Chocolate Cookie Cups with Caramel Filling
Cookie Cups
6 tbsp unsalted butter
¾ cup sugar
1 large egg
½ tsp GF vanilla
1 cup flour or 1/3 cup millet flour + 2/3 cup white rice flour + ¼ tsp xanthan gum or 1 cup of your favorite gluten free flour + ¼ tsp xanthan gum (omit if your GF flour already has it)
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder
3/8 tsp salt (if you don’t have a 1/8 tsp measuring spoon, just use a heaping ¼ tsp)
Caramel Filling
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 oz cream cheese
1 tbsp GF caramel sauce (I like Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel GF Caramel Sauce, but you can use your favorite)
1¼ cup powdered sugar
¼ tsp GF vanilla
¼ tsp flaky sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
20 toasted pecan halves, optional
2 tbsp mini chocolate chips, optional
Shaved or grated dark (or your favorite) chocolate, optional
Cookie Cups
Beat butter & sugar on medium high until light & fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add egg & vanilla & beat on medium until combined, scraping down sides as needed.
Whisk together flour(s), xanthan gum, cocoa, baking powder, & salt.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture while mixing on low, just until incorporated. Scrape down sides as needed.
Press dough into ball/disk, wrap in plastic & refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (Can refrigerate for up to 2 days.)
Line mini muffin tins with mini muffin cups. Lightly spray mini muffin cups with GF baking spray.
Divide dough into 24 balls (about 1 tbsp each).
Place one ball in each cup. Press the dough into bottom & up sides of muffin cup. A measuring teaspoon works well to do this.
Chill for 15 minutes.
Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. Cookies should be dry to touch & shape set.
Remove from oven & immediately press cookies again with measuring teaspoon.
Cool pan on wire rack for 5 minutes.
Remove cookies from pan & finish cooling completely on wire rack.
Caramel Filling
Beat butter, cream cheese & 1 tbsp caramel sauce on medium speed until creamy, about 1-2 minutes.
On low speed gradually add powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Beat in vanilla & sea salt.
Transfer filling into a piping bag with a large star tip. Fill each cookie cup with filling. (If you don’t have a pastry bag, you can also use a small spoon, then smooth or gently swirl the top.)
Drizzle remaining 1 tbsp caramel sauce over each cup. Sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt.
If using any of the optional toppings, add these now.
Notes:
This recipe is adapted from a recipe from southernliving.com. Thanks Southern Living!
The original recipe doesn’t use muffin tin cups, but I found the dough made with GF flour just a little less sturdy than with regular flour & I couldn’t get them out of the tins without them falling apart. You can refrigerate the dough for just an hour, it will be just a little sticky, but still workable.
These are pretty rich, but since they are just a couple of bites each, the richness is not overwhelming!