Brown Butter Millionaire Shortbread
Toasty, nutty, salty, caramel flavor sandwiched between layers of grain-free shortbread crust and dark chocolate! Decadent in all the best ways, this healthier interpretation of the classic Millionaire Shortbread isn’t sickeningly sweet, and is made free of refined sugar and grains (options for dairy-free/vegan/paleo). When you’re in need of a treat that does not mess around, Brown Butter Millionaire Shortbread is for you!
Nothing ever tastes quite so good as our favorite childhood treats. Well at least in theory. I’ve often found that when I go to taste some of my favorite sweets and treats from my own childhood, they are incredibly disappointing. They often taste sickeningly sweet, artificial, bland or make me feel straight up ill afterwards. Like Yoo-hoo. And Honey Nut Cheerios (which when I found out were gluten-free, my partner bought me a box and I finished it in 2 days and felt so terrible). So to rescue our nostalgic disappointment, the next best thing then is to recreate these delights to suit our contemporary, health-concerned adult palettes !
So this recipe isn’t my story, it is the walk down taste-memory-lane of my friend from England. He helped me move apartments, I traded him in baked goods and asked what he wanted me to make next for The Camel, and his immediate response was… Caramel (Millionaire) Shortbread! A biscuit base topped with layers of caramel and dark chocolate.
This recipe is DENSE. Be warned. Each little bar packs a deep flavor and nutritional punch. These Brown Butter Millionaire Shortbread imitate the toasty, nutty flavors of caramel through browned butter and the texture with nut/seed butter. The sweetness can be dialed up or down, but I’ve written this sucker to be about the limit of my personal sweet tolerance. The chocolate layer on top can be made using any store bought dark or semi sweet chocolate, but I’ve also given options for making your own darker, self-sweetened chocolate. Additionally the recipe can be entirely dairy-free and paleo by subbing coconut oil for butter, and skipping the browning step.
Happy indulging!
Ingredient Fun Facts + Substitutions:
- butter (browned): Browning butter is the process of melting butter and cooking until the milk solids begin to brown, which releases a nutty, toasty aroma and flavor. The butter itself is not much changed in this process besides enhancing flavor experience. Lightly browned is better than too dark, be careful not to burn it!
hot tip: I highly recommend using organic and/or grass-fed butter in general! Grass-fed butter has a much more advantageous nutritional profile than conventional butter (as well as avoiding many of the antibiotics, hormones and pesticides), and a plethora of antioxidants, vitamins and beneficial CLA fatty acids.
subs: To make this recipe dairy-free/paleo you can replace the browned butter for coconut oil, which is also solid as room temperature. You won’t get the same nutty depth of flavor from the browned butter, but it’ll taste creamy, salty and delicious nonetheless. Try using unrefined, virgin coconut oil to add more of a coconut-y flavor too!
- nut butter “caramel”: pretty much any nut or seed butter can be used to create the “caramel”. I love to make homemade sunflower seed butter because it is inexpensive, nutritious and freaking delicious, so that is what I used for the recipe. For a richer caramel try almond butter or cashew butter. Tahini (sesame seed butter) is another great flavor option. Get creative! Either way, the nut/seed butter should be as smooth as possible, so that your caramel doesn’t have a grainy texture.
- paleo biscuit base: the base can be replaced with a standard gluten-free shortbread crust recipe or can be made entirely with almond flour. For a 100% almond flour crust, replace the coconut flour with another 3/4 cup almond flour and keep everything else as is.
- chocolate layer: chocolate contains a variety of antioxidant compounds similar to those found in berries and wine. What makes chocolate unhealthy is overloading it with sugar and chemical stabilizers, so one the best way to consume chocolate is to sweeten it yourself (or not at all)! I give options in the recipe below for self-sweetening unsweetened baker’s chocolate for those looking to take these Brown Butter Millionaire Shortbread to the next flavor level. The darker the chocolate, the more it balances the salty-sweet “caramel” and brings the whole bar together.
How to Make Brown Butter Millionaire Shortbread:
Make the Crust
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a square baking dish with criss-crossing pieces of parchment paper
2. In a medium bowl mix to combine the almond flour, coconut flour, and salt
3. Add the melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla, and mix the crust with a fork until a crumble forms, and the wet ingredients are evenly distributed
4. Pour the crumble into the prepared dish and using a spatula, or oiled fingers, press into the pan into an even layer of crust
5. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until brown on the edges
Make the Caramel
6. While the crust is baking, brown the butter in a medium pot on a medium heat. This takes about 10 minutes. Swirl the butter often to ensure evening browning and avoid burning. The butter will foam and then turn brown, so watch carefully*.
