These Shortbread Toffee Cookie Bars are made with a buttery brown sugar shortbread crust, filled with a sweetened condensed milk caramel, and topped with milk chocolate and toffee bits! SO sweet and rich!
This recipe was originally published in 2014. The images and recipe tips were updated in 2021. The recipe remains the same!
Shortbread Toffee Cookie Bars is one of those recipes that has been around for ages, I think. I found the base for this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a try…unfortunately the picture just kept leading me back to a million other sites and never a proper source. Annoying.
So, I slightly varied the recipe that the person reposted on the picture. Recipe police, don’t arrest me.
Anyway, I know that calling these cookies “Best Ever” is a pretty confident statement to make, but I think they deserve the praise. Because these are the “Best Ever Shortbread Toffee Cookie Bars” I’ve ever had. Their base is a brown sugar shortbread, the filling is a caramelized sweetened condensed milk, and the topping is a mixture of milk chocolate and toffee. It’s everything you could ever want all in one place.
Recipe Ingredients
Let’s stop staring at these beautiful cookie bars, and bake them into being! Here’s what we’ll need to do that:
For the Shortbread Crust:
- Butter: Make sure the butter comes to room temperature so that it will easily cream with the sugar.
- Brown Sugar: I used light brown sugar for its sweet, caramel notes.
- Flour: I used all-purpose flour for these cookie bars.
For the Filling:
- Sweet Condensed Milk: Whatever brand your local store carries is fine.
- Butter: You can use salted or unsalted, whichever you prefer.
For the Topping:
- Chocolate Chips: You’ll need 2 cups of milk chocolate chips – if you want to add richness, mix in some dark chocolate chips.
- Toffee Bits: You can buy these at your local store, or make a batch of toffee and crush some of it up!
These chocolate toffee cookie bars take about 15 minutes to prepare, and 30 minutes to bake – and it’s all super easy! I love cookie bars because they can be a casual dessert for snacking on, but you can also make them as a somewhat decadent dessert.
Prepare: Preheat oven to 350° and line a 9×13 pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick spray.
Cream the Butter and Sugar: Beat butter and sugar together until combined, 1-2 minutes.
Mix in Flour & Bake: The mixture will be slightly dry. Press into prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow the pan to cool slightly.
Prepare the Filling & Bake Again: In a small saucepan heat sweetened condensed milk and butter together until butter is smooth. Pour over shortbread crust. Bake 12-15 minutes until filling is bubbly and browned. It will almost take on a light caramel appearance. Remove from oven.
Add Chocolate Chips: Immediately sprinkle milk chips on top of filling when it comes out of the oven. Place back in oven for 2 minutes until chips are shiny and soft. Carefully spread the chips over the filling with an off-set spatula.
Add Toffee Bits: Sprinkle with toffee bits, pressing into milk chocolate. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.
Looking for some tips to ensure the best results with your cookie bars? You’re in the right place:
- Cooling These Cookies: You can place these in the refrigerator to help speed up the cooling process. I allowed mine to cool at room temperature overnight, though, before I sliced and served.
- Don’t Over-Bake the Chocolate: You just want to make sure that it’s melted enough that you can spread it. It doesn’t have to cover the entire top of the cookie perfectly, because you’re going to add toffee on top, too!
- Add a Drizzle of Caramel on Top: I know, I know, sweetness overload, but it’s soooo good!
- Refrigerating the Shortbread Dough: You don’t have to do this, but it will ensure that the dough does not spread out too much it bakes – this is more relevant with separate cookies.
How to Store
I like to store these toffee cookie bars in an airtight container in the fridge (because of the chocolate) for 4-5 days. Let them come to room temperature before eating, though, because the shortbread will taste better that way.
Can I Freeze These?
Sure! You can freeze these cookies in an airtight container for 2-3 months. Thaw them in the fridge so they’re not too hard before eating!
Looking for more easy cookie bar recipes? Try these!
- Lazy Cookie Bars
- Glazed Berry Sugar Cookie Bars
- Funfetti Tye Dyed Cookie Bars
- Cinnamon Roll Cookie Bars
- No Bake Cookie Bars
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 30 Squares 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Shortbread Toffee Cookie Bars are made with a buttery brown sugar shortbread crust, filled with a sweetened condensed milk caramel, and topped with milk chocolate and toffee bits! SO sweet and rich!
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups flour
Filling
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 2 Tbsp butter
Topping
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups Toffee Bits
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Line a 9×13 pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick spray.
Shortbread Crust
- Beat butter and sugar together until combined, 1-2 minutes.
- Mix in flour. Mixture will be slightly dry. Press into prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
Filling
- In a small saucepan heat sweetened condensed milk and butter together until butter is smooth. Pour over shortbread crust. Bake 12-15 minutes until filling is bubbly and browned. It will almost take on a light caramel appearance. Remove from oven.
Topping
- Immediately sprinkle milk chips on top of filling when it comes out of the oven. Place back in oven for 2 minutes until chips are shiny and soft.
- Carefully spread the chips over the filling with an off-set spatula.
- Sprinkle with toffee bits, pressing into milk chocolate.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.
Notes
You can place these in the refrigerator to help speed up the cooling process.
I allowed mine to cool at room temperature, though, over night before I sliced and served.
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I have made these toffee bars about 3 times now – everyone loves them – home, work, friends. The only thing I have noticed is that the whole perimeter gets very hard, too hard to eat, so I cut the ends off and then they are perfect. Great recipe.
Hi! I just discovered your blog earlier in the week. So far I have tried your Cream-cheese sugar cookies, the soft sugar cookies, and I am doing this recipe today. I just realized this recipe calls for milk chocolate, which I do not have in my cupboard at the moment. As there is no way I am going back to the grocery store on Christmas Eve, I will just have to use semi-sweet chips now, and then make the recipe again with milk chocolate after Christmas. Oh, darn 🙂
I bet the semi sweet was still delicious!!
I just made these tonight to meet a pregnancy craving (6 months pregnant with my first). I love toffee, I love chocolate and who doesn’t love shortbread?!?!? I think I might double the caramel (condensed milk) next time and try melting the toffee bits and caramelize them on the top? Texturally I didn’t like the toffee on these (and it was a consensus with my mother in law and sister in law… not just me being weird pregnant). Overall, taste was great and I think this is a good base cookie bar recipe that had easy clean up as well. Maybe do nuts in lieu of toffee (which I can’t believe I am even saying) or cut back the toffee? Maybe even if I bake the toffee with the condensed milk rather than pressing it all on top? Going to play with it.
Omg. Less talking please. Ridiculous.
Rude.
Guess I’ll stop shopping for a brownie pipe….. I really enjoy your writing. 🙂
These look interesting. I’m not the best with bars of any kind but I found the recipe pretty easy to follow. Now if I can just survive the cool down part so I can sample ’em. I’ll let ya know when I do!
They’re in the oven now… EEEP!
Shelly, you are pretty darned funny. I loved your intro regarding the disappointed or crack challenged folks…. too funny. This looks simply amazing! Toffee and Shortbread – I am so there, thanks!
That recipe looks so yummy. I bet it would be even better with some rice crispier in it. What do you think? I want to try it but have never used rice crispier in anything. Do you know at what stage I would add them in to keep them crunchy?
Made these this weekend and everyone LOVED them! They are a combination of everything delicious- shortbread, chocolate, toffee, caramel-ly goodness. Amazing!!