Chocolate caramel bars

So I finally saw Frozen for the first time on my flight home from Boston. Over the last few months, I've been told that I have to see this movie - and now I see why. I think I've listened to "Let It Go" fifty times at this point.

Anyways, all the grad school interview craziness is over, so all that's left is to make a final decision. But that's a decision for another day. Instead, tonight, I made gooey chocolate caramel bars to celebrate!

These bars have three layers. The base is a buttery crust, followed by a caramel layer, and then finally topped with a semi-sweet chocolate spread. Overall, it was pretty easy to make. It just took longer than I expected, since I had to wait for each layer to cool before I could add the next. 

Now that these are done, I'm going to go back to Youtube and listen to the Frozen soundtrack on repeat. Again. 

Unfortunately, there will be no baking next week (out of town at a conference), so stay tuned for the week after that!

Chocolate caramel bars (makes ~3 dozen bars)

• 1 cup/125 g flour
• 1/2 cup/100 g white sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 1/2 cup/110 g brown sugar
• 1/6 cup/57 g corn syrup
• 1/2 cup/3 oz semi-sweet chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a 7x11 pan with foil. 
2. Combine flour, white sugar, and salt together. 
3. Using a pastry cutter, cut in 7 Tbsp of the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs. 
4. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 18 minutes (edges will be light brown). 
5. Let cool (can speed up cooling by placing in fridge). 
6. Combine the butter, brown sugar, and 8 Tbsp (one full stick) of the butter in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium while stirring frequently until the mixture starts to bubble. 
7. When boiling is reached, let the mixture boil for 2 minutes without stirring. 
8. Pour immediately over the cooled crust and make sure the caramel spreads to the edges of the pan. 
9. Let cool (can speed up cooling by placing in fridge). 
10. Melt remaining 1 Tbsp of butter and chocolate (either in microwave or stove). 
11. Pour chocolate onto cooled caramel layer. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Enjoy!