40 Best Caramel Dessert Recipes Filled With Sticky-Sweet Goodness
They're ooey gooey and so darn good.
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It's impossible to resist caramel. Between the ooey gooey stickiness and the buttery sweet flavor, you'd be hard-pressed to find a dessert that doesn't benefit from a generous drizzle. Ree Drummond is certainly a fan of caramel desserts. She's been making her chewy pretzel turtle candies for years and years. And don't even get her started on her caramel apple pie! It's "among my very favorites," she says.
If you feel the same way, then go ahead and grab a jar (or its sister dulce de leche) because these best caramel dessert recipes are so addicting! To start, you'll find a a simple recipe to make your own caramel sauce. And then you'll find tons of creative ways to use homemade (or store-bought) caramel in a few different classic pairings. There are nutty pecan recipes and chocolate desserts, like caramel-chocolate-pecan ice cream pie and Ree's popular brownie recipe that's stuffed with caramel.
Then, there's caramel and apple desserts—another popular grouping. Try the caramel apple dip, the caramel apple cheesecake, or the sweet rolls with caramel apple filling. To finish things off, you can wash it all down with a caramel apple martini. And of course, who can forget the sweet and salty combination of salted caramel desserts? Here, you'll find salted caramel cupcakes and cookies that are perfect for a bake sale or holiday dessert spread. So, go ahead and indulge! That sticky-sweet flavor awaits.
Caramel Apple Sheet Cake
Get the same flavor as your favorite caramel apples but in cake form! It starts with a lightly spiced apple cake then it's slathered in swirls of rich, buttery caramel frosting.
Get the Caramel Apple Sheet Cake recipe.
Turtle Pie
Caramel, chocolate, and pecans are a dream team when it comes to over-the-top desserts. With an Oreo crust and creamy dulce de leche filling, this pie is then topped with fudge, caramel, toasted pecans, and whipped cream.
Get Ree's Turtle Pie recipe.
Salted Caramel Cupcakes
This recipe starts with a box of cake mix, so it's easy! Amp up the sweetness by filling the cupcakes with a salted caramel center and topping it with salted caramel frosting and caramel corn for good measure.
Get Ree's Salted Caramel Cupcakes recipe.
Monkey Bread
Grab a few cans of store-bought biscuits, toss them in cinnamon sugar, and then drenched them in a buttery caramel sauce. It's truly as good as you remember―no monkeys required.
Get the Monkey Bread recipe.
Salted Caramel Bundt Cake
Turn a simple brown sugar bundt cake into a sweet delight by topping it with a generous drizzle of salted caramel glaze and melted white chocolate. It's perfect for serving up with a caramel latte!
Get the Salted Caramel Bundt Cake recipe.
Carmelitas
These chewy bars have a layer of gooey caramel inside! There's also chocolate chips and crunchy pecans under the buttery oat crust. Make a big batch for your next bake sale or potluck.
Get the Carmelitas recipe.
Dr Pepper Sheet Cake
Yes, this cake actually contains Dr Pepper. It's perfect for chocolate lovers, spice cake lovers, and definitely caramel lovers because that's exactly what the frosting is made out of.
Get Ree's Dr Pepper Sheet Cake recipe.
Knock You Naked Brownies
A layer of melted caramel and chocolate in the center of these brownies makes them incredibly gooey and delicious. It'll be hard not to dig right in but a little bit of time to chill in the fridge.
Get Ree's Knock You Naked Brownies recipe.
Salted Caramel Pretzel Blondies
Anyone who's a fan of sweet and salty treats will love these hand-held blondie bars. They're chewy and sweet thanks to dulce de leche, but they also have some salty crunch from the crushed pretzel pieces.
Get Ree's Salted Caramel Pretzel Blondies recipe.
Caramel Apple Martini
Is it a cocktail or a dessert? Who cares when it tastes this good! The combination of apple cider, vodka, and butterscotch schnapps is even better when poured into a caramel-drizzled glass.
Get the Caramel Apple Martini recipe.
Caramel-Chocolate-Pecan Ice Cream Pie
Just like those turtle candies you know and love, this ice cream pie is loaded with two layers of pecans, caramel, and chocolate. It's a double dose of sweetness and fun!
Get Ree's Caramel-Chocolate-Pecan Ice Cream Pie recipe.
Doughnuts with Salted Caramel Sauce
These sugar-crusted doughnuts are made with a shortcut ingredient that you can buy at the supermarket. Did you guess correctly? It's frozen puff pastry.
Get Ree's Doughnuts with Salted Caramel Sauce recipe.
Dulce de Leche Lava Cakes
Each of these mini cakes has a surprise molten center made with sweet and creamy dulce de leche. It's best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!
Get Ree's Dulce de Leche Lava Cakes recipe.
Salted Caramel Cookies
Ree loves these cookies so much that she even serves them up at the bakery at The Merc. They're slightly crunchy around the edges and chewy with a generous drizzle of caramel sauce and a sprinkle of sea salt on top.
Get Ree's Salted Caramel Cookies recipe.
Millionaire's Shortbread
This classic treat takes simple shortbread cookies to the next level by adding layers of caramel and chocolate on top. You might say they're "rich" with flavor.
Get the Millionaire's Shortbread recipe.
Apple Crumble with Caramel Sauce
The only thing better than a warm, bubbling apple crumble is an apple crumble drizzled with caramel on top! Ree says it's perfect for when you're feeling "extra naughty."
Get Ree's Apple Crumble with Caramel Sauce recipe.
Salted Caramel Sauce
This homemade caramel sauce comes together in just 15 minutes! It'll be the perfect salty-sweet topping for your favorite ice cream flavor.
Get the Salted Caramel Sauce recipe.
Pretzel Turtles
This is one of the easiest homemade candies you can make. The sweet and crunchy treats are made from four ingredients: pretzel twists, milk chocolate, pecans, and (of course) caramel candies.
Get Ree's Pretzel Turtles recipe.
Coffee Ice Cream Pie
The toasty flavor of caramel goes so perfectly with the richness of coffee ice cream. So, you'll want to add a generous drizzle of the stuff to this coffee ice cream pie. Some toffee candies on top make it all the more sweet.
Get the Coffee Ice Cream Pie recipe.
Pumpkin Spice Cake
This warm, spiced fall cake is topped with a thick layer of caramel glaze. It's surprisingly easy to make thanks to a can of sweetened condensed milk.
Get the Pumpkin Spice Cake recipe.
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