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Dulce de Leche Gooey Bars – this EASY sugar cookie bar recipe has gooey dulce de leche inside! Cookie bars with caramel are always a hit!
Dulce de Leche Stuffed Cookie Bars
Dulce de leche is basically the best thing on the planet: it’s cooked sweetened condensed milk that gets all thick and caramely. The flavor is deep and rich and it’s so thick you can eat it with a spoon, or you can melt it and pour it over ice cream or use it as a dip for churros.
We all know I have a gooey bar obsession; I have flavors like lemon, funfetti, peanut butter and so many more. Gooey bars are the easiest things in the world to make; they start with a cookie dough recipe or a cake mix. These are a sugar cookie gooey bar using my favorite sugar cookie recipe.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- This is the sugar cookie version of my Revel Bar Recipe.
- The cookies are soft and chewy and perfect with the caramel in the center.
- They freeze well and taste amazing!
Ingredients Needed
- Butter – Use unsalted softened butter. If you’re using salted butter, reduce added salt in the recipe to 1/4 teaspoon.
- Cream of Tartar – This is my secret sugar cookie ingredient to make a nice pillowy soft cookie that’s also a bit chewy.
- Dulce de Leche – Dulce de leche is basically the best thing on the planet: it’s cooked sweetened condensed milk that gets all thick and caramely. The flavor is deep and rich and it’s so thick you can eat it with a spoon, or you can melt it and pour it over ice cream or use it as a dip for churros.
How to make Dulce de Leche Bars
- Mix together your sugar cookie dough.
- Press about 2/3 into the pan then top it with the dulce de leche.
- Then you crumble more cookie dough on top and bake and bam, the perfect sugar cookie bar recipe.
Tip From Dorothy
Expert Tips
- Can’t find dulce de leche? You can make homemade dulce de leche in a slow cooker!
- Want a semi-homemade option? Use store bought cookie dough (sugar cookies or even chocolate chip cookies) instead of making the dough from scratch.
FAQs
Freeze cookie bars in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
No you can leave these on a counter in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Dulce de Leche Gooey Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (248g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup dulce de leche
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9” pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Cream butter and sugar with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or you may use a hand mixer). Once the mixture is creamed and fluffy, mix in the eggs and vanilla extract until smooth, then mix in the baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Slowly mix in flour until the mixture is just combined.
- Press about 2/3 of this mixture in the bottom and about 1/2” up the sides of the prepared pan. Spread dulce de leche over the top, then sprinkle the remaining dough over the bars.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the top looks done and is golden around the edges. It will still be someone jiggly in the center. Cool completely before cutting. It’s easier to cut when it’s chilled.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe Notes
- Can’t find dulce de leche? You can make homemade dulce de leche in a slow cooker!
- Want a semi-homemade option? Use store bought cookie dough (sugar cookies or even chocolate chip cookies) instead of making the dough from scratch.
Hi. Can this recipe be doubled for a 9×13 pan? What is the easiest way to freeze these in bulk? My future son-in-law is from Nicaragua and he loves dulce de Leche. I’d like to add these bar cookies to the reception cookie bar. Thanks!
Yes you can double them – they’ll be a bit thicker and take longer to bake. I like freezing them in gallon size ziploc bags with parchment paper between so they don’t stick to each other.
Thank you for explaining that you can find dulce de leche usually in the Mexican food aisle. I’ve been thinking about incorporating this into our deserts more since having it with some churros the other night. I’ll have to keep an eye out for it when I go grocery shopping next.
Can you make this in a 8′ by 8′ pan?
I always like it when there is someone jiggly in the center of my bars 😉
YEAH BOO I need a big stack of these today! It is freaking snowing in Santa Fe, so uncool. Cookie bars will make it better.
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