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There are so many things I love about fall – cool nights around the fire pit, fallen leaves, pumpkins, apple picking, crisp weather. It really is my most favorite time of year. Another favorite of mine during autumn is baking! The flavors of fall are incredible and the best to bake with! If you love baking as much as I do during the fall months, you’ll love the MARS Bake in the Fun Sweepstakes #BakeInTheFunSweepstakes. Two KitchenAid Mixers will be available weekly – perfect for all your fall favorites. More details below!
My fall favorite – flavors of apple and caramel, especially baked into a cake or cookies. Today, I’m sharing my idea for combining the two into a mini cake made from cake-like cookies with a caramel frosting! These adorable cakes are just the right size and taste!
What’s great about this recipe is it’s so easy and a quick trip to Walmart will allow you to pick up all the yummy ingredients. My shopping list included: M&M’s® Peanut Harvest, Pillsbury™ Supreme Creamy® Caramel Apple Frosting, Pillsbury™ Supreme Creamy® Cream Cheese Seasonal Frosting, Pillsbury™ Moist Supreme® Caramel Cake Mix, Mott’s® Apple Sauce Original.
I found most items in their respective aisles, fruit, baking, candy at Walmart.
Since I wanted the ability to work with a cookie, to make mini cakes, I decided to make a cake-like cookie using the Pillsbury™ Moist Supreme® Caramel Apple Cake Mix. Using applesauce was a great way to eliminate the need for oil, but you can certainly prepare either way. I liked that the Mott’s® Apple Sauce would bring in even more apple flavor!
With simple ingredients, the cookie ‘dough’ is quick to whip up.
They bake fast – so watch them closely! While you’re waiting – it would be a great time to enter the MARS #BakeInTheFunSweepstakes! Winning a KitchenAid mixer would make fall baking even better!
MARS Bake In The Fun Sweepstakes
These cookies may fall a little flat, but for me that was great since I wanted them to be thinner layers to my mini cakes. In fact, I trimmed them up, cutting off some of the tops, just like you would do with a cake before layering.
An updside down pedestal bowl is the perfect mini cake stand, too!
Once they are cooled completely – it’s time for the fun of assembling and decorating. You’ll start with one cookie layer and pipe on the caramel apple frosting. Continue layering until your desired cake height and then spread on the cream cheese frosting like any other cake. Do a crumb coat – refrigerate for 20 minutes and then bring it back out to finish.
You can then decorate your cakes any way you choose! I love the fall colors of the M&M’s® Peanut Harvest, so that’s what I chose to use.
You can decorate with the whole candy or crush to sprinkle on top. Either way, you’ve got amazing fall mini-cakes that everyone will love.
Serve up as an after-pumpkin picking treat alongside some cider or my favorite, Snapple® Apple!
Want some more fall recipe inspiration? Be sure to check out other great MARS Harvest recipe ideas. I’d love to hear about your favorite fall recipe!
- ¾ cup Mott's® Apple Sauce Original
- 2 eggs
- Pillsbury™ Moist Supreme® Caramel Apple Cake Mix
- Pillsbury™ Supreme Creamy® Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pillsbury™ Supreme Creamy® Caramel Apple Frosting
- M&M's® Peanut Harvest ½ cup - crushed and whole
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Pour cake mix into bowl and combine eggs and applesauce.
- Mix to combine - you'll get a wet dough that's between cake mix and cookie dough.
- Spoon onto cookie sheet with baking mat in 1 inch mounds
- Bake for 8-10 minutes - watch closely.
- Remove and allow to FULLY cool.
- Meanwhile prepare your surface to buld mini cake.
- After cookies have cooled - trim them and shave off some of the top so it's a nice flat surface, much like you'd do with layered cakes.
- Start assembling with caramel frosting in between each layer. Allow to set in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Do a crumb coat with cream cheese frosting. Return to fridge for an additional 15-20 minutes.
- Remove and coat the cake with the cream cheese frosting.
- Decorate with M&M's® - whole or crushed.
- ENJOY!
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I am a huge fan of mini desserts and these look amazing!! (client)