Caramel Hazelnut Shortbread Bars

Shortbread Crust

• 1 ½ cups almond flour
• ¼ cup Swerve Confectioners
• 1 ½ tbsp coconut flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 5 tbsp butter, cut into pieces, room temperature

Caramel Hazelnut Filling

• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup Brown Swerve
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ tsp xanthan gum
• 1 ½ cups coarsely chopped hazelnuts
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt

Crust

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a food processor, combine the almond flour, Swerve, coconut flour, and salt. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until well combined and the mixture begins to clump together.

Press firmly and evenly into the bottom of an 8x8 inch metal baking pan. Bake 15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Remove and let cool completely. It will be very soft when it first comes out of the oven but will crisp up as it cools.

Filling

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and Swerve Brown, whisking until the sweetener is dissolved. Stir in the cream until well combined. Sprinkle with the xanthan gum, whisking vigorously to combine.

Bring the mixture to a boil and cook about 2 minutes until it’s bubbling thickly. Let cool 5 minutes, then stir in the hazelnuts, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and salt until well combined.

Pour the filling over the crust and bake at 350F for another 30 to 40 minutes, until mostly set on the edges but the center still jiggles slightly. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares.