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Caramel Bars (Max’s Inspired)

by trish 32 Comments

I always bring these caramel bars as a dessert to potluck parties and they have always been a hit! Just the rights sweetness, soft, and nutty – best paired with coffee or tea!

Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com
Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com

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Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com
Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com

Let your cravings lead the way. This phrase holds true for this recipe. I’ve been craving for Max’s caramel bars, and as the nearest Max’s restaurant is a 30-minute drive from where I live, I thought I should be able to replicate these bars from my own kitchen. My version is equally good, easy, and cheaper to make!

These caremel bars are made from simple ingredients – flour, butter, eggs, vanilla, brown sugar, and cashew nuts. I prefer to use light brown sugar over dark primarily because of the nice, golden brown color it gives, but if you don’t have one then dark brown sugar is okay.

Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com

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This post contains some affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.

Here’s What You’ll Need

TOOLS & EQUIPMENT:

  • 9 x 13-inch baking pan
  • Parchment Paper
  • mixing bowls
  • whisk
  • spatula
  • saucepan

INGREDIENTS:

  • 156 grams (1 1/4 cup) bleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 227 grams (1 cup) unsalted butter
  • 250 grams (1 3/4 cup) light brown sugar
  • 3 pieces large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup cashew nuts, chopped
 

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How to Make Caramel Bars Step-by-Step

Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com
Mis en place. Have all the ingredients measured. Prepare the saucepan, mixing bowls, whisk, and a spatula.
 
Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com
Preheat oven to 350F/ 180C. Line the bottom of an 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and grease and flour the sides.
 
Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
 
Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com
In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla extract.
 

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Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar and mix until combined.
 
Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com

Temper the eggs by adding about ⅓ of the butter mixture into the egg mixture while whisking constantly (to avoid cooking the eggs).

When they are mixed, return the eggs back in the saucepan (that is still over low heat) with the remaining butter mixture. Mix thoroughly with a whisk. Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture until combined. Be careful not to overmix or the bars will be tough. Turn off the heat.

 
Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
 
Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com
Evenly distribute the batter into the pan by gently spreading the batter to the sides using a spatula.
 

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Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com
Sprinkle top with chopped cashew nuts. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick/ cake tester inserted into the centre of the bar comes out clean.
 
Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com
Cool completely before cutting them.
 
Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com


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Here’s the print-friendly recipe.

Print

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Max's Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com

Caramel Bars

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: trish | Spoonful of Butter
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 36 1.5-inch bars
Print
Pin

Description

I always bring this as a dessert to potluck parties and it has always been a hit! Just the rights sweetness, soft, and nutty – best paired with coffee or tea! Inspired by the popular caramel bars from Max’s restaurant. #cashew #filipinofood #caramelbars #copycat


Ingredients

  • 156 grams (1 1/4 cup) bleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 227 grams (1 cup) unsalted butter
  • 250 grams (1 3/4 cup) light brown sugar
  • 3 pieces large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup cashew nuts, chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F/ 180C. Line the bottom of an 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and grease and flour the sides.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In another mixing bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla extract.  Set aside.
  3. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar and mix until combined. (Do not turn off the heat yet.)
  4. Temper the eggs (Note 1) by adding about ⅓ of the butter mixture into the egg mixture while whisking constantly (to avoid cooking the eggs). When they are mixed, return the eggs back to the saucepan with the remaining butter mixture. Mix thoroughly with a whisk.
  5. Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture until combined. Be careful not to overmix or the bars will be tough. Turn off the heat. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
  6. Evenly distribute the batter into the pan by gently spreading the batter to the sides using a spatula.
  7. Sprinkle top with chopped cashew nuts. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick/ cake tester inserted into the centre of the bar comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting them.

Notes

(Note 1) Tempering eggs mean you need to add a hot liquid to an egg mixture. If you just combine the two mixtures, you’ll end up with cooked eggs in your sauce. The goal is to slowly bring up the temperature of the eggs without scrambling them.

(Note 2) Store in airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. 

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @spoonfulofbutter on Instagram and hashtag it #spoonfulofbutter

Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com
Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com
Caramel Bars | www.SpoonfulOfButter.com

Filed Under: Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: baking, bars, bleached versus unbleached all purpose flour, brown sugar, butterscotch, caramel, cashew, copycat, desserts, easy, Filipino, max's caramel bars, peanuts, step-by-step

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Spoonful Of Butter owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Josephine

    at

    Thanks for sharing! Outcome was good but my final product didn’t come close to Max’s.

    Reply
    • trish

      at

      Thank you for sharing your feedback! =)

      Reply
  2. Kate

    at

    i tried it tho i didn’t temper the eggs bcos i just found the notes when i’m done baking it, mine came out like a cake 🙁

    Reply
  3. Janine

    at

    Hi, is this supposed to be cakey or kind of fudgy/chewy? I tried it but mine was cakey

    Reply
    • trish

      at

      Hi! It is on the cakey side.