7. When the butter smells toasty and faintly caramel, add the nut butter into the pot to cool the butter and stop it from continuing to brown. Then add the maple syrup, salt, and vanilla and mix to combine
8. When the crust has finished baking, pour the caramel on top into an even layer, let cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, and then transfer to the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set
Make the Chocolate Layer
9. When the caramel has nearly set, you can start the chocolate layer. You can either use 70% or bittersweet baking chocolate or sweeten the chocolate yourself.
10. Version #1:To sweeten the chocolate yourself, melt 100g of unsweetened baking chocolate in a double boiler or in 10 second increments in the microwave. Then add 30g of coconut sugar (or date or maple) and mix until the sugar has mostly dissolved (it will not dissolve as well as refined sugar). Then mix in the coconut oil
10. Version 2: Melt 115g dark chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave for 10 second intervals. Mix in the coconut oil
11. Pour your melted chocolate over the chilled and set caramel in an even layer. Return to the fridge and chill until set.
12. Using the parchment paper, remove from the baking dish and slice into 16 bars** (slice into 8 long bars, then slice in half), share (or don’t…) and enjoy!
13. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week
Brown Butter Millionaire Shortbread
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup | 100g almond flour
- 1/2 cup | 50g coconut flour
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 6 tbsp | 82g coconut oil
- 1 tbsp | 20g maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla (4g)
- 1/4 cup | 100g maple syrup
- 1/3 cup | 76g butter, browned
- 1/2 cup | 130g sunflower seed butter (or any other nut/seed butter)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp of sea salt (to taste, 1/2 tsp if using salted butter)
- 2/3 cup | 115g 70% chocolate, melted
- 2 tsp | 9g coconut oil
- 4 blocks | 100g unsweetened chocolate
- 3 tbsp | 30g of coconut sugar
- 2 tsp | 9g coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a square baking dish with criss-crossing pieces of parchment paper
- In a medium bowl mix to combine the almond flour, coconut flour, and salt
- Add the melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla, and mix the crust with a fork until a crumble forms, and the wet ingredients are evenly distributed
- Pour the crumble into the prepared dish and using a spatula, or oiled fingers, press into the pan into an even layer of crust
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, until brown on the edges
- While the crust is baking, brown the butter in a medium pot on a medium heat. This takes about 10 minutes. Swirl the butter often to ensure evening browning and avoid burning. The butter will foam and then turn brown, so watch carefully*.
- When the butter smells toasty and faintly caramel, add the nut butter** into the pot to cool the butter and stop it from continuing to brown. Then add the maple syrup, salt, and vanilla and mix to combine
- When the crust has finished baking, pour the caramel on top into an even layer, let cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, and then transfer to the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set
- When the caramel has nearly set, you can start the chocolate layer. You can either use 70% or bittersweet baking chocolate or sweeten the chocolate yourself.
- Version #1:To sweeten the chocolate yourself, melt 100g of unsweetened baking chocolate in a double boiler or in 10 second increments in the microwave. Then add 30g of coconut sugar (or date or maple) and mix until the sugar has mostly dissolved (it will not dissolve as well as refined sugar). Then mix in the coconut oil
- Version 2: Melt 115g dark chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave for 10
- second intervals. Mix in the coconut oil
- Pour your melted chocolate over the chilled and set caramel in an even layer. Return
- to the fridge and chill until set.
- Using the parchment paper, remove from the baking dish and slice into 16 bars*** (slice into 8 long bars, then slice in half), share (or don’t…) and enjoy!
- Store in the fridge for up to 1 week
Recipe Notes:
*Using a light colored pot or pan for browning the butter helps to see the color change more clearly, but it can be done in any pot or pan. Watch carefully as the butter can change really quickly!
**I used homemade sunflower seed butter, click HERE for the recipe
*** If the chocolate is too hard to cut easily, heat a knife over a burner on the stove (without touching), and then slice. Ease the knife in slowly, letting the heat soften the chocolate for cleaner slicing
Calories
253.45Fat (grams)
20.90Sat. Fat (grams)
10.09Carbs (grams)
13.66Fiber (grams)
2.56Net carbs
11.10Sugar (grams)
8.12Protein (grams)
4.24Sodium (milligrams)
178.88Cholesterol (grams)
10.34
