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    Home » Recipes » Cookies & Scones

    Published: Jul 26, 2022 · Modified: Oct 21, 2022 by Melanie McDonald · This post contains affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · 11 Comments

    Healthier Chocolate Caramel Cookie Cups

    JUMP TO RECIPE PIN
    5 from 9 votes

    Healthier Chocolate Caramel Cookie Cups! We're talking a generous oaty cookie crust, a luscious but healthy date caramel filling and a fudgy chocolate topping. Just perfect for snacking and desserts!

    a stack of chocolate caramel cookie cups in a hand

    Chocolate Caramel Cookie Cups. I see your thick, oaty cookie crust, your sticky date caramel insides and your fudgy chocolate topping and I want you right now.

    So many wholesome ingredients packed into each cookie cup, and yes, they are as dense, chewy, gooey and fudgy as you are hoping they will be!

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • How To Make Chocolate Caramel Cookie Cups
    • Storing Cookie Cups
    • More Healthier Treats
    • Recipe
    • Hungry For More?
    • Comments & Reviews

    Ingredients

    Here are the wholesome ingredients you'll be needing to make Chocolate Caramel Cookie Cups:

    ingredients needed

    How To Make Chocolate Caramel Cookie Cups

    chocolate pouring into a cookie cup

    These Healthier Chocolate Caramel Cookie Cups are so easy to make. Here's how:

    1. Make the date caramel. It takes minutes and just needs blending. No cooking is involved.
    2. Mix the crust up in a food processor and press into a muffin pan.
    3. Dollop some caramel into each one.
    4. Melt some chocolate into some coconut milk and pour onto the top of the caramel in each cup then freeze.
    chocolate caramel cookie cups in a muffin pan

    Success tip - If your dates are a little dry and hard or you have a less powerful blender or food processor that you think might struggle a bit, you can soak the dates in warm water for ten minutes prior to blending everything. That will make it easier and give you much smooth results.

    Storing Cookie Cups

    You can keep these cookie cups in the refrigerator, but I prefer to store them in the freezer. Once prepped, pop them straight in the freezer while still in the muffin pan, then once absolutely solid you can remove them and transfer to a container. The caramel doesn't freeze solid so you can eat them right away with no need to defrost.

    The inside of a chocolate caramel cookie cup

    So, what is in your future? It's you - In the kitchen. A super simple cookie crust on the go. A blender full of luscious caramel. A jug full of melty chocolate. Followed by a stash of Chocolate Caramel Cookie Cups in the freezer.

    Isn't that what vegan dreams are made of? Let's do this!

    More Healthier Treats

    • No Bake Chocolate Cake
    • Raw Vegan Fruit Cake
    • No Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars
    • Healthy No Bake Bars

    If you try this recipe, let me know how you like it by leaving a comment and rating below! And be sure to join my mailing list for more deliciousness!

    Recipe

    s stack of cookie cups

    Healthier Chocolate Caramel Cookie Cups

    Author: Melanie McDonald
    5 from 9 votes
    Healthier Chocolate Caramel Cookie Cups! We're talking a generous oaty cookie crust, a luscious but healthy date caramel filling and a fudgy chocolate topping. Just perfect for snacking and desserts!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe SaveSaved!
    PREP TIME: 20 minutes
    COOK TIME: 10 minutes
    TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes
    Servings: 8

    Ingredients
      

    For the crust

    • 1 cup (100 grams) oats ,rolled, old fashioned or quick oats
    • ½ cup (60 grams) pecans or walnuts , use shelled sunflower seeds or more oats for nut-free
    • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
    • 4 tablespoons nut/seed butter
    • approximately 3 tablespoons maple syrup

    For the caramel

    • 1 packed cup (175 grams) Medjool dates , measured after pitting (about 10 to 11 dates)
    • 2 tablespoons nut/seed butter
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
    • approximately 5 tablespoons canned coconut milk

    For the chocolate topping

    • ¾ cup (130 grams) dairy-free chocolate chips
    • ½ cup (120 mls) canned coconut milk

    RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT

    • Food Processor
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    INSTRUCTIONS
     

    For the cookie crust

    • Preheat oven to 350°F and line 8 holes in a muffin pan/s with a long rectangular strip of parchment paper across the bottom and up the sides to aid in lifting out the cookie cups. (You can see my strips in my picture in the post above). 
    • Add the oats, nuts and salt to a food processor and process until a fine crumb, then add the nut butter and process again until combined. Add the maple syrup gradually and process in between additions until you can squeeze the mixture together in your fingers and it doesn't crumble. I used 3 tablespoons. 
    • Take golf ball sized pieces of the mixture and press them into each hole of the muffin pan being careful not to move the paper too much. Press it tightly and evenly with your fingers, into the bottom and up the sides, forming a cup shape.  
    • Bake in the oven for 10 minutes then remove and leave to cool in the pan. 

