Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepapred pan and press into an even layer. (I used the bottom of a flat glass to help with this.)
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely before topping.
4. Reduce oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

For the caramel:

1. Melt sugar in a heavy bottomed pan at medium-high head. Whisk it frequently to keep it from burning.
2. When the sugar turns a dark amber color add the butter and stir until melted.
3. As soon as it is melted remove from heat and slowly add the cream and vanilla stirring gently.
4. Once the caramel cools for 10/15 minutes mix it with the toasted coconut. Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled. (I stuck mine in the freezer for 10 mins to speed this along.)
5. When cooled, cut into bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping). Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper.
6. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.
7. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.