Name: Millionaire Shortbread Recipe - Printable Recipe
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: English
Ingredients: 18 x 28cm (7 x 11″) Baking Tray; Electric Stand Mixer or Large Bowl With Electric Hand Whisk; Fork; Large Heavy Based Saucepan; Sugar Thermometer (optional but very handy); Glass Bowl; Wooden Spoon; 200g (7 oz) Good Quality Milk Chocolate; 200g (2/3 cup) Condensed Milk; 125g (1/2 cup) Unsalted Butter; 125g (2/3 cup) Golden Caster Sugar; 2 tbsp Golden Syrup; 1 tsp Vanilla Extract; Pinch Salt; 125g (1/2 cup) Unsalted Butter, Room Temp; 50g (1/4 cup) Golden Caster Sugar; 175g (1 + 1/3 cup) Plain Flour; Pinch Salt

Jump to Printable Recipe

Jump to Picture Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Where I make a small commission on purchased items, at no extra cost to you. See my disclosure for details.

(This post has been updated from the original April 2014 version to provide a better experience for you)

Millionaire shortbread is a British baking classic! With a shortbread biscuit base, sweet soft caramel and oodles of chocolate, this is a treat that everyone will love. My step by step pictures, video and helpful tips make this millionaire shortbread recipe super easy to follow!

Millionaire's shortbread bar leaning on another bar on scrunched up white baking paper

Whether it’s the original 3 layered classic recipe or one with a modern twist (my favourites are snickers millionaire shortbread, chocolate orange caramel shortbread, millionaire brownies and red velvet millionaire brownies!) you know these beauties are going to disappear much quicker than they were made.

It doesn’t matter if I’m at a cafe, a friend’s house or just fancy making something myself – millionaire shortbread is always my top choice. It’s a personal all time favourite!

The sad stigma behind millionaire shortbread is that it can seem tricky to make if you’re not confident in the kitchen. I’m hoping this recipe will change all that!

But if still don’t feel overly confident, you might like to read through baking for beginners first. It’ll really boost your knowledge and confidence!

What you need to know

My aim is to give you the confidence you need, using my easy step by step picture recipe approach, to master making this delightful treat. Please read through all my tips to ensure you have the best possible chance of succeeding first time. (Which I’m absolutely sure you will!)

A bar of millionaire's shortbread on a scrunched up piece of white baking paper.

Does brand matter?

When it comes to which brand of condensed milk works best, in my experience, it really doesn’t matter. Whether it’s a big brand like Carnation or a supermarket own brand – I’ve found that all of them work equally as well in this recipe. As a result I tend to opt for the cheaper option to save a few pennies.

The one ingredient I will say to buy good quality is the chocolate. It’s quite a big part of the overall flavour so worth splashing out on a nice one as you will taste the difference.

Over the years I’ve also fallen in love with Nielsen Massey’s vanilla extract. It’s such good quality and you can really taste the flavour. Supermarket own brands don’t seem to compare!

Millionaire shortbread ingredients

Here’s everything you need to know about the ingredients needed to make millionaire shortbread.

Butter – Always use unsalted butter in baking as it gives you control of the salt content/flavour. Ensure this is at room temperature for the biscuit layer.
Sugar – My favourite is golden caster sugar as it adds a slight caramel flavour. Regular caster sugar (superfine in the US) will work great too.
Flour – Plain (all purpose in the US) flour works best in this recipe, don’t substitute it for others varieties.
Salt – No need for fancy types here, regular table salt will work fine. We want flavour not texture.
Condensed Milk – In my experience, any brand will work. Make sure it’s the sweetened variety though.
Golden Syrup – Brand doesn’t matter but golden syrup gives the best flavour. (You can use light corn syrup or honey in the US.)
Vanilla – A good brand (like Nielsen Massey) works well here. Supermarket versions seem flavourless in comparison.
Chocolate – This is a prominent flavour so worth investing in one that you know you will love, rather than using a cheaper alternative.

Millionaire shortbread: recipe summary

It may seem a little daunting at first but I assure you, it’s not as complicated as you think!

Biscuit base

Cream together butter and sugar then add flour and salt to make a dough.
Press into a lined tin, prick all over with a fork and bake. Cool completely.

Caramel

Add all the caramel ingredients to a saucepan set over a low heat.
Bring to the boil then simmer, stirring constantly, until it reaches 107°C.
Take off the heat, stir for a minute or two then pour over the biscuit base.

Chocolate topping

Melt the chocolate, either in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water or in the microwave.
Smooth over the caramel. When set, cut into bars.

Millionaire shortbread recipe tips

If I could offer any preemptive words of advice, it would be to take your time, read the recipe all the way through and prepare your ingredients (weigh, chop etc) before you start.

There’s nothing worse than getting to a critical part of a recipe, realising you have to weigh another ingredient then returning to the pan to find it’s already ruined.

Leave an overhang when you line your tin. This will make it much easier to remove later.
Don’t be tempted to increase the heat to speed up the cooking of the caramel. It will likely catch on the bottom and burn.
When making the caramel, stir constantly and right into the edges. If you don’t, you could get burnt bits running through.
Allow each layer to cool completely before moving onto the next step. This way you will get beautiful clean lines.
Make sure the caramel has cooled completely before topping or your chocolate could bloom.
Use room temperature butter for the biscuit dough. (Ingredients blend better when all at the same temperature.)
Treat yourself to a sugar thermometer. They’re cheap and worth the investment. It is possible to make caramel without one but it’s tricky.
Don’t know what to do with the remaining condensed milk? You could make another batch or check out the ‘other recipes you might like’ section above for more inspiration.

Millionaire shortbread troubleshooting

My chocolate bloomed (has white streaks) – Your chocolate was exposed to dramatic temperature changes. This could be that you didn’t allow the biscuit/caramel to cool before topping, you heated the chocolate too much on a cold day or even that you chilled the caramel and poured warm chocolate on top.
The chocolate set too quickly and didn’t spread – This could happen if you chilled the caramel first. Allow it to set at room temperature to avoid it.
The caramel has burnt bits – Either your heat was too high and/or you weren’t stirring often and thoroughly enough. Make sure you stir vigorously and right into the edges. Worst case – you can sieve them out if you’re quick enough.
My caramel didn’t set – Your mixture didn’t reach 107°C (225ºF) and/or you used incorrect measurements of ingredients. Use weighing scales and a thermometer next time to take out the guess work and avoid disappointment.
The caramel was hard – Your caramel got hotter than 107°C (225ºF). Use a thermometer to ensure this doesn’t happen.

Easy Millionaire Shortbread – Step by Step Picture Recipe

(For a printer friendly version, see the recipe card at the end of this post)