Caramel Apple Stuffed Gingerbread Cookies are soft gingerbread cookie cups filled with warm cinnamon-spiced apples and caramel, then topped with a creamy caramel topping. They combine gingerbread and caramel apple flavors in one festive dessert.
These cookie cups are especially fun for fall and the holidays. I like that each one is an individual dessert, and that caramel apple center makes them a little more special than a traditional gingerbread cookie.
Why I Love Caramel Apple Stuffed Gingerbread Cookies
About the Ingredients ⭐
- Gingerbread Cookie Dough: Unsalted butter, brown sugar, egg, molasses, all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg create the soft, warmly spiced gingerbread cookies.
- Granulated Sugar: Used for rolling the cookie dough before baking.
- Caramel Apple Filling: Apples are cooked with butter, lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and kosher salt, then mixed with caramel tidbits.
- Whipped Topping: Cream cheese, caramel ice cream topping, and whipped cream make the creamy caramel topping.
Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list below
How to Make Caramel Apple Stuffed Gingerbread Cookies
Make the Gingerbread Dough: Beat the butter and brown sugar until creamy. Mix in the egg and molasses. Combine the dry ingredients separately, then mix them into the wet ingredients just until combined.
Shape and Bake: Scoop the dough into a greased mini muffin pan and press it up the sides to form cups. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Press the centers down again while warm to create the cups, then cool before removing.
Make the Caramel Apple Filling: Cook the apples with butter, lemon juice, brown sugar, and spices over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until fork-tender. Stir in the caramel tidbits and let them melt slightly.
Make the Topping: Beat the cream cheese until fluffy, then mix in the caramel ice cream topping. Gently fold in the whipped cream.
Assemble: Spoon the caramel apple filling into the cooled gingerbread cups. Pipe or spoon the topping over each one and sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
Tips I Found Helpful 💙
- Cut the apples small: Small cubes fit better inside the gingerbread cups and cook quickly.
- Shape while warm: Press the centers of the cookies down again right after baking to keep the cup shape.
- Cool before removing: Let the gingerbread cups cool before taking them out of the mini muffin pan so they don’t fall apart.
- Cool the apple filling: Let the caramel apple mixture cool before adding the whipped topping so it doesn’t melt.
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More Holiday Desserts I Love
Caramel Apple Stuffed Gingerbread Cookies
Caramel Apple Stuffed Gingerbread Cookies are soft gingerbread cookie cups filled with caramel apples and topped with a creamy caramel topping.
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾ cup granulated sugar, for rolling
Caramel Apple Filling
- 3 cups apples, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup caramel tidbits
Whipped Topping
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup caramel ice cream topping
- ⅔ cup whipped cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Beat the softened butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add the molasses and egg and beat until combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix just until combined.
- Scoop the dough and roll each portion in granulated sugar. Place in the prepared mini muffin pan.
- Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of each muffin cup, creating a small bowl with a lip around the edge.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Immediately press the centers down with the back of a spoon to reshape the cups.
- Allow the gingerbread cups to cool before removing them from the pan.
- For the filling, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and salt.
- Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the apples are fork-tender. Add a teaspoon of water if the mixture becomes too dry.
- Stir in the caramel tidbits and allow them to melt slightly. Remove from the heat and cool.
- For the topping, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Mix in the caramel ice cream topping, then gently fold in the whipped cream.
- Divide the caramel apple filling among the cooled gingerbread cups.
- Pipe or spoon the topping over each cookie cup. Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
Notes
Cut the apples into small cubes so they fit easily inside the cookie cups. Let the cookies and apple filling cool before adding the cream cheese topping.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1 CookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 322Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 243mgCarbohydrates: 51gFiber: 2gSugar: 30gProtein: 4g
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