    For the caramel

    • Add the dates, nut/seed butter, vanilla and salt to a food processor or high powered blender. Blend until completely smooth, while gradually adding the coconut milk to make a really thick, dollopable creamy caramel.

    For the chocolate topping

    • Heat the coconut milk in a pan or in the microwave until hot then remove from the heat and add the chocolate chips. Stir until the chocolate has melted and it's all combined and smooth.

    To make the cookie cups

    • Once the crusts are cool add a generous spoon of date caramel into each one, leaving just enough room for thickish layer of chocolate. Flatten the caramel as best you can with a spoon.
    • Pour in enough chocolate ganache to almost fill the cups.
    • Carefully transfer the muffin pan into the freezer, making sure it's flat and leave to set. They only need about 30 minutes. 

    NOTES

    Store the cookie cups in the freezer. You can leave them in the tin or pop out and store in a container. 
    Leftover caramel? Store date caramel in a jar in the fridge. It will keep for up to 14 days and can be frozen for up to 3 months. 

    NUTRITION

    Serving: 1cookie cupCalories: 353kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 6gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gSodium: 167mgPotassium: 312mgFiber: 5gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 37IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 61mgIron: 2mg

    Nutritional information is provided for convenience. The data is a computer generated estimate and should be used as a guide only.

    Tried this recipe?Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @avirtualvegan on Instagram and hashtag it #avirtualvegan

    Hungry For More?

    • Healthy No Bake Bars
    • No Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars
    • Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies
    • Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

    This recipe was originally published on March 8th, 2018. The post has been updated with new information and now I am republishing it for you. The recipe itself remains the same. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for following A Virtual Vegan!

    Hungry For More?

    • Vegan Ginger Cookies
    • Vegan Brown Butter
    • Healthy Oil-Free Vegan Biscuits
    • Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies
    1.5K shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Fran says

      July 26, 2022 at 2:24 pm

      Can you use deglet dates if you don’t have medjool and is there a substitute I can use for coconut milk. These look seriously delicious and I would love to make them if substitutes are possible.
      Many thanks
      Fran

      Reply
      • Melanie McDonald says

        July 26, 2022 at 3:36 pm

        Medjool dates are the stickiest and most caramel like. You could use deglet dates but because they are drier you'll need more milk to loosen it up and the caramel won't be quite as rich and decadent. You can use any creamy milk instead of the coconut milk, but again the results won't be as good and rich and creamy.Hope that helps.

        Reply
    2. Olivia says

      August 01, 2021 at 1:18 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely delicious! I Was wondering if it is possible le to sub with rice flour Instead of oat flour?
      Thank you :)

      Reply
      • Melanie McDonald says

        August 02, 2021 at 11:03 am

        Thank you, glad you enjoyed them! I wouldn't use rice flour. It has totally different qualities to oat flour and is nowhere near as absorbent. I don't think it would work well and even if it did all hold together well (which I doubt) they'd end up with a slightly gritty texture and wouldn't taste as good.
        Hope that helps!

        Reply
    3. Hélène says

      July 20, 2020 at 4:42 pm

      5 stars
      I have just made the caramel and the cookie cups and I can’t wait to take them out of the freezer and try them! This is a wonderful recipe! Thank you!

      Hélène

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        July 20, 2020 at 8:31 pm

        Thank you Hélène. I hope you enjoy them!

        Reply
    4. Natalia says

      July 12, 2020 at 9:26 am

      5 stars
      The date caramel is absolutely delicious! I also was able to make 12 mini cookie cups with this recipe. Everyone loved them, thank you so much for this recipe!

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        July 12, 2020 at 11:28 am

        Yay! So pleased you all enjoyed them. Thanks so much for coming back to leave a rating/review. It's much appreciated!

        Reply
    5. Maureen Cram says

      April 01, 2018 at 10:01 am

      5 stars
      Made these in mini pans... took me ages to press the base into the little molds... but! We had them today for Easter lunch dessert and they were all eaten and ooed and ahhhed over. Will make again in a larger pan perhaps but will definitely make again. Had enough crumb based for 12 mini cupcake molds. Have lots of caramel over to use and also some chocolate mix. Used the tahini in the caramel and it was amazing.

      Thanks so much for the recipe. I have shared it with my vegan FB pages in South Africa.

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        April 02, 2018 at 9:54 pm

        I'm glad you enjoyed them Maureen and thank you so much for stopping by to leave feedback after you made them. It's much appreciated!

        Reply
    6. The Foodie Journey says

      March 31, 2018 at 9:09 pm

      Yuuum! That looks so delicious!

      Reply

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