Caramel Pecan Pie Cupcakes

If you like pecan pie, you will go nuts over these cupcakes! With caramel pecan pie filling in the middle and crisp pie crust decorating the top, these say Happy Thanksgiving in a fun new way!

There’s nothing more yummy than a warm caramel pecan pie in the fall. I have a favorite- and it’s here already on Easybaked as my Christmas Eve Caramel Pecan Pie. These cupcakes take that pie up a notch and they turned out better than I even imagined they would~yum!

There are a couple of steps to this recipe, so it is a little more time consuming, but well worth the effort~ I promise!

Here’s how we made them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

Cupcakes:

• One boxed caramel cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box)

Pie filling:

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter (melted)
• 3 eggs (these are in addition to the eggs used for cake mix)
• 1 (12 oz) jar of caramel topping
• 2  cups chopped pecans (plus 24 pecan halves for decorating if desired)

Frosting and pie crust toppers:

• One refrigerated pie crust
• 1 cup (2 sticks) of salted butter
• 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter
• 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons of clear vanilla flavoring

DIRECTIONS:

Pie Filling:

• Make pie filling 1st. Start by preheating oven to 350F degrees
• In a large mixing bowl, beat 3 eggs together lightly with a fork.
• Add sugar, stirring until dissolved
• Stir in caramel topping and butter
• Stir in chopped pecans
• Pour into a greased casserole dish and bake for 50-60 minutes.
• Cool completely (I placed this in the fridge to cool more quickly)

Cupcakes:

• As the pie filling bakes, make cake mix according to directions on boxed mix and divide evenly among 24 cupcake liners placed in a tin.
• Once pie filling is finished, bake cupcakes according to box.
• Remove cupcakes from oven and tins and allow them to cool completely.

Frosting and pie crust toppers:

• Unroll pie crust onto counter and use any cookie cutter you like to cut into 24 pieces. I used a fall leaf Linzer cookie cutter and added the leaf cut-outs on the cupcakes too.
• Place pie pieces on a cookie sheet and spray lightly with non-stick spray.
• Bake until slightly browned and crispy. Cool.

• Make frosting by combining butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beating on high for 3 to 4 minutes until light and fluffy.

Assembling Dessert:

• To assemble cupcakes, make sure everything has cooled. Use a cupcake corer to remove a core out of the center of each cupcake.
• Scoop or spoon some pie filling into each cupcake and replace the top of the core back on top of the filling.

• Place frosting into a zip-top bag fitted with a decorating tip and pipe swirls of frosting on the top of each cupcake.
• Add a pie crust topper and a pecan half and ENJOY!!!!

My thoughts: These really do capture the delicious flavor of pecan pie. They were a big hit with everyone who tried them. I really liked the pie crusts on top- so yummy in that buttercream frosting! I hope you have a chance to try this recipe out!  Enjoy! ~r

Love pecans? We do too!  Here are some other yummy pecan recipes. Just click on a photo to see the recipe!

Need a fun and unique gift idea? Easybaked has adorable boxed sets of notecards. They have an Easybaked dessert photo on the front and a recipe on the back! The come in a cute box and the best part? They are ON SALE for Christmas, include free shipping and the site that is hosting them offers $10 off a $50 purchase! Enjoy!!! (Click on photo for more information)