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Salted Caramel Sweet Potato Dessert Bars

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 9 bars
Calories: 422kcal
Decadent sweet potato blondie bars sweetened with brown sugar and swirled with sticky salted caramel
Print Recipe

Equipment

  • 1 Food Processor
  • 1 mixing bowl
  • 1 kitchen spoon or whisk or spatula
  • 1 saucepan
  • 1 square baking pan

Ingredients

For the Sweet Potato Bars Batter

  • 1 sweet potato about ½ pound
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ¾ cup milk
  • ½ cup butter melted
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Salted Caramel

  • 11 ounces caramel candies
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt

Instructions

  • Line a square baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce sweet potato in several places with a fork or knife. Place in oven to roast over a sheet pan for 40 minutes or until skin is wrinkled and flesh is tender. Remove sweet potato and lower oven temperature to 350 degrees.
  • Allow sweet potato to cool until safe to handle (about 10 minutes) then carefully remove skin. Cut sweet potato into a few large pieces and place into blender or food processor. Pulse until a puree forms (about 30-45 seconds).
  • While sweet potato is cooling, add caramel candies, 2 teaspoons sea salt, and one tablespoon milk to a nonstick saucepan and melt over medium heat. Stir together until uniform to form a salted caramel sauce, which will be very sticky (about three minutes).
  • Mix together flour, ½ teaspoon sea salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.
  • Add sweet potato puree, brown sugar, milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract to bowl. Stir until uniform and no dry pockets remain. Batter will be thick and sticky.
  • Spread batter into prepared baking dish. Pour salted caramel back and forth over batter then use a butter knife to swirl the caramel throughout the batter.
  • Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted between caramel swirls comes out dry (not clean). Bars will be dense and gooey. Let cool completely then cut into nine pieces.

Notes

Tips
You can make the sweet potato mash as smooth or as chunky as you prefer!
You'll notice that the batter for these sweet potato caramel bars is thick and a little sticky. I recommend using a silicone spatula to mix and spread the batter.
Substitutions
This recipe for sweet potato blondie bars without eggs can easily be made into vegan sweet potato blondies by using plant-based caramel, butter, and milk!
Storage
Refrigerate them in an airtight container and they'll keep for about 10 days. And they stay soft so you can enjoy the cold or at room temperature but I prefer them warm for extra gooeyness.
These bars freeze well for one month or longer, maintaining their flavor albeit with slightly different texture over time. I recommend cutting and wrapping them individually then placing in an airtight container. To thaw, set a bar out at room temperature for 30 minutes to one hour before enjoying.

Nutrition

Calories: 422kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 908mg | Potassium: 218mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 3893IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 134mg | Iron: 2mg