Caramel Apples transformed into CARAMEL APPLE CUPCAKES, people! It’s a dream come true! Great for Fall or Halloween gatherings.
Original post: October 2010 | Updated: October 2020
Why This Recipe Works
You know me, guys. You know I love my apples, especially in the fall. It is fall, right? Because the snow has been flying outside like I’ve never seen in mid-October. Regardless, I am throwing these caramel apple cupcakes into my mouth every chance I get.
This has been a favorite cupcake recipe of ours for ten years now. It is a solid, easy, no-fail recipe that comes together perfectly every single time. The caramel drizzled over the top creates total perfection.
Recipe Ingredients
Apples – Use medium baking apples such as honeycrisp, gala, golden delicious, jonagold or granny smith.
Lemon – When chopping and peeling the apples, fill a large bowl about half with cool water and squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon into it. The lemon juice will keep your apples from getting brown while you get them prepped for the recipe.
Sugars – If you prefer, you can add more naturally sweet apples and reduce the amount of sugar/brown sugar you added. Other sugar substitutes that would be great are maple syrup, coconut sugar or stevia. For a sweeter sauce, throw in some added sugar (up to 1/2 cup total).
How To Make Apple Cupcakes That Taste Like Caramel Apples
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Gradually add to the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the apples.
Step 2
Spoon batter into baking liners until almost full.
Bake in preheated oven for 23-28 min, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean. Let cool.
In a small microwavable bowl, combine caramels and milk. Microwave for one minute. Stir and repeat in 30-second intervals until melted and smooth. Spread caramel topping generously onto cooled cupcakes.
Recipe Notes
- Replace the caramel with Salted Caramel Sauce for extra salty flavor!
- Be sure to pat the shredded apples dry before adding them to the batter in order to avoid cupcakes that are too moist.
- Replace half of the vegetable oil with an equal amount of butter, if desired.
What Types Of Apples Are Good For Baking?
I recommend using a variety of apples and at the very least, use two kinds: one sweet and one tart. My favorite combo is Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples.
Sweet/Softer Apple Brands
- Fuji
- Honeycrisp
- Red Delicious
- Golden Delicious
- Cortland
- Gala
Tart (or a little Sour) Apple Brands
- Granny Smith
- McIntosh
- Ida Red
- Braeburn
- Empire
- Jonathan
FAQ About Cupcakes
You can keep cupcakes in an airtight container on the counter and they will not go stale overnight. Enjoy your cupcakes for 3-5 days.
Cupcakes freeze easily. Once they have cooled and you frost them, place the cupcakes in an air tight container and they will stay good for about 3 months.
Cupcakes and muffins are not the same. There’s a higher amount of sugar and butter in cupcakes than muffins. You will cream the butter and sugar together to start cupcakes in order to get smooth, light cupcakes.
Make sure you leave the oven door shut while baking your cupcakes so you allow the gluten and fat in the batter to set.
Cupcakes are moist if you exchange butter for oil. Another tip to increase a cupcakes moistness is to add a packet of pudding to the mixture.
Other Amazing Apple Recipes
- Easy Homemade Crockpot Applesauce is a kid-worthy snack that is fun to prepare because it’s so easy to make. Use an assortment of green and red apples.
- this fall make this amazing Apple Pie Jam! This jam tastes just like Apple Pie because it’s similar to pie filling. Spread it over your next English muffin or pancakes!
- Homemade Apple Cider made in your slow cooker will warm you from the inside out with amazing flavors. It is a must-have fall drink and tastes so much better when you make it yourself.
- Caramel apples are the perfect fall or Halloween treat. They are SO easy to make using a few ingredients and done in minutes.
- Instant Pot Pork and Apples is the perfect fall dinner. It requires only a few ingredients and it is finished in 30 minutes!
- Make apple pie filling in your Instant Pot quickly and easily! Throw this delicious sweet pie filling into your next apple pie for a perfect holiday or any time dessert. Having a batch in your freezer makes pie-making SO EASY!
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Caramel Apple Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 apples peeled and shredded (use medium-sized apples)
- 11 oz caramel bits
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- In a medium bowl, combine eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Gradually add to flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the shredded apples.
- Spoon the batter into baking liners until three-quarters full. Bake in the preheated oven for 23-28 min, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers come out clean. Let cool completely.
- In a small microwavable bowl, combine caramels and milk. Microwave for one minute. Stir and repeat in 30-second intervals until melted and smooth. Drizzle caramel topping over the cooled cupcakes.
Notes
- Replace the caramel with Salted Caramel Sauce for extra salty flavor!
- Be sure to pat the shredded apples dry before adding them to the batter in order to avoid cupcakes that are too moist.
- Replace half of the vegetable oil with an equal amount of butter, if desired.
That is truly divine!
Oh this is such an awesome fall recipe!