Salted Caramel Cupcakes

I came across this recipe for salted caramel cupcakes and knew I had to make them. I typically don't bake, so this had to be cheater style. It was super easy with minimal measuring. They came out very moist, rich, and sweet. When I make the next batch, I'm going to up the salt a bit though some at work thought it was perfect the way it was. The original recipe comes from http://www.joyshope.com/.

By the way, "salted caramel" is a little misleading; it's very caramely, and the sea salt just emphasizes the caramel taste. It's not at all salty if that was scaring you.

Salted Caramel Cupcake
One box chocolate cake mix and ingredients to make it (I used Devils Food)
Sea salt
3-5 Skor or Heath bars
1 jar caramel ice cream topping (or make your own, if you're that kind of person)
Your favorite vanilla icing (homemade or storebought - I used cream cheese)
Squeeze bottle

Bake the cupcakes according to the package directions. When the cupcakes are almost done, pour the jar of caramel into a glass measuring bowl (since it has a ridge that makes it easy to pour from) and add 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt for every 8 ounces of caramel. Warm in the microwave for 1 minute then stir. Pour the caramel/salt mixture into the squeeze bottle.

As soon as the cupcakes finish, inject caramel into the center of each. Move them to a cooling rack.

While they are cooling, smash the candy bars into tiny pieces. I enjoyed putting them in a ziplock and beating them with a rolling pin.

Once cooled, top them with frosting and sprinkle the candy bar pieces over top. Drizzle leftover caramel over top of each of them.