I had a huge stash of dulce de leche of all kinds in my fridge: Argentinian (sugar, milk and glucose), Brazilian (sugar and milk) and cooked sweetened condensed milk. So I searched Pinterest for a recipe to use up some of it and found this one that looked simply scrumptious =)

DULCE DE LECHE BARS
(Crazy for Crust)

INGREDIENTS
115g (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
220g (1 cup) muscovado sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla paste
½ tsp bicarb
½ tsp salt
155g (1¼ cups) flour
80g (1½ cups) porridge oats
370g (13 ounces) dulce de leche

METHOD
Preheat oven to 180^oC (350°F). Line a 20x20cm (8×8”) square tin with parchment, leaving some overhang to help lift the bar after baking.
Cream butter and sugar in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat in egg, vanilla, bicarb, and salt. Mix in flour then slowly mix in oats.
Press half the mixture onto the bottom of the prepared tin (it will be a thin layer). The dough is sticky so it’s best to wear latex gloves or grease your hands with butter to ease the process.
Place dulce de leche in a small microwave safe bowl and warm it up – just enough to make it more spreadable.
Spread the dulce de leche evenly over the dough, leaving a 0.5cm border around the edges of the tin.
Dollop the remaining dough over the dulce de leche and press slightly with your fingers to smooth the lumps of dough. It may not completely cover the filling – that’s fine 😉
Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes before removing it from the tin onto a wire rack. Let them cool completely before cutting them.

Makes 16 bars.

NOTE: How to cut it into perfect squares. You can use a ruler or eyeball it – my preferred method being the latter 🙂 Just cut it into two halves, and then divide each half in two. Turn the bar around 90 degrees and repeat the process.
Keep it in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze in a single layer for up to one month.
These were made using the cooked condensed milk (my favourite). I’ve made it with Argentinian dulce de leche (my friend TT’s favourite) but, as it is creamier, it was harder cover the filling and the result was gooier (this doesn’t look like a word!) and more difficult to cut.