      Reply
  4. Anna Polis

    at

    I suggest having the eggs at a room temperature because it helps preventing the eggs from scrambling. Also turning off the heat to the sugar and butter mixture before adding the eggs to the mixture. I don’t want to sound rude but I do think you could have been more specific in your instructions, especially for the non-bakers.

    Reply
    • Gigi

      at

      She didn’t say in the recipe to add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture it’s the other way around and was very specific on how to do it so the eggs don’t get scrambled.

      Reply
  5. Sarrah

    at

    Hi this recipe is so good! Do you have a video of it?

    Reply
    • trish

      at

      Than you, Sarrah! Hopefully I’ll be able to do videos soon!

      Reply
  6. Risse

    at

    Hi! Can I bake this using 2 6 inch or 8 inch round pans? Can I also fold in toasted cashews in the batter? Thank you!

    Reply
    • trish

      at

      Yes, you can add toasted cashews into the batter if you like.

      I have not tried baking this in a 6 or 8-inch pan but I think it would work. Try filling the pan up to half-full only as they rise quite a bit. You may also need to adjust the baking time – it’s done when a toothpick/ cake tester inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Good luck!=)

      Reply
  7. Bea

    at

    Hello Trish,

    Will there be a huge difference if I use a margarine instead of butter?

    Thanks,

    Bea

    Reply
    • trish

      at

      Sorry, I haven’t tried using margarine for this recipe. I would love to know in case you will try!

      Reply
  8. Chelyne

    at

    5 stars
    Thanks for the recipe. I just tried this and it was a hit. ? But I wanted it to be more moist, what ingredient will i need to increase?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • trish

      at

      Thanks for sharing your feedback! =) Sugar adds moisture but I’m afraid it might be too sweet if you add more. Also, two of the common reasons baked goods are on the drier side are they’re either overbaked or there’s too much flour. If you measured your flour by cups, try measuring by weight next time.

      Reply
  9. Lois

    at

    Hi. Can i just use the ordinary all purpose flour instead of bleached flour?

    Reply
    • trish

      at

      Yes, you can!

      Reply
  10. Michelle

    at

    5 stars
    Thank you for sharing recipes! it was a great help to us..

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • trish

      at

      Thanks, Michelle. 🙂 So glad to know that!

      Reply
  11. Aivee

    at

    Hi! My batter ended up really oily. The butter and the sugar didn’t mix well. I did use low heat while mixing continuously. What did I do wrong? I have yet to bake the product and I’m alreadt worried about the outcome.

    Reply
    • trish

      at

      Hi, Aivee. I’m sorry your batter didn’t end up well. There could be many reasons: the butter, sugar, or flour may not have been measured correctly; or the sugar and melted butter needed more mixing. By the time you add the flour, the batter should be on the thicker side (as shown in the step by step photos) but not oily.

      Reply
  12. eebest8 fiverr

    at

    “Really enjoyed this blog post.Much thanks again. Really Cool.”

    Reply
    • trish

      at

      Thank you! =)

      Reply
  13. ophel

    at

    Where do you use the milk?

    Reply
    • trish

      at

      Milk is not needed in the recipe. When I added the “Here’s What You’ll Need” section, I must have mistakenly copied it there. I have updated it – Thanks for pointing that out!

      The recipe card and step by step instructions are showing the correct list and amount of ingredients.

      Reply
  14. Kay

    at

    Hi! Is milk needed in the recipe?

    Reply
    • trish

      at

      Milk is not needed – sorry for the confusion! The printable recipe is correct. I have updated the ‘Here’s What You Need’ section to be the same with the printable recipe.

      Reply
  15. Tiff

    at

    Hi! I used bleached flour but it still came out dark brown on top and brown inside like your unbleached photo. Any suggestions to what else I might’ve done wrong?? Could it be from the brown sugar??

    Reply
    • trish

      at

      Hi, Tiff! Yes, the color of the brown sugar definitely affects the color of your finished product. I tried this using light brown, brilliant yellow, and dark brown sugar and they all taste the same to me; they just slightly differ in color. I find that the light brown sugar yields the nicest golden brown color. Hope this helps. 🙂

      Reply
  16. Monique

    at

    5 stars
    Hi! When I return the eggs in the saucepan is it still on medium heat?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • trish

      at

      Hi, Monique! When you return the egg mixture back into the saucepan it should still be in low heat. Turn off the heat on step 5, after adding the flour. Hope this helps!

      Reply
  17. Marc Balcos

    at

    Better than Max’s! 😀 Good Job Trish!

    Reply

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Thank you for stopping by! I'm Trish...And this space is where I share the meals I cook and the treats I bake: from sweet to savory, and everything in between. Hope you find recipes you want to try! More About Me...

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