RECIPE: Gluten-Free Salted Caramel Chocolate Chunk Bars

This post will be pretty straightforward!  I'm just providing the recipe for my gluten-free salted caramel chocolate chunk bars.

Gluten-Free Salted Caramel Chocolate Chunk Bars

Ingredients:

-  2 c. + 2 T. gluten-free flour (you may use a blend of your choice or Bob's Red Mill)

-  ½ tsp. baking soda

-  Scant 1 tsp. sea salt

-  ¾ c. Earth Balance Spread, melted

-  1.5 c. organic brown sugar

-  1 Ener-g ‘egg’:

-  2 tsp. vanilla extract

-  1.5 c. vegan chocolate chips (EnjoyLife brand is best)

-  ½ c. salted caramel sauce*

-  Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

-  Sea salt, for sprinkling

*To make caramel sauce, melt 3/4 c. sugar in a large sauce pan over medium heat.  Once totally melted, add 3/4 c. + 1 T. soy creamer (or coconut fat) to melted sugar.  Return to heat and continue to stir until clumpy sugar has melted down again.  Add another 3/4 c. + 1 T. soy creamer to the mixture and once mixture reaches 230' (this takes about 20 minutes, if you don't have a candy thermometer), remove from heat and add 1 T. Earth Balance, 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 1/4 tsp. salt (or 1/2-1 if you want it fairly salty!!!).  Stir until everything is incorporated and pour into a glass container to cool.  Recipe makes more than 1/2 c. required for recipe so make sure and measure out the caramel before using!


Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 325°.  Line a 9 x 9-inch glass casserole dish with foil, grease and set

     aside.

2.  Prepare starch egg in a small food processor or coffee grinder.  With a stand mixer, mix
     butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add prepared starch ‘egg’ and vanilla.  Gradually

     add dry ingredients until just combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.

3.  Press half of dough into prepared casserole dish.  Drizzle caramel sauce over dough, spread

     out evenly with a spatula, and drop remaining dough, in clumps, on top of caramel. 

     Sprinkle turbinado sugar and sea salt on top.

4.  Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and edges are just slightly

     golden.

5.  Allow pan to cool completely before cutting into bars.  *Note:  Freezing the pan can make cutting bars easier!