Dulce Berry Bars

    These bars are my decadent creation from a recipe I came across.  If you like dulce de leche, you will probably LOVE these bars.  The condensed milk carmelizes as it bakes.  You can use any flavor of jam.  If you happen not to be a fan of chocolate, you could use butterscotch or peanut butter chips instead.

        2 C (240 g) all-purpose flour

1/2 C (106 g) packed brown sugar

1 C (225 g) butter, slightly softened

1/2 C (57 g) chopped pecans (or other nuts)

1 can (14 oz or 400g) sweetened condensed milk*

1 C chocolate chips

1/2+ C berry jam or other flavor

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Line a 9 x 13” baking pan with heavy-duty foil or parchment paper that covers the entire pan including the sides, to make a sling for easy removal.  Butter or spray with oil.

(The gooey condensed milk, which makes this so yummy, can stick to the foil if it is NOT greased well.  You want to be able to pull the entire piece of foil out.  Try not to make too many folds in the corners, or the cookie may get stuck in the folds and be hard to remove.)

Combine flour and brown sugar.  Cut in the butter until crumbly.  Press about 3 C of the crumb mixture into the buttered pan.  Reserve the rest.

Bake until golden, 10-15 minutes.   Remove from oven.  

Meanwhile, add the pecans to the reserved crumbs and set aside.

Pour the [1] condensed milk over the hot crust.  

Sprinkle with [2] chocolate chips.

Spread the [3] crumbs evenly over the chocolate chips.  

Spoon dollops of [4] jam over the crumb mixture.

Return to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the center is set and the condensed milk has carmelized and is at least golden or slightly darker in color.  

Cool on rack, then remove from pan using the foil sling. Cut into bars as desired. (I like to cut the bars about 1 1/2" by 2 1/2" but any size will do. (5 long rows by 6))

*I recently found 7 oz. cans at Grocery Outlet to make 1/2 recipe in an 8” square pan.