Vegan Billionaire Bars

There’s a few food blogs I check up on regularly for ideas. One of them is Kevin and Amanda and last month they posted this decadent recipe for Cookie Dough Billionaire Bars.

I had never heard of billionaire bars before. It’s a bar with a shortbread base, topped with caramel, followed by a layer of cookie dough and with a chocolate ganache.

There’s a bunch of recipes online and they all seemed to point to the same source: a book called The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook. Anywho, I decided to do a vegan version for a potluck at work.

Shortbread Base

• ¼ Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Cup Vegan Butter (eg. Earth Balance)
• 3 ¾ Cup Flour
• ½ Tsp Salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Grease a lasagne pan and line with parchment paper. This is optional but it’ll make your life easier.
3. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the flour and salt.
5. Put the dough in the parchment-lined lasagne pan. Press it down.
6. Bake until the edges are slightly browned. About 30-35 minutes.
7. Let cool.

Caramel

• 1 Cup Sugar
• ¾ Cup + 2 Tbsp Vegan Milk (eg. Unsweetend Almond Milk)
• ¼ Cup Maple Syrup
• 1 Tbsp Vegan Butter
• ½ Tsp Vanilla
• ⅛ Tsp Salt

1. Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan.
2. Cook until amber. Stir constantly. About 10 minutes.
3. Place in ice bath to stop the mixture from cooking further.
4. Pour the caramel sauce over the cooled shortbread.
5. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or freeze for 15 minutes.

Cookie Dough

• 1 Cup Brown Sugar
• ½ Cup Vegan Butter
• 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
• ¼ Cup Unsweetend Apple Sauce
• 1 Tsp Vanilla
• 1 ½ Cup Flour
• ¼ Tsp Salt
• 1 Cup Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips

1. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
2. Add the maple syrup, apple sauce and vanilla. Mix until consistent.
3. Add the flour and salt. Stir until smooth.
4. Add the chocolate chips. Mix.
5. Spread over the caramel layer in the pan.
6. Refrigerate.

Chocolate Ganache

• 2 Cups Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips
• ¾ Cup + 1 Tbsp Vegan Milk

1. In a small sauce pan on low heat, combine chocolate chips and milk.
2. Stir until chocolate mixture takes on a glossy finish.
3. Pour over the cookie dough layer and chill until set. Approximately 30 minutes.

Thoughts

It’s very rich, sweet and dense. You can taste the two-plus cups of butter that are within. The caramel recipe I used was pretty runny and ended up getting absorbed by the shortbread. I think if I were to do this again I’d use a different recipe for that, or let the caramel cool a bit first so that it forms a distinctive layer.

It’s a fun recipe but I don’t see me making it again. It’s too heavy. If you cut it, I recommend doing thin slices.