Millionaire Shortbread for the Office

What’s Going on Today: Negotiating snow-laden New York with a stroller, morning trip to Time Warner Center for a pastry at Bouchon.

Naptime Goals: Make Millionaire Shortbread for husband's office and to give to friends.

Tonight’s Meal: Tomato Soup Florentine with a green salad and cheese toast.

Parenting Lesson of the Day: Snow snow go away, being stuck inside does not make our day.

Sometimes my love of baking overtakes me to the point that I have too many sweets in the house. When this happens I tend to pack off a nice big box of cookies and brownies to my husband's office and give several bags of goodies away to my friends. As for my husband, his colleagues love me for it, and I like to think it helps him earn some extra points with the boss. As for my friends, well they love me for it too, although not right before they leave for vacations that require bathing suits. Either way, it's the best way I can think of to move temptation out of my house before I gorge to the point of needing an entirely new wardrobe that is two sizes bigger than my current one.

Lately, I've been hooked on shortbread of all kinds. I've made Silver Palate Shortbread Hearts by the dozen, and when they've run out, I've made more. Then, the other day, I was flipping through my recipe box and found this old recipe of Millionaire Shortbread from my mother. I was immediately smitten, there was no better time to come across a recipe for shortbread with a layer of caramel and chocolate on top. The addition of these flavors were the perfect thing to take my shortbread making straight over the top.

Baking these during my daughter's naptime is a snap. In fact, the baking time is a short 20 minutes since only the shortbread needs to bake. The rest is matter of stirring the caramel and melting the chocolate. What sets this shortbread apart for me is the addition of rice flour to the batter, it creates a more delicate crumbly cookie instead of hard buttery brick. The caramel and chocolate layers are spread very thinly on top of it, setting for 30 minutes before each application, giving the whole bar a very refined appeal.

When I told my husband that I was making these this week he actually asked if he could take them to the office. Of course, I said yes. I do not need an entire 15x10 pan of these all to myself although, though, lord knows, I could polish it off in the matter of hours. After making during the naptime I let them chill overnight and cut them into squares the following morning. Half of the pan was sent to work, another quarter was given to friends and the rest stayed home with me. It's a good thing I portioned it this way, I've already eaten through my entire stash.

Millionaire Shortbread 

1 1/2 c. unsalted butter at room temperature
2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. white rice flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1 c. light brown sugar, well packed
1 12oz. bag semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and coat a 15x10" jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl mix 1 c. of unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, rice flour and granulated sugar with a wooden spoon until well combined and a little crumbly. Press dough in an even thin layer onto jelly roll pan. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until edges of shortbread are golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium heat melt 1/2 c. butter, condensed milk, corn syrup and brown sugar. Stir mixture constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture has thickened and is a deep caramel brown.
4. Pour caramel over freshly baked shortbread and spread it evenly in a thin layer with the back of a wooden spoon or a spatula. Place it in the fridge to set for 30 minutes.
5. Then, melt the chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave until it forms a smooth and creamy chocolate sauce.
6. After 30 minutes, remove caramel from the fridge and spread the chocolate over top. Return to fridge to chill for an additional 30 minutes. Then, cut into squares or triangles and serve.

Naptime Notes:

Naptime Recipe Variations and Ideas: A couple of times I've added sliced almonds on top of the chocolate, as well as finely chopped hazelnuts. Both are a great addition if you want a yummy nutty crunch to accompany your bite of shortbread.

Naptime Stopwatch: Making this takes about 1 hour, including the waiting time. I like to put the shortbread in the oven to bake and then make the caramel while it's baking. Usually it works out perfectly that the shortbread is cooled by the time is caramel is complete and ready to spread on top of it. While the caramel sets in the fridge catch-up on TV, then melt the chocolate chips and spread them on top and return to fridge to finish.

Naptime Reviews: Everyone loves this shortbread because of it's slightly more delicate crunch from the rice flour and nice even layers of caramel and chocolate. They add just the right amount of sweetness without going over the top.