Salted Caramel Macadamia Cups

If you love these Salted Caramel Macadamia Cups, be sure to try my  15-Minute Caramel Sauce!

You are looking at one of the most delightful flavor combinations right here!  Bittersweet chocolate, creamy caramel, crunchy macadamia nuts, topped off with a sprinkle of sea salt.   I do believe that just knocked regular peanut butter cups out of the park!  Ok, ok, peanut butter cups are pretty tasty!

What you need to make Salted Caramel Macadamia Cups:

We will start with our caramel.  For this recipe, we do need to make our own homemade caramel.  Have no fear, homemade caramel doesn't have to be intimidating!  You can check out all my tips for success at making caramel over here.  Just follow the instructions carefully and you should be fine!

This caramel recipe is very similar to my caramel sauce recipe, I just tweaked the measurement slightly to achieve a thicker caramel more suitable for these cups.

Next, we will melt our chocolate.  I like to use these Belcolade Premium Belgian Bittersweet Chocolate Wafers from Bulk Barn for these cups.  I really love the flavor of the bittersweet chocolate in this recipe and they melt beautifully.   We will use a double-boiler method to melt the chocolate. Don't worry if you don't know what a "double-boiler" is, I explain it all in the recipe!

We will also need some Macadamia Nuts.  roasted and salted are what I use, but unsalted would be fine also, you can just add a tiny bit more salt on top!  Lastly, a sprinkle of flaky or coarse sea salt tops them off perfectly!

I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as my family and I do!

Need some baking inspiration?  Here are the recipes that I posted last March:

• Homemade Oreo Cookies -- my take on these favorite cookies!
• Peanut Butter Fudge Cheesecake Pie -- chocolate and peanut butter,  a classic combination!
• Hot Cross Buns -- Easter is coming up soon!
• Mint Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes -- you can have your cheesecake and your cupcake too!

Print Recipe

Salted Caramel Macadamia Cups

Bittersweet chocolate, creamy caramel, crunchy macadamia nuts, topped off with a sprinkle of sea salt.   

Prep Time40 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Chilling Time1 hr 15 mins

Total Time2 hrs 5 mins

Servings: 18 cups

Author: Naomi Andres

Ingredients

For the Caramel:

• ½ cup granulated white sugar
• 3 tablespoons salted butter, cubed
• 3 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cups:

• 1 batch caramel (recipe above)
• ½ cup roasted salted macadamia nuts, chopped coarsely
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate wafers *
• 1 teaspoon flakey sea salt

Instructions

To make the Caramel:

• Heat the sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat while stirring. The sugar will form clumps as it melts before completely melting and turning golden/amber in color.
• When fully melted remove from heat and quickly whisk in the cubed butter (the mixture will bubble up when you add it). Make sure the butter is fully incorporated before slowly adding the cream in a small stream. Pouring in the cream too quickly might cause the caramel to seize. Whisk briskly until fully incorporated and smooth.
• Finally, stir in the vanilla and pour the sauce into a heat-safe glass measuring cup to finish cooling before assembling the cups.

To melt the Chocolate:

• We will use a double boiler method to melt the chocolate.  Fill a medium saucepan with about 2 inches of water in the bottom and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Take a medium heat-safe bowl and place over the boiling water in the pot, making sure there is a gap between the bottom of the bowl and the boiling water. Place the chocolate wafers in the bowl over the pot and stir until the chocolate is completely melted. 

To assemble the Cups:

• Line 2 mini muffin tins with 18 mini foil-lined cupcake liners. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the melted chocolate into each liner and use a spoon to draw the chocolate up the sides to coat evenly.  You should use about ½ - ⅓ of the chocolate in this step. Place the tins in the freezer to harden for about 5 minutes. 
• Once the chocolate is hard, remove from the freezer and distribute the chopped macadamia nuts evenly into the 18 cups.  Then, spoon about 1 -2 teaspoons of the cooled caramel into each cup. The caramel should cover the nuts completely. Place in the freezer for another 10 minutes to harden. 
• After the caramel is slightly hardened, take out of the freezer and top with the remaining melted chocolate and a little sprinkle of sea salt. Refrigerate the cups for about 1 hour to harden completely. Take out of the fridge about 5 minutes before serving for optimum texture. 

Notes

* I use these Belcolade Premium Belgian Bittersweet Chocolate Wafers from Bulk Barn.

Love and Cookies,

Naomi

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If you make these Salted Caramel Macadamia Cups or any of my recipes, I’d love to see pictures of your baking adventures on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter! Hashtag them #kneadsomesweets!