These gluten free caramel almond shortbread bars are a must-make for the holiday season and one of my all-time favourite Christmas treats. They start with a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread base, layered with rich, golden caramel, and finished with a topping of crunchy, caramel-coated almonds. Each bite is the perfect balance of sweetness and texture, making them a standout addition to any dessert platter or cookie exchange. Simple to make and absolutely irresistible, these bars are sure to become a holiday favourite in your home too!
Are they a cookie or a bar?
- Gluten free caramel almond shortbread bars blur the line between a bar and a cookie. They have the sturdy, sliceable structure of a bar, paired with the rich, buttery flavour and crumbly texture of a cookie—making them a delightful hybrid treat perfect for any occasion!
Layers
These gluten free caramel almond shortbread bars are truly magical. The buttery shortbread base pairs perfectly with the crunch of toasted almonds and the sweetness of the caramel topping. To make these bars, you’ll start with a tart pastry (pâte sucrée) that is baked before adding the caramel almond layer. The trickiest part of this recipe is achieving the perfect caramel consistency—just the right temperature ensures a smooth and luscious texture that melts in your mouth.
ingredients
- Gluten Free Tart Pastry (Pate Sucree): This is where you can make it is a little bit easier for yourself. You will need some batch of it. You can make this right before popping it into the oven, or you can make it the night before.
- Honey
- Butter
- Whipping Cream
- Sugar
- Water
- Corn Syrup
- Salt
- Almonds: Slivered almonds, with or without the skin. That is personal preference, or whatever is easier for you to find.
Supplies
Storing
I store these cookies in an airtight container. By cutting stripes of wax paper, you can weave it in between the cookies so the caramel does not stick to the bottom of another cookie.
These cookies will last in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
I would not recommend freezing these cookies as the caramel might not be the correct consistency you are after. You could freeze the batch of tart pastry (pate sucree) before baking it to save you time later.
Gluten Free Caramel Almond Shortbread Bars
Ingredients
- 1 Batch of tart pastry (pate sucree)
- 100 Grams Honey
- 115 Grams Butter
- 125 Grams Whipping Cream
- 200 Grams Sugar
- 120 Grams Water
- 1 Gram Corn Syrup
- 1 Gram Salt
- 220 Grams Silvered Almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F
- Remove the tart pastry or pate sucree from the fridge. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, ensuring it covers the edges as well.
- Roll the tart pastry out to the entire size of the baking sheet. Ensure it hits the sides of the baking pan as you will be pouring the caramel/almond mixture over it, so you want shortbread under it.1 Batch of tart pastry (pate sucree)
- Poke it with a fork to ensure it does not bubble up just like you would to a tart or a pie.
- Put it in the oven for 14 minutes. Remove from the oven once it is done baking and set aside.
- Turn the oven up to 400F.
- In a small pot, melt together butter, honey and cream until it is hot. Turn off the burner and leave it there to stay hot.100 Grams Honey, 115 Grams Butter, 125 Grams Whipping Cream
- In a large pot, add in sugar, water and corn syrup. Do not stir this, only swirl the pot if you need to. Wait until this turns a honey amber colour.200 Grams Sugar, 120 Grams Water, 1 Gram Corn Syrup
- Once it has turned the colour you are looking for, turn off the heat and slowly pour in the cream mixture. It will bubble up, but you can stir it with a heatproof spatula.
- Put the large pot back on medium/low heat. Stir it occasionally until it reaches 252F. Remove it from the heat and stir in the almonds and salt.1 Gram Salt, 220 Grams Silvered Almonds
- Once all the almonds are coated, pour it over the tart pastry. Using a heat proof spatula ensure it covers the edges with the caramel almond mixture.
- Bake for 10 minutes. You will see a couple bubble from the center of the caramel, and you will know that it is ready to remove from the oven.
- Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool until you are able to touch the top without burning yourself, around 15 minutes.
- Pull the parchment paper from the tray onto a cutting board. Slice the bars into whatever size you would like. I usually do 5 rows long by 8 columns. This makes a decent sized bar and around 40 bars. Once they are cut, remove them one by one onto a cooking rack. Make sure they are separated so you do not have caramel sticking together. Wait until they are fully cooled to packaged up. Enjoy.
Did you make this recipe?
Lovely. Now let me know how you liked it and how easy it was to bake. Tag @laurabakesglutenfree on Instagram and hashtag it #laurabakesglutenfree.
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