Holiday Bar Box

To Make the Base:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9x9-inch pan, and line with two pieces of parchment paper, so that there is an overhang on all sides, forming a sling.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and ground ginger. Add the brown sugar and rolled oats, and mix well to combine.
• In a small pot, melt together the butter, golden syrup, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix well. Press the mixture into the tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly golden on the edges. Five minutes before the base is done, prepare the topping.

To Make the Topping:

• Add all of the ingredients to a medium pot in the order listed. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Pour over the hot base, and leave at room temperature until set. Slice into pieces with a hot knife.

• Line a 9 x 9–inch pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all sides. Set it aside.
• Place the butter in a light-colored skillet. (The light-colored skillet will help you determine when the butter begins browning.) Melt the butter over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once melted, the butter will start to foam. Keep stirring. After 5 to 8 minutes, the butter will begin browning; you’ll notice lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan, and you’ll start to smell a nutty aroma. Once browned, immediately remove from the heat, then stir in the salt and vanilla.
• Working quickly, add half of the marshmallows and stir until thoroughly melted. Add the remaining marshmallows and stir until melted. (The residual heat from the butter should be enough to melt them without adding the heat, but you can return the pot to medium-low heat for a few minutes if the second addition of marshmallows isn’t melting quickly.)

  Note: After you add the marshmallows, keep the heat on low or below medium-low. If your marshmallow is exposed to heat that’s too high, you’ll end up with treats hard enough to break your teeth!
• Add the cereal and about ¾ of the sprinkles and gently fold it in with a rubber spatula coated in nonstick cooking spray until the cereal is completely covered with the marshmallow mixture. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Using the rubber spatula, gently press the mixture into an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining sprinkles on top.

  Note: Don’t pack the Rice Krispie Treats into the pan too tightly. If you pack them too tightly, they can end up dense and difficult to bite through.
• Let the treats stand at room temperature until set, about 1 hour, before cutting into bars.

To Make the Brown Butter:

• Place the butter in a light-colored skillet. (The light-colored skillet will help you determine when the butter begins browning.) Melt the butter over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once melted, the butter will start to foam. Keep stirring. After 5 to 8 minutes, the butter will begin browning; you’ll notice lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan, and you’ll start to smell a nutty aroma. Once browned, immediately remove from the heat.
• Transfer to a bowl, allow to cool slightly, then transfer the bowl to the freezer and chill the butter until solid. Remove from the freezer and bring to room temperature, stirring often, until soft and spreadable.

To Make the Brown Butter Shortbread Base:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Grease and line an 8x8-inch pan with two pieces of parchment paper leaving an overhang on the sides to use as handles.
• In a medium bowl, cream together the spreadable brown butter and brown sugar using a spoon or spatula. Add the salt, vanilla, and flour, and bring together to form a soft, homogenous dough. Pat the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan, smoothing down with a flat bottomed measuring cup or offset spatula. Prick all over with a fork and chill for 10 minutes.
• Bake the base for 30 to 35 minutes, until set and evenly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

To Make the Brown Butter Salted Caramel Filling:

• Place the sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, brown butter and golden syrup in a medium-sized heavy-bottomed saucepan.
• Place over medium heat and stir until melted together, then cook, stirring constantly with a whisk or rubber spatula, until the mixture registers 220°F (105°C) on an instant-read thermometer. Watch the bottom carefully to avoid the mixture catching, turning down the heat if needed.
• Once the caramel has reached the correct temperature, add the vanilla and salt, mix well to incorporate, and pour it over the cooled shortbread base and smooth off by shaking the pan and using an offset spatula if needed. Transfer to the fridge and allow to set for 1-1½ hours or until you can no longer feel the heat in it.

To Make the Chocolate Topping:

• In a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt together the chocolate and the oil, stirring frequently, until smooth. Alternatively, melt together in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring well after each.
• Pour over the set caramel filling, and tilt the pan to evenly coat. Bang the pan on the counter several times to smooth out the topping and eliminate any bubbles. If you would like to add the feathering, pipe horizontal stripes of the melted white chocolate across the surface, then feather using a skewer or toothpick by dragging it up and down the surface of the chocolate, perpendicular to the lines that you piped.
• Chill in the fridge until completely set, at least an hour or overnight. Remove from the pan by using the parchment paper slings and cut into slices using a sharp knife, wiping between each.

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray an 8 x 8–inch pan with nonstick cooking spray and line the pan with parchment paper with an overhang on two sides. Spray the parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray and set it aside.

To Make the Espresso Caramel:

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the granulated sugar, stirring with a high heat–resistant rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a thick, amber-colored liquid as you continue to stir. Be careful not to burn it!
• Once the sugar is completely dissolved, about 10 minutes, immediately add the butter and stir until melted, about 2 minutes. (Be careful with this step, because the caramel will bubble rapidly when the butter is added.)
• Very slowly drizzle in the heavy cream while stirring. Allow the mixture to boil for 30 to 45 seconds, then remove it from the heat. Stir in the espresso powder and salt and set it aside until needed.

To Make the Carmelitas:

• In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, light brown sugar, vanilla, flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Stir everything together with a fork. Press half of the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the top evenly with the chocolate chips and pecans, and then with the espresso caramel. Crumble the remaining oat mixture over the caramel. Return the pan to the oven and continue to bake for 18 to 20 minutes, just until the edges are lightly browned.
• Remove from the oven. Cool in the pan on a wire rack at least 3 hours before removing and cutting into bars.

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease an 8"x8" pan and then line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all sides. Grease the parchment paper then set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, dark brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for about a minute. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until lighter in color, about 4 minutes. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
• Gently fold in 5 tablespoons (50 g) of the sprinkles and the white chocolate chips until evenly incorporated. Transfer the batter to the pan and top with the remaining 1 tablespoon (10 g) of rainbow sprinkles.
• Bake until the top and edges are set and golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the blondies to cool in the pan for 45 minutes before removing and slicing.