RECIPE: Caramel Apple Cookie Cups

Looking for holiday treats that will satisfy your guests without the stressful prep? This Caramel Apple Cookie Cups recipe from our friend Maria Deepthi (@maria.klichik) is guaranteed to impress without making a mess!

"These little caramel apple cookie cups might be my new favorite holiday shortcut. You can make them with my brown butter cookie dough or keep it ridiculously simple and use store bought sugar cookie dough. Both work. Both taste cozy.

The real star is the soft caramel. I softened a few of my favorite local caramels from Wildwood® with a splash of cream and spooned it right into the warm cookie wells. Then added quick cinnamon apples on top. 

I've been baking with these local Wildwood® soft caramels all season and they've honestly saved me so much prep time. No boiling sugar. No stress. Just melt a handful with a splash of cream and you get the coziest caramel sauce that tastes like you stood over the stove and worked for it.

Caramel sauce just feels right this time of year. Warm, glossy, a little nostalgic. And when you start with good soft caramels, the flavor hits immediately.

You can switch the caramel flavor and pour the sauce over pretty much any sweet winter bake. It really is that easy. Here are four ways I used mine this week:

- Banana coffee cake with warm salted caramel sauce

- Sticky toffee pudding with chai caramel

- Caramel apple cookie cups with spiced apple caramel

- Pumpkin chocolate loaf with chocolate caramel drizzle

That's it. One simple caramel sauce you can adapt to anything. If you're baking this month, keep a bag of these caramels on hand. They make everything taste a little more cozy."

RECIPE

Brown Butter Cookie Base
57g butter
50g sugar
22g brown sugar
30g egg
0.5 tsp vanilla
90g flour
0.25 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt

The Magic Caramel Ratio
For every 100 g soft caramels, add 20–30g cream and 5–10g butter if you want it extra glossy.

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook 60g diced apples with a bit of butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and lemon for a few minutes until softened

Melt 60g soft caramels with a little cream until smooth

Roll small balls of cookie dough into a mini muffin pan

Bake at 350 F for about 8 minutes

Press a well into each one while warm

Spoon the apples on top and fill the wells with warm caramel 

 

...That’s it. Tiny holiday bites without any hassle!