Chocolate Dulce De Leche Shortbread

   So, I told you I would say what I was making my dulce de leche for, and this is it!

​    A melt-in-your-mouth shortbread, covered with the caramelized sweetened condensed milk goodness (dulce de leche), and finished with chocolate. Lovely. 

Chocolate Dulce De Leche Shortbread

Ingredients

Shortbread:

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

Dulce De leche:

• 1 13.4 ounce can dulce de leche (or make your own here)

Chocolate:

• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat 1-1/2 cups butter with an electric mixer (stand mixer, or hand mixer) on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar and (1 1/2 tsp) vanilla; beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. 
3. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer; stir in any remaining flour. 
4. Cover and put into fridge to chill for a while. 
5. Now, to give the dough time to chill, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
6. Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with parchment, leaving extra parchment as "handles" to pull the squares out of the pan after. Press dough evenly into bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
7. Spread dulce de leche in an even layer on the cooled crust.
8. In a medium saucepan, heat whipping cream, the 6 tablespoons of butter, and the corn syrup to boiling over medium heat, stirring to dissolve syrup. Remove from heat. 
9. Add chocolate and vanilla to saucepan, but do not stir. Let stand 5 minutes, then stir until smooth. Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature to cool slightly. 
10. Slowly pour chocolate mixture over dulce de leche layer, spreading evenly (if the chocolate is still too hot, it will just "bleed" a little through the dulce de leche {as you can see mine did in the photos| but it's all good, they still taste yummy!). Cover and chill 1 to 2 hours or until chocolate layer is set.
    

    Once the chocolate has set, using your parchment handles, pull the uncut squares out of the pan, and you can put them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (or in the freezer for up to 3 months-cut or uncut) in an airtight container. Or, if you are using them right away, place them on a cutting board and cut them into bars or squares.   

     Then, eat them! :)   

The gooey dulce de leche

     To plate these, the squares do well in their own little muffin cups so that that don't get sticky with each other (but it is not necessary, just my thoughts). Also, they are better to stay in the fridge until you are ready for them because the chocolate is soft-ish, and if it gets to room temperature, it gets softer (not that it makes them yucky or anything!).   

   I hope you get a chance to bake something this weekend, maybe even this!

   Have a great weekend!