31 Mouthwatering Salted Caramel Snacks and Desserts

September 05, 2012
Jennifer Davick
The combination of salty and sweet has always been a pleasing partnership, so it’s no surprise that the salted caramel flavor is a hot trend and a great way to add interesting flavor to snacks and desserts.
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Cookie Butter Cheesecake

Photo: Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland; Food Styling: Pam Lolley
Cookie Butter Cheesecake Recipe

This decadent cheesecake harnesses the addictively toasty power of speculoos cookies in the crust, in a layer of the filling, and in an over-the-top delicious caramel sauce you’re gonna want to pour over everything (we highly suggest you do). Perfect for a holiday gathering or other special occasion, this cookie butter cheesecake recipe is guaranteed to please. We tested using Biscoff cookie butter, but feel free to use your favorite brand of speculoos spread. 

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Chocolate Thumbprints with Caramel and Sea Salt

Photo: Erin Kunkel; Styling: Kelly Allen
Chocolate Thumbprints with Caramel and Sea Salt Recipe

From Great Falls, Montana, Colette Tihista-Longin writes, "I found this cookie recipe in an old collection at a yard sale. The original recipe has a chocolate filling, but I adapted it to include caramel and sea salt several years ago. It's a hit every year at our cookie exchange." Despite the name for this style of cookie, the end of a wooden spoon makes a neater, deeper depression in the cookie than your thumb will.

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Salted Caramel Banana Pudding

Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Tami Hardeman
Salted Caramel Banana Pudding Recipe
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Instant Pot Salted Caramel-Pecan Cheesecake

Photo: Caitlin Bensel Food Styling: Tina Stamos and Gordon Sawyer Prop Styling: Kay Clark
Instant Pot Salted Caramel-Pecan Cheesecake Recipe

Rich, creamy, and smooth, this cheesecake "bakes" surprisingly well right in the Instant Pot. Drizzle your remaining caramel sauce on top after the dessert cools to make this showstopping cake look as amazing as it tastes. 

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Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie with Salted Caramel

Photo: Zoë Engongoro; Styling: Emma Crist
Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie with Salted Caramel Recipe

Start with a delicious warm oatmeal chocolate chunk cookie base and take it over the top with fun toppings like caramel or chocolate syrup, sea salt, and vanilla ice cream.

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Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Jennifer Causey
Salted Caramel Apple Pie Recipe

Grated apple is the secret to a syrupy pie filling--it releases more pectin (a natural thickener) than the sliced apples alone. A quick salted caramel intensifies the apple flavor without making the dessert too sweet.

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Sea Salt-Caramel Cake

Greg DuPree
Sea Salt-Caramel Cake Recipe

While these tender cake layers taste divine, it’s the caramel frosting that really wows. It’s outrageously rich—and doesn’t require the use of a candy thermometer. Top the frosted cake with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt for a fancy finish.

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Miso Caramel-Apple Pie

Hector Manuel Sanchez
Miso Caramel-Apple Pie Recipe

You've no doubt heard of--and enjoyed--salted caramel. Miso caramel takes that concept one step further, offering depth and richness that's unparalleled. Even though this pie is rather decadent, it still comes in with 12g less sugar than a popular online version of caramel-apple pie.

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Oatmeal-Raisin Skillet Cookie with Miso-Caramel Sauce

Victor Protasio
Oatmeal-Raisin Skillet Cookie with Miso-Caramel Sauce Recipe

This sweet-meets-salty oatmeal cookie is chewy in the middle with a crispy bottom and edges. In other words, it’s irresistible. The browned butter adds depth, and the salted caramel sauce has a little bit of tang thanks to the fermented miso. Substitute any dried fruit for the raisins, and serve with frozen yogurt, ice cream, or whipped cream. Keep any leftovers in the skillet and simply cover it.

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Coffee Sundaes with Salted Peanut Butter Caramel

Photo: Peden & Munk; Styling: Amy Wilson 
Coffee Sundaes with Salted Peanut Butter Caramel Recipe
The sweet and salty combo in this sundae is truly amazing. Serve it to special guests, or treat the family to a weeknight splurge.

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Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Cindy Barr
Salted Caramel Ice Cream Recipe
It is hard to beat the sweet and salty flavor of this indulgent yet lightened ice cream.

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Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce

Oxmoor House
Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe
The layer of sauce in the middle of the pudding is the secret to this velvety-rich interior.
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Smoked Sea Salt Chocolate-Covered Turtles

Oxmoor House
Smoked Sea Salt Chocolate-Covered Turtles Recipe
Using smoked sea salt adds another depth of flavor to these caramel-and-chocolate covered pecans.

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Caramel-Mocha-Sea Salt Cupcakes

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro
Caramel-Mocha-Sea Salt Cupcakes Recipe
This cupcake is a combination of salty and sweet blended with mocha and is one of the most requested flavors at Dreamcakes Bakery in Birmingham, Alabama.

