Billionaire Bars

These things are a dream come true, especially for a pregnant lady craving anything and everything that includes sugar. Chocolate + caramel + cookie = heaven. I saw a photo of these in Food & Wine and was sold immediately. Made them that day. The only saving grace about these suckers is that they're so rich, you really can only have one, a small one. I cut these up and froze them, they  can be eaten straight from the freezer in less than 5 minutes (thank you very much) and will keep much longer.

Shortbread:
1 stick cold, cubed unsalted butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Caramel:
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp kosher salt.
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp water

Chocolate Ganache:
9 oz 70% dark chocolate, chopped or as chips
3/4 heavy cream
1 cup roughly chopped pecans

1. For the shortbread: Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8" square pan with aluminum foil, allowing 2" to hang over the edges. In a food processor, combine all of the shortbread ingredients and pulse until a dough forms. Press the dough into the baking pan and bake for 25 mins, until firm and edges are golden. Let cool completely.

2. For the caramel: In a small saucepan, melt the butter, cream and salt over moderate heat. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and water and cook over moderate heat until a golden caramel forms, only swirling pan to mix - DO NOT STIR, you will get crystals. Carefully drizzle the cream into the caramel and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly until temp reaches 230 on a candy thermometer. Immediately pour over the cooled shortbread and let cool for about 45 minutes.

3. For the ganache: Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer and immediately pour over the chocolate. Let stand until chocolate starts to melt and then stir until smooth. Pour the ganache over the caramel and spread in an even layer. Sprinkle with pecans. Refrigerate until chilled.