Of the various recipes I’ve developed over the years, there are probably two that I hear most about from readers that they cite as their favorites: roasted potato salad, and salted caramel shortbread bars. It’s always flattering when I hear that readers have made and love a dish, even more so when they say they’ve saved the recipe to add to their regular rotation.

I made the shortbread bars again just a couple of weeks ago for a family gathering, and forgot how much I love the recipe. It’s relatively simple, and is a great dish when you’re looking for something that can be made ahead of time. And it’s a great combination of flavors: the shortbread is rich and buttery, with just the right light and flaky texture, topped with a dark and nutty caramel glaze. A dusting of coarse sea salt gives the bars a nice, savory crunch. The bars will keep, refrigerated, for one week.

QUICK TIP: Whenever I write a recipe that calls for cooking sugar, I always add a touch of corn syrup to the ingredients — and it’s something I always do at home. Without getting too wonky, adding the syrup to the granulated sugar keeps the granulated sugar from crystalizing as it cooks. Granulated sugar can be finicky when you cook it down to a syrup over the stove, and it crystalizes easily if it latches onto any bit of dirt, dust or other particulate left in the pan — even if you think the pan is perfectly clean. The corn syrup acts as a sort of insurance policy so this doesn’t happen.

SALTED CARAMEL SHORTBREAD BARS

Total time: 45 minutes, plus cooling times. Makes 16 to 24 bars

SHORTBREAD

3 cups (12.75 ounces) flour

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray and line the bottom with parchment. Spray the parchment and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour, powdered sugar and baking powder to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the mixture to the prepared dish and press the dough evenly over the bottom of the dish. Bake until the crust is set and lightly golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer the dish to a rack, and cool completely.

CARAMEL AND ASSEMBLY

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon corn syrup

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Prepared cooled shortbread

1 teaspoon very coarse sea salt, preferably Maldon

1. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup, stirring until the sugar has the consistency of wet sand. Place the saucepan over high heat and cook until the sugar dissolves and begins to boil. Do not stir the sugar, as this may cause it to seize.

2. While the sugar is cooking, combine the cream and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Keep an eye on the sugar while you're heating the cream to keep it from scorching. Cook until the butter melts, stirring it into the cream. When the mixture has come to a simmer, remove from heat.

3. Continue to cook the sugar until it darkens to a rich caramel color, 7 to 10 minutes — the sugar will darken quickly and noticeably and will smell faintly nutty. Swirl the pan as the sugar darkens to judge the true color of the caramel (the sugar may darken in patches if there are hot spots on the stove). Watch carefully, as the sugar can easily overcook at this point and burn.

4. As soon as the color is darkened to a rich caramel, remove the pan from the heat and quickly add the cream mixture in a slow, steady stream. The sugar will bubble and steam as the cream is added; be careful as both the mixture and steam are very hot. Carefully stir in the vanilla, then continue to stir until the mixture stops bubbling. Remove from heat and set aside until cool to just warm.

5. Pour the cooled caramel over the shortbread, using a spatula to push it to the edges of the dish for an even layer. Sprinkle over the coarse salt. Refrigerate until cold, then cut into bars.

Note: From Noelle Carter. Adapted and improving upon a recipe I first created at the Los Angeles Times.