Caramel Apple Pie Cookies Recipe (with Video)
These homemade apple pie cookies are the hallmark of the holiday season, with their delightful blend of comfort and charm. In our home, there are barely any leftovers once these super soft cookies are made.
Apple pie cookies are an indulgent twist to the traditional apple pie. The cookies include everything we love about a classic apple pie. The main difference is that they are hand-held treats that appeal to kids and adults alike!
Apple pie cookies are a favorite during fun-filled family gatherings, from Thanksgiving to Christmas and every other special occasion.
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The process of making these festive cookies is a delightful family-friendly activity. The irresistible scent as they bake, the kitchen filled with laughter and warmth, and the final moment of eating the sweet and soft cookies makes the preparation process all the more rewarding!
How to make apple pie cookies
Let’s walk through the heavenly preparation of these holiday special apple pie cookies:
Firstly, the apple pie filling is important! Although it’s a simple process of combining finely diced apples, fresh lemon juice, water, sugar, cinnamon, and cornflour and simmering them, you must pay attention to detail to create a mouthwatering filling that transports you straight to warm, cozy holiday memories.
Next, we move on to the fun part – preparing the cookie dough! Using familiar pantry staples like flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and a touch of vanilla extract, the dough is prepared easily and quickly. A generous scoop of this dough is then scooped onto a baking tray, leaving space for our tempting apple filling.
The star of the cookie is making mini lattices to make the cookies look like a pie. This involves pressing a well into each half-baked cookie and adding a spoonful of the pre-prepared apple filling. The lattice is created by arranging small strips of dough on the top and weaving them in a simple overlay pattern reminiscent of an apple pie.
Once all of our cookies are charmingly assembled, they go back into the oven for a final bake, followed by a cooling period that can test the patience of the bravest people, especially with the irresistible aroma wafting through the kitchen!
But wait, we’re not done yet! The final touch that elevates these cookies from delicious to sheer holiday decadence is the heavenly caramel drizzle – a smooth mixture of melted butter, sugar, milk, salt, and vanilla. This golden topping is generously drizzled over the cooled cookies, lending them a glossy finish that just yells ‘holiday cheer!’
And there you have it. The perfect addition to your holiday baking repertoire. Apple Pie Cookies. They make delightful gifts, an excellent addition to holiday dessert spreads, or a cozy treat to enjoy beside the fire.
Remember, you can savor these cookies all through the year! After all, every day can be a mini-holiday by creating these little pieces of joy – our homemade Apple Pie Cookies. Happy baking, and happy holidays!
Tips for Success
The cookies can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days to prevent them from going soggy, and to savor the flavor and texture.
If you would prefer not to cover the cookies on apple pie lattices and just use the filling, you can leave them bare and use all the dough in one go. Or I sometimes do half covered, half uncovered cookies.
You can use and melt store bought caramels for the drizzle instead if the caramel making process is daunting!
Make ahead and storage
You can make the dough and filling a day ahead, cover it with cling wrap, and store it in the fridge. Make sure the clingwrap is hugging the surface of the dough.
Apple Pie Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Apple pie Filling
4 large apples/2 ½ cups finely diced apples
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ cup water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsps. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp corn flour
Cookie dough
3 cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp corn flour
1 cup softened butter
¼ cup treacle sugar
1 ¼ cup granulated brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Caramel drizzle
3 tbsp butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ cup milk
Method
Apple filling
- Peel and finely dice the apples
- Combine the diced apples, lemon juice, water, sugar, cinnamon, and cornflour in a medium saucepan on medium heat. When the mixture begins to bubble, stir occasionally as it simmers for 6 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Cookie dough
- Preheat the oven to 355F
- In a large bowl mix together flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and corn flour
- In another medium-sized bowl mix the butter until smooth then add the treacle and granulated sugar and mix until light and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until well combined
- Slowly add the butter mixture to the flour mixture and combine until the dough is formed.
- Use about 2 tablespoons of dough and shape into small round balls and place it on a greased baking tray. Repeat for 2/3 of the batter.
- Bake for 7 minutes then take them out of the oven.
- Using the back of a spoon, press a well not the center of the cookie and add around 1 tbsp of the filling.
- With the leftover dough, take 4 small pieces (around the size of a thumbnail) and roll them into finger-length strips. Flatten them into strips.
- Place the pieces onto the cookie with 2 strips running vertically down the cookie and 2 strips across. Weave them over and under each other like apple pie lattices. Repeat all cookies.
- Place the cookies back into the oven for 6 minutes, then take them out to cool for 20 minutes.
Caramel drizzle
- On medium low heat, melt the butter in a medium saucepan and add sugar. Stir constantly until completely dissolved.
- Add the salt, milk and vanilla, and let the mixture simmer and bubble.
- After bubbling, stir the mixture occasionally until a creamy caramel is formed.
- Drizzle over the cooled cookies and enjoy.