easy to make; the only work is stirring the caramel.

Mary6 months ago

Delicious but cutting them was tricky. Use the sharpest knife you own. I cleaned mine in warm water and dried it off between long cuts. May have eaten the slices that broke

Sam6 months ago

Added a layer of pretzels on top of the caramel and I'm not sad about it. Didn't get very dark colored caramel, but the thermometer read 225F. Excellent recipe.

Britgirljulie6 months ago

One of my favourite treats ever… Memories of growing up in UK

Melissa S6 months ago

For the chocolate layer, easier to sprinkle 8 oz of semisweet chocolate chips on the warm caramel (let caramel cool for 5-10 min first). Let sit for a few minutes then use small offset spatula to smooth. Chill in fridge several hours or overnight (takes longer than 30 min to chill/set chocolate).

Gina6 months ago

Made the recipe exactly as is. Brought to a party and they were devoured. Definitely cut small—perfect.

albanyan6 months ago

for those who have had difficulty cutting this, here’s what worked for me: chill finished bars until the chocolate is firm and no longer glossy (i chilled it overnight). take it out and let it rest maybe 30 min, and use a thin, straight blade to score the chocolate. use same thin blade to cut along scored lines. hope this helps.

Lani8 months ago

I cooled the caramel, chilled the ganache, then assembled. But the ganache slides off the caramel! What did I do wrong?

Joao Pereira11 months ago

Very bad. Not good. Would not reccomend. Ugh.

one lucky lass1 year ago

I did a deep dive into perfecting this cookie. This recipe was disappointing as the caramel at 220 degrees did not set

ceegee1 year ago

So delicious. I sprinkled some fleur de sel on top and it made all the difference. And I used my caramel - birite recipe. Perfect.

Pam1 year ago

This recipe is just ok. The colour advised from the picture and method for the caramel are terrible so I took the caramel to 230f, soft ball stage and it had a nice caramel colour and good flavour. The shortbread is really crumbly making it quite hard to slice, and I only baked it for the lower recommended time of 30 minutes. I will keep searching for a better recipe.

Emily1 year ago

Highly suggest using a whisk when making caramel instead of a spatula- helps to keep it from burning.

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