Caramel Apple Pecan Cups

This is what Fall is all about. 

The rich aroma of crisp apples and cinnamon combined with the welcomed warmth of the oven that magically transforms simple ingredients into a delicious treat.

I love fall. The sights, scents, the cool breeze and of course the endless list of things you can do with pumpkins and apples.

Here is a treat that I came up with today that is sure to hit the spot if you're looking for a sweet treat on a cool fall evening.

*Sweet Dough*

1 stick unsalted butter at room temp

1 cup sugar

1/2 Tsp baking powder

1/4 Tsp salt

2 cups flour

3/4 cup milk

In your stand mixer beat together butter and sugar until it's smooth. Mix in salt, baking powder and flour. Mix in milk on medium speed until the dough is smooth. Set aside.

*side note- the sweet dough recipe above is the Kuga dough recipe, if you are making Kuga with it, set aside about 1/3 cup of the dry dough mixture before you add the milk to serve as the crumble topping on the traditional Kuga.

*Apple Filling*

5 medium size Granny Smith apples

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans (optional)

1/2 Tsp apple pie spice or cinnamon

2 Tsp flour

Peel and dice apples.

Toss with a small amount of lemon juice to prevent browning.

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it's melted add brown sugar. Stir constantly until bubbling. Remove from heat and add pecans, apples, apple pie spice and the flour to thicken. Stir together until completely mixed.

You can either spread your dough out on to a shallow baking sheet or use a muffin pan like I did. 

Either line the muffin pan with cupcake liners or generously spray with cooking spray. (Cupcake liners are easier.)

Spoon in dough and press it into a cup with your fingers. (You may need to grease your fingers because the dough tends to be sticky.)

It should look like this: 

Fill your dough cups with the apple mixture, be careful not to over fill because the dough will puff up when it's baked. 

You may have leftover dough and filling. The recipe makes a bit more than what is needed to make a muffin pan full.

Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes until slightly golden around the edges.

Enjoy!