Eggnog Millionaire Shortbread Bars - Sweet ReciPEAs (2024)

These Eggnog Millionaire Shortbread Bars have a nutmeg shortbread base, eggnog bourbon caramel middle, and topped with chocolate.

I absolutely love making odd flavored caramels.

This time around I made eggnog caramel and made Eggnog Millionaire Shortbread Bars.

I can’t stand to drink eggnog but I love it in desserts.

Especially when paired with bourbon.

Now, because these are caramel they will ooze out a little once they are cut.

I purposely let mine start to ooze out for the pictures.

It takes a little bit for the caramel to travel, depending on the temperature where you are at.

So I suggest that you keep these in the fridge as well as not cut them until you are ready to serve them.

The caramel calls for both full fat eggnog and heavy whipping cream.

That combo is what works best.

I found when I did all eggnog the caramel was too runny.

If you are not a fan of booze you can just substitute more heavy cream in place of bourbon.

If your bars are still cold the top of the chocolate might separate a little.

Think of it as a candy bar.

What happens to the chocolate when you bite into it.

That happens with these…because they are basically a candy bar.

IngredientHighlights:

As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found at the bottom of this post.

• Unsalted Butter:You need to make sure you use European butter with the highest butterfat you can find. I make most of my fudge with a 85% butterfat butter. Most of the butter you find at the store is 80%. European butter starts at 83%.
• All-purpose flour –Spoon your flour into the measuring cup, then level it with a flat utensil for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly into your flour will lead to too much flour, and a potentially dry bake.
• Powdered Sugar: I like to use powdered sugar in my shortbread. Just make sure your powdered sugar is fresh and not clumpy.
• Fresh Ground Nutmeg:If you have not gotten yourself a nutmeg grinder yet, you totallyneed one. I use mine all the time as nutmeg is my go to spice.

For the Caramel and Topping:

• Baker’s Sugar:Also known as Superfine Sugar. It is granulated sugar that has been finely ground so the crystals are smaller. As a result, it dissolves easier than regular granulated sugar. Your fudge will be less grainy if you use this type of sugar.

• Ground Cinnamon:I used a Ceylon cinnamon which is a milder cinnamon. If you want a stronger cinnamon feel free to use it.
• Full Fat Eggnog: You don’t want homemade eggnog for this. Homemade tends to be too eggy and your texture gets way off in the caramel. I know, I’ve tried. It has to be full fat.
• Heavy Whipping Cream: Heavy whipping cream is to be use. No half and half. There is no substitute for this.
• Bourbon: I usually use either the Costco brand Bourbon (because I use so much of it in baking) or the Trader Joe’s brand. You can use bourbon or whiskey or even rum if that is your preference in booze for eggnog.
• Pure Vanilla Extract:I always use Rodelle vanilla. They are by far my favorite vanilla.
• Eggnog Extract: The first time I made these I discovered that it wasn’t eggnog-y enough for me. So I added some eggnog extract that they use in lollipops. I use this one.
• Semisweet Chocolate: While you can certainly use milk chocolate, this is a pretty sweet fudge due to it being frosted. So I went with semisweet to cut down the sweetness.

Tips for making successful Caramels:

• Get a good thermometer. There are a lot of variety of thermometers out there for candy.
  I prefer a digital laser thermometer (link to the one I use is in the recipe) but you can use the old fashioned kind that hand on the side of the pot.
• When making candy, especially fudge but even caramels I like to use asuperfine sugar.
  If you don’t want to spend the extra money (like me) for the special sugar just put it in the food processor and pulse a few times.
• Have all your ingredients out and measured before you start.
  Candy making is about timing and if you have to measure out as you go there is a good chance things won’t turn out.
• Be patient.This one is hard for people. I taught Jr. High for years so I have a lot of patience.
  Candy making takes time.
• Don’t stir.You will want to but don’t do it.
• Don’t scrape the bottom. Often in the caramelization process the bottom of the pan will get a little more brown than you want. So don’t scrape that into the pan. Just let what caramel comes out…come out.
• Don’t touch.You may be tempted to stick your finger in there to see how it taste. It tastes like burnt off finger if you stick your finger in there.

And as always it’s a great day to ordermy cookbook.

Want more Bar recipes?

Cowboy 7 Layer Cookie Bars

Butterscotch Walnut Meringue Bars

Chocolate Chunk Churro Cookie Bars

Apple Pie Millionaire Bars

Cowboy 7 Layer Cookie Bars

Yield: 24-ish bars

Ingredients

• For the Shortbread Base:
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• For the Eggnog Bourbon Caramel:
• 1/2 cup bourbon
• 3 cups superfine granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups prepared eggnog (FULL FAT)
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 10 TBSP unsalted butter
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1.2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp eggnog extract
• For the Chocolate Topping:
• 16 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 TBSP vegetable oil

Instructions

1. For the Nutmeg Shortbread:
2. Preheat oven to 300F.
3. Prepare a 9x13" baking dish by lining with parchment paper so as able to lift the bars out when done.
4. Cream together the butter, powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and nutmeg until smooth.
5. Add the flour and beat on medium speed until crumbly dough is formed.
6. Press dough evenly into the bottom of your prepared baking dish.
7. Poke several holes in dough with a fork, covering the entire surface.
8. Bake for 35-45 minutes until top is golden brown. Set aside to cool.
9. For the Eggnog Bourbon Caramel:
10. Combine bourbon, sugar and corn syrup in a deep saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Boil until mixture is fragrant and a deep golden brown, swirling occasionally.
11. In a small saucepan, bring eggnog, heavy whipping cream, butter, sea salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a simmer while waiting for the sugar mixture to brown. Once simmering and butter melted, remove from heat and set aside.
12. When sugar mixture is ready, turn off heat and slowly add eggnog mixture. Make sure that you use a deep saucepan for the sugar mixture and take caution as the sugar and cream combination will bubble violently at first.
13. Stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, cook for about 10 minutes until a candy thermometer reads 248F.
14. Once desired temperature is reached, remove from heat, quickly stir in vanilla and eggnog extract and carefully pour caramel into prepared pan. Do not scrape sides of saucepan; this caramel will be slightly overdone and can be discarded.
15. Pour the caramel over the shortbread.
16. For the Chocolate Topping:
17. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.
18. Stir in the oil to thin it out and give it a shiny appearance.
19. With an offset spatula apply a thin layer of the chocolate on top of the caramel layer.
20. Once chocolate has set keep in fridge until ready to serve. Then cut shortbread into squares and serve.