I hope you’re not on a diet because I have a yummy fall recipe to share with you – caramel corn cupcakes! Not only that, but there are links to more cupcake recipes from my blogging friends at the bottom of this post.

Ashley at Modern Glam asked me to join in today’s event with a fall cupcake recipe. I started thinking about what flavor to offer. Pumpkin obviously came to mind, as did anything with a rich spice. But then a childhood memory popped into my mind and was the inspiration I was looking for.

My mother used to make caramel popcorn balls every fall and I loved eating them! She’d make them from scratch and in the spirit of Halloween would wrap them in black and orange waxed paper tied with a pretty ribbon. She sometimes handed them out to Halloween trick-or-treaters. That was back in the day when it was safe to eat homemade goodies from your neighbors.

And so, here’s my variation of caramel corn cupcakes. I made a few large ones in parchment cups, and a few smaller ones in regular cupcake liners.

But here’s the fun twist. In addition to placing caramel corn on top of the cupcake, I also chopped some up and added it to the cupcake dough before baking. This adds a little more flavor to the cupcake and is a sweet surprise when biting into this tasty morsel.

After taking photos, I told my hubby he was now free to eat one. He ate four of them!! All in a row. That’s how much he loved them. But don’t tell him I told you that!

Caramel corn cupcakes can be a fun baking project with the kiddos. Let them place the caramel corn on top!

Caramel Corn Cupcakes

Course Dessert

Keyword cupcakes

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup caramel corn coursely chopped

Frosting

3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
caramel corn for topping homemade or store bought

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir butter occasionally over the heat until the butter is browned. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for about 5 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract.
In another bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until blended. Mix in the chopped caramel corn.
Divide the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups (about 2/3 full).
Bake the cupcakes for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
To make the frosting, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients (except the caramel corn) and mix on low speed to combine. Increase speed and beat frosting until fluffy, for a couple of minutes.
Spread layer of frosting over the top of each cupcake and garnish with the caramel corn, as desired.