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If you’re not familiar with millionaire’s shortbread, here’s what it is — a soft and flakey shortbread crust topped with a gooey caramel layer, finished off with a dark chocolate ganache! It’s such a delicious treat and certainly a favorite in our house. This version is vegan, gluten free, and paleo. It’s also sugar free and keto friendly! Give it a try, you will be obsessed!
How do I make this Millionaire’s Shortbread sugar free and keto?
To make this recipe sugar free/keto, you’ll want to use sugar free maple syrup and sugar free dark chocolate. I used pure maple syrup and sweetened dark chocolate in this recipe, but this recipe would work great with sugar free substitutes if needed. Lily’s Sweets and Let’s Bake Believe both have sugar free dark chocolate. Or you can make your own sugar free dark chocolate using unsweetened chocolate and sugar free maple syrup (see below for how to do that).
What ingredients do I need to make this Millionaire’s Shortbread?
You’ll need just a a couple simple ingredients to make this dessert. It’s so easy! The ingredients are:
- almond flour
- salt
- pure maple syrup
- dark chocolate (or unsweetened chocolate, see below)
- cashew butter
- full fat coconut milk
- coconut oil
- pure vanilla extract
Can I use a different nut butter?
If you don’t have cashew butter on hand or you prefer not to use it, you can use a different nut butter instead. I personally prefer this recipe with cashew butter, but you could try almond butter, walnut butter or peanut butter! Or you could use a seed butter like sunflower seed butter or tahini (sesame seed butter).
Do I have to use full fat coconut milk?
I personally prefer full fat coconut milk in this recipe since it gives the caramel filling a rich flavor and depth. So I would recommend using full fat coconut milk if possible. However, if you don’t want to use full fat coconut milk or you don’t have it, you could try lite coconut milk, almond milk, cashew milk, or any other nut milk. You could also try any other non-dairy milk (soy, oat, rice, etc.). I have only made this recipe with full fat coconut milk, but any other non-dairy milk should work.
What dark chocolate should I use?
You can use whatever dark chocolate you prefer. Hu Kitchen and Enjoy Life Foods both have vegan dark chocolate that tastes delicious. I have a 15% off code for Hu Kitchen products, which is bigleybasics.
How do I melt the chocolate?
You can melt the dark chocolate in the microwave or on the stovetop using the double boiler method. If you melt the chocolate in the microwave, it will help to add a little bit of coconut oil to the chocolate to help it melt smoothly (about 1 TBS). This isn’t necessary, but will help to thin the chocolate and help it melt smoothly. I highly recommend adding it!
Can I make this recipe with unsweetened chocolate?
If you want to make this recipe using unsweetened chocolate, you certainly can! You will want to melt the chocolate and coconut oil together first. Once melted, remove the chocolate mixture from the heat/microwave and stir in some pure maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt. I recommend using 5-6 oz unsweetened dark chocolate, 1 1/2 TBS coconut oil, 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract, and 1/2 tsp salt.
Want more bars?
Who doesn’t like dessert bars? Here are some more bar recipes to add to your baking repertoire.
Ready to make these insanely delicious shortbread bars? Here’s the recipe!
Millionaire’s Shortbread
Ingredients
For the Shortbread
- 1 1/3 cups almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the Caramel
- 2/3 cup cashew butter
- 1 cup full fat canned coconut milk
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the Chocolate Ganache
- 8 oz dark chocolate
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8×8 inch baking dish with parchment paper (or you can simply spray the dish really well with cooking spray, but parchment paper works best).
- While the oven is preheating, add all of the shortbread ingredients to a large bowl and mix until a crust forms (make sure the coconut oil is melted before adding to the other ingredients).
- Transfer the crust to the prepared baking dish and smooth it out using a spatula. Make sure the crust touches all the edges of the baking dish and there are no openings or cracks.
- Bake the crust for 15 minutes, until golden brown.
- While the crust is baking, add the caramel ingredients to a small saucepan and whisk them together over low heat.
- Once the caramel sauce is smooth and warm, remove it from the heat and let it cool (don't let the caramel get too hot or bubbly).
- Remove the crust from the oven after 15 minutes and let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Once the crust has slightly cooled, spread the caramel over the crust with a spatula. Let the bars cool for awhile and then place them in the freezer.
- While the bars are in the freezer, melt together the chocolate and coconut oil (in the microwave or on the stovetop). Make sure to stir the chocolate frequently so it doesn't burn.
- After about an hour, remove the bars from the freezer and pour the melted chocolate over the hardened caramel layer. Smooth the melted chocolate out with a spatula.
- Place the bars back in the freezer for at least 10-15 more minutes, until the chocolate layer is also hardened.
- Once the chocolate layer is hardened, you can cut into the bars and enjoy them immediately!