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Caramel Popcorn

Photo: Karry Hosford
Caramel Popcorn Recipe
Buttered popcorn becomes even better when you add caramel flavor with brown sugar, corn syrup and light molasses. You’d better make several batches, because this treat won’t last long.
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Chocolate-Salted Caramel Tart

Photo: John Kernick; Stylist: Alistar Turnbull/Pat Bates and Associates
Chocolate-Salted Caramel Tart Recipe
This decadent tart with a phyllo crust, creamy dark chocolate filling and topping of sea salt flakes is a pleasure trip for all of your senses but has only 126 calories per serving.

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Salted Caramel-Chocolate Cupcakes

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Buffy Hargett
Salted Caramel-Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
These cupcakes may well be the ultimate in cupcake decadence with cream cheese and butter in the cake batter, a chocolate topping, and then a caramel-cream cheese frosting with flaked salt. You’ll see that salt really does bring out the flavor of the sweet.

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Chocolate-Caramel-Pecan Chips

Oxmoor House
Chocolate-Caramel-Pecan Chips Recipe
When you can’t decide whether you want salty or sweet for a snack, pick both. Start with a bag of ruffled potato chips, drizzle with melted caramels, and top with chocolate and pecans. We find these chips impossible to resist.
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Salted Caramel-Chocolate Pecan Pie

Photo: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas
Salted Caramel-Chocolate Pecan Pie Recipe
A cross between a fudge pie and pecan pie, this is all the more stunning if you arrange the pecans from the center in a spiral pattern.

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Salted Caramel Cheesecakes

Photo: Romulo Yanes; Styling: Philippa Brathwaite
Salted Caramel Cheesecakes Recipe
There's something so special about your own individual dessert. For the biggest impact, sprinkle on a beautiful flake salt at the end; if you don't have that, sea salt will work, too.

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Salted Caramel Brownies

Photo: Francesco Tonelli; Styling: Philippa Brathwaite
Salted Caramel Brownies Recipe
With their rich, indulgent flavors, these layered caramel brownies dusted in sea salt are a definite crowd-pleaser.
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Apple-Pear Pie with Cookie Butter Caramel

Photo: Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland; Food Styling: Pam Lolley
Apple-Pear Pie with Cookie Butter Caramel Recipe

If you’re looking to go next-level for you next holiday pie, this speculoos infused apple and pear pie is exactly what you’re looking for. Featuring finely ground speculoos cookies (we used Biscoff brand) in the crust, larger crumbles in the pecan streusel topping, and a decadent salted cookie butter caramel sauce both in the filling and drizzled over top, this fruit pie is anything but boring. While it may seem like a hassle, don’t skip giving your fruit the little pre-cook described in step 5. This method of par-cooking the slice apples and pears will help your fruit achieve a delightfully tender, but not-too-mushy texture through the baking process.

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Sea Salt-Caramel Éclairs

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Lindsey Lower
Sea Salt-Caramel Éclairs Recipe
Try a decadent pastry made with sea salt and caramel.

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Salted Caramel-Pecan Bars

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Buffy Hargett
Salted Caramel-Pecan Bars Recipe
This is a classic recipe updated with a sprinkle of kosher salt. Perfect for a host gift or holiday dessert tray, the salty-sweet flavor will keep people coming back for more.
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Peanut-Butter Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches

Photo: Sunset
Peanut-Butter Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches Recipe
These soft, yielding cookies have a double dose of chocolate. They're the perfect foil for rich, gooey Salted Caramel Peanut-Butter Ice Cream ice cream.

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Cracker Jack Caramel Sundaes

Photo: Lisa Romerein; Styling: Valerie Aikman-Smith
Cracker Jack Caramel Sundaes Recipe
No ball game would be complete without the traditional peanuts and Cracker Jack. These sundaes give you both. You can use store-bought Cracker Jack (the cook gets to keep the prize) or make your own with gourmet caramel corn and salty Spanish peanuts.

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Salted-Butter Caramels

Photo: Ryan Benyi; Styling: Stephana Bottom
Salted-Butter Caramels Recipe
Make your own salted caramels with just five ingredients. Flaked sea salt creates a gorgeous contrast against the golden-brown caramels.
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Pumpkin-Orange Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust and Salted Caramel

Photo: Annabelle Breakey; Styling: Robyn Valarik 
Pumpkin-Orange Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust and Salted Caramel Recipe
Pumpkin and chocolate together are surprisingly delicious, but it's the addition of salted caramel that takes this showstopping dessert over the top.

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Open-Face Apple Pie with Salted Pecan Crumble

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Linda Hirst
Open-Face Apple Pie with Salted Pecan Crumble Recipe
Reminiscent of caramel apples, this open-face pie is topped with salted nuts and luscious caramel sauce.

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Salted Caramel Strawberries

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Leigh Anne Montgomery
Salted Caramel Strawberries Recipe
If you love chocolate-covered strawberries, then chances are you'll love this twist! Big, juicy strawberries taste fabulous when dipped in gooey, salty caramel and nuts.
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Caramel-Fleur de Sel Ice Cream

Jennifer Davick
Caramel-Fleur de Sel Ice Cream Recipe
Homemade caramel ice cream develops an even richer flavor when you stir in vanilla and fleur de sel (hand-harvested sea salt).
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