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I can hardly believe it, but this recipe right here is my first ever with Nutella as an ingredient.
It’s like I don’t even know myself. I mean, WHAT KIND OF BAKER AM I? How hath I forsaken thee, oh Nutella?
Sorry, I tried to channel Shakespeare there for a minute. I thought that would distract you all from the fact that my Nutella consumption is pretty much limited to me sticking my face in the cabinet and scooping that delicious chocolate concoction out as quickly as possible with the largest spoon I can find. You don’t want your kids to see you eat Nutella from a jar. It would give them ideas.
Kids with ideas are no good.
Trust.
Anyway, look! I baked with Nutella! I’m a new person.
These bars are super quick and simple to make, as are most of the recipes on this happy little blog of mine. The crust and crumb topping are the same thing, so you only dirty one dish there. The caramel just whips up in one sauce pan, and the Nutella? Well, you just spread that on with an 0ff-set spatula…then you lick the spatula clean. Repeat as many times as necessary. I won’t tell anyone.
Caramel Nutella Crumb Bars
Ingredients
For the crust & topping:
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
For the caramel & Nutella filling:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup Nutella depending on how thick you want your Nutella layer
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 13x9 baking dish with parchment paper.
- To make the dough, in the bowl of a stand mixer beat together the butter, sugar, and salt on medium speed until creamy using the paddle attachment. Beat in the vanilla.
- Turn the mixer to low and slowly add 2 1/4 cups of the flour, beating just until the dough becomes smooth and the flour is incorporated.
- Press 3/4s of the dough in the prepared baking dish. Press the dough evenly to form the bottom layer. Refrigerate while you prepare the crumb topping and filling.
- Add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour to the remaining dough and beat together until coarse and crumbly. Do not over mix.
- For the caramel filling, place the butter, corn syrup, brown sugar, and condensed milk in a saucepan over medium low heat. Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally. When the mixture begins to boil, whisk frequently until it darkens and begins to get thicker, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the refrigerator and spread with the Nutella (I used 1/4 cup, but would add a bit more next time) using an off-set spatula. You may need to warm the Nutella in the microwave for a bit to soften it up enough to spread easily.
- Pour the caramel filling over the Nutella layer and spread evenly with the spatula.
- Sprinkle on the crumb topping.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until the filling is a dark brown color and hot and bubbling. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes and then cut into squares.
Dana says
These look fantastic!!! DROOL!
amy @ fearless homemaker says
i made these yesterday afternoon and they are soooo good! i actually just snapped a picture of them + hope to put them on my blog today (with credit to you, of course). thanks for a fun, nutella twist on the regular caramel crumb bars!
Veronica @ Café con Leche says
I know this is kind of random, but I wanted to let you know that last semester when I was studying abroad in Spain, I saw these on your site and knew I had to have them. Like right that second. The drool was too much to handle but unfortunately my “madre” (aka Spanish host family mother) didn’t allow us to go in her kitchen, much less bake anything in there. I promptly emailed my sister back in America the recipe and because she is so sweet and thoughtful, she made them for me and shipped them to me all the way in Spain!! The package took three weeks to get there (slow mail these days…) but I still immediately gobbled every last bite of these bars – they were absolutely outstanding!!! The recipe is now printed out in our family recipe cookbook because it is so irresistible! 🙂 Thanks so much for the recipe Karly!!!!!
ashley says
hmmm….could you do this sans caramel???? nutella all the way!
Pretty. Good. Food. says
You had me at Nutella… 🙂
sweet road says
Sometimes sweet and simple desserts like these beat all other fancy dessert competitors by far! I would choose shortbread and nutella bars over tiramisu most days. Not all of them though… hehe.
alyce says
These sound delish!
Judy Diehl says
I made these and they turned out great. I did put some cling wrap on the base crust and used a small roller to get it to cover the bottom of the pan. I love Nutella but for those who don’t I think a raspberry jam or marmalade would make a good filling also.
Barbara says
Super idea, Karly. I’m not crazy about Nutella, but with the caramel it sure looks good!
Going to vote now….