If you love the combination of buttery shortbread, sweet caramel and rich chocolate, these lighter Millionaire’s Shortbread bars are a lovely homemade treat to try.
Made with a simple oat shortbread base, a naturally sweet date caramel filling and a thin layer of dark chocolate, these delicious little squares offer all the comforting flavours of a classic chocolate caramel dessert with a few lighter ingredient swaps.
There’s no need for condensed milk or a saucepan full of sugar. The creamy caramel-style filling gets its sweetness from soft dates, while Greek yoghurt helps bring the shortbread base together with less butter than traditional recipes.
Perfect for an afternoon cup of tea, a weekend baking session or a little something sweet after dinner, these homemade chocolate caramel squares are easy to portion and lovely to share.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Lighter than traditional millionaire’s shortbread: Made with less butter and chocolate than many classic recipes.
- Naturally sweet caramel: Soft dates create a creamy caramel-style filling without added refined sugar.
- Simple ingredients: Everything you need is easy to find in most supermarkets.
- Easy to portion: The recipe makes 16 small squares.
- Great for making ahead: Prepare a batch and keep it chilled for when you fancy something sweet.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This recipe makes 16 small squares using an 8-inch (20cm) square baking tin.
For the Oat Shortbread Base
- 100g (1 cup) finely ground rolled oats
- 50g (⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon) plain flour / all-purpose flour
- 100g (⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon) fat-free Greek yoghurt
- 25g (approximately 1¾ tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons granulated erythritol, or another heat-stable baking sweetener
- Pinch of salt
For the Date Caramel Filling
- 130g (4.6 oz) soft pitted dates
- 45ml (3 tablespoons) semi-skimmed / 2% milk
- 15g (1 tablespoon) smooth peanut butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Small pinch of sea salt
For the Chocolate Topping
- 55g (2 oz) dark chocolate, approximately 70% cocoa