Published: · Modified: · By: Beth Klosterboer · Commission earned on paid or sponsored links.
Add a big swirl of soft Dulce de Leche caramel on top of chocolate cookie cups then sprinkle on some salt flakes to create these mini salted caramel cookie cups. They look impressive enough to serve at a party but are easy enough to make for a weeknight dessert or snack.
What could make a chocolate cookie cup taste even better? Salted caramel!
A few weeks ago I shared a recipe to make Snickers Cookie Cups. I stuffed mini Snickers candy bars inside chocolate cookie cups, then topped them with a swirl of creamy Dulce de Leche caramel, a sprinkling of toffee bits, and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.
The cookies were amazing but my husband isn't a fan of Snickers bars. Can you imagine? So, I told him I'd make some of the cookies without the chocolate bars stuffed inside.
These plain chocolate cookie cups topped with caramel were so good that I had to share the recipe with you.
The combination of chocolate and caramel is amazing and the gooey Dulce de Leche pairs beautifully with these soft and chewy chocolate cookies.
To balance out the sweetness, I added a sprinkling of salt flakes on top of these little bite-size cookies. Yum!
baking chocolate cookie cups
This chocolate cookie cup recipe is so easy to make using a bowl and spoon (or silicone spatula). You simply melt chocolate and butter together, then stir in cocoa powder, an egg, egg yolk (which helps to keep the cookies soft and chewy), vanilla, flour, baking powder, and salt.
There's no need to use a mixer. You can easily mix this cookie dough by hand.
Tips for making your cookie cups:
- The dough will be soft after it's been mixed because you are adding the ingredients to melted butter and chocolate. You can simply scoop it into the muffin tin or you can chill it for 15-30 minutes if you want to scoop and roll the dough into balls.
- Use semi-sweet chocolate bars or chips that you enjoy eating right out of the package. The chocolate flavor really shines through. If you use bars, be sure to finely chop them so they melt evenly.
- For deep dark cookies, use Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder (my favorite) or any other dark or Dutch Processed Cocoa powder in this recipe.
- Flatten the cookie dough into a nice even layer in the pan so that you get even-looking cookie cups once baked.
- Spray your mini muffin pan with baking spray for easy removal.
- Use a non-stick mini muffin pan. If you use a dark (almost black) coated pan, you might want to reduce the oven temperature to 325. I used a Wilton Recipe Right Mini Muffin Pan and my chocolate cookie cups baked perfectly.
Dulce de Leche
If you have never tried Dulce de Leche, it is caramelized sweetened condensed milk. It has an amazing caramel flavor but is smooth and creamy not sticky and chewy like caramel candies.
You can spoon it directly from the can or jar into a pastry bag and pipe it onto your cookie cups. It holds its shape beautifully.
To make a pretty swirl on top of your chocolate cookie cups, use a large open star (1M) pastry tip. Hold the bag directly over the cookie and squeeze. Swirl the tip or move it back and forth then stop squeezing and pull the bag up away from the cookie.
Chocolate Cookie Cups with Salted Caramel Topping
To give these cookies a salted caramel topping, simply sprinkle sea salt flakes or Fleur de Sel Salt over top.
Salt balances out the sweetness of the caramel and chocolate cookies. The salt will dissolve into the caramel over time, so it's best to sprinkle the salt over the caramel within an hour of serving the cookies.
Yield: 24
Salted Caramel Cookie Cups
Mini chocolate cookie cups are topped with creamy Dulce de Leche caramel and a sprinkling of sea salt flakes to give these a wonderful salted caramel flavor.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Ingredients
- ½ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips or 85 grams finely chopped chocolate bars
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (57 grams)
- 1 ½ tablespoons special dark or Dutch Processed cocoa powder (11 grams)
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar (71 grams)
- 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar (19 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (64 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon table salt
- 8 ounces Dulce de Leche
- 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (178° C).
- Grease a 24-cavity non-stick mini muffin tin with baking spray. If using a dark (black) non-stick pan, lower the oven temperature to 325°.
- Combine the semi-sweet chocolate with the butter in a microwave-safe mixing bowl.
- Heat on high power for 30-second increments, stirring after each until melted.
- Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate and butter in a small saucepan set over low heat, then pour it into the mixing bowl once melted.
- Stir the cocoa powder into the melted chocolate. Adding it to the warm chocolate will enhance the flavor of the cocoa powder.
- Then, add the brown sugar and granulated sugar until well blended.
- Mix in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together then mix it into the chocolate cookie dough.
- Scoop out 24 tablespoon-size scoops of dough into the 24 mini muffin cups.
- Flatten the dough into an even layer.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges of the cookie look set.
- Remove and let the cookies cool for 15 minutes in the pan.
- Invert the pan and allow the cookies to fall out. Then, turn them right-side up.
- Allow the cookies to cool for an additional 30 minutes before adding the caramel.
- Spoon the Dulce de Leche into a pastry bag fitted with a large open star tip.
- Pipe a swirl of the Dulce de Leche in the middle of each cookie cup.
- Sprinkle sea salt flakes over the caramel up to one hour before serving.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Storage
Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
You can freeze these cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Why weigh your ingredients?
When baking, it is always best to weigh your ingredients, particularly flour. I include measurements in grams, ounces, cups, tablespoons, or teaspoons to make it easier for you.
If you have a scale, weigh your ingredients. You'll get the most accurate measurements using grams.
How to measure flour without a scale?
If you do not have a scale, spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup then scrape across the top of the cup with a spatula or knife. Do not scoop the flour directly into the measuring cup. You will end up with too much flour. We calculate 128 grams of flour per cup.
Tips for making Salted Caramel Cookie Cups:
- Bake in a non-stick mini muffin pan for easy removal.
- If your cookie dough is warm and soft, you can chill it in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes before scooping the dough into the muffin pan or you can simply scoop it into the muffin pan and bake. Either way will work.
- To make a pretty swirl of Dulce de Leche on the cookie cups, spoon the Dulce de Leche into a pastry bag fitted with a 1M large open star pastry tip. Squeeze the pastry bag allowing the soft caramel to flow out into a swirl. Then, stop squeezing and lift the bag away from the cookie to form a tip.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24 Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 112Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 129mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 0gSugar: 12gProtein: 2g
HowToMakeEasyCookies.com offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you use to create this recipe.
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Beth Klosterboer
Hi, I'm Beth, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I share my fun food recipes at HungryHappenings.com, easy fudge recipes at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes to share with you here.
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