The minute I was introduced to a salted caramel hot cocoa, I was in LOVE!  I have mixed feelings about chocolate…I can take-it-or-leave-it, but mix it with caramel and I have an eating problem!! 😉

I love any candy with caramel so I was SO excited to find these MILKY WAY® Simply Caramel Bites!  They come unwrapped, which makes them easy to use for baking.

Salted MILKY WAY® cupcakes

Ingredients for cupcakes:

• basic chocolate cake mix (boxed or homemade) made according to the directions
• 1 bag of MILKY WAY® Simply Caramel Bites

1.  Scoop the cake mixture into each cupcake liner.

2.  Then add one Milky Way Bite to each cupcake.

 3.  Use a toothpick to submerge the candy into the batter.

 4.  You should see very little or no candy.

 5.  Bake on 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes.

 Ingredients for icing:

• few Tbs. of kosher salt
• caramel syrup
• 1 lb. box of powdered sugar
• 1 lbs. of baking shortening
• 1/2 lb. butter
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1.  Using a mixer, blend together the powder sugar, butter, shortening and vanilla.  This makes a basic buttercream icing.  Now just add a generous amount of caramel syrup.   Taste as you add to get the flavor you want.

2.  Once the cupcakes are completely cooled (you might even want to put them in the fridge for a few minutes), you can ice them.  I used a piping bag but you can just spread the icing on with a knife…either way works and achieves the same taste! 😉

I wanted to add an Easter twist to my cupcakes, so I decided to add some chocolate bunny ears!  These are really easy to make.

You will need: bag of chocolate melts (found in the cake decorating section of the craft store), parchment or wax paper, scissors and tape.

Melt about a handful of the chocolates in the microwave in 30 second intervals until they are fully melted.  It only took about 1 minute for the small amount I used.

 Make a cone out of a piece of wax or parchment paper and tape it together.  Then add the melted chocolate into the bag.

Using a separate piece of the wax/parchment paper with the waxy side up, pipe bunny ear shapes.  This was my first time and I made a bit of a mess, but it was super simple.

You want the hole for the chocolate to be super, super small!

To finish off the cupcakes, chop-up some of the leftover MILKY WAY® Bites.  It works best if they are cold, so I put mine in the freezer while the cupcakes were baking.

Roll the iced cupcakes, along the outside, in the chopped up candy.  It easier if you have the candy on a dinner plate for this.

Drizzle with caramel syrup, sprinkle on some kosher salt and top with the chocolate bunny ears!

 These cupcakes are DELICIOUS!!!  They are so good that I had to get them out of the house FAST…before I ate them all myself.

  These will make a perfect treat to add to our Easter menu!