Apple Pie Cookies taste like apple pie in cookie form! An apple pie spiced cookie is filled with a tender apple filling and topped with a brown sugar crumble and finished with a drizzle of luscious salted caramel sauce. These cookies are the perfect fall treat – and taste just like mini apple pies!
Get your fall mood on because today we are making Apple Pie Cookies! Now, many recipes for these are essentially mini apple pies – but that’s not a cookie in my opinion – it’s a mini pie. Besides, who wants to try and weave lattice tops on something SO tiny?? These cookies are easier than making finicky mini pies, but pack all the incredible flavor of apple pie!
Why you’ll love these Apple Pie Cookies:
- Chewy Cinnamon Cookies – These cinnamon-spiced, buttery cookies are perfectly chewy – not cakey – with crisp, golden brown edges.
- Spiced Apple Pie Filling – Tender, spiced apples are piled high in the center of each cookie!
- Easy Crumble – Top these cookies off with an easy crumble to complete the apple pie feel!
- Salted Caramel Sauce – A luscious salted caramel sauce drizzle finishes off these cookies.
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found at the bottom of this post.
- Apples – Don’t use soft apples like McIntosh as they’ll become soggy. Use any good baking apple like honeycrisp, pink lady, golden delicious, or granny smith apples. I like a mix of honeycrisp and granny smith!
- All-purpose flour – Spoon & level your flour for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly in will lead to too much flour.
- Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer.
- Eggs – Use large eggs for the cookies.
Ingredient Substitutions:
- Dairy-free – Use your favorite dairy-free butter to make the cookies dairy-free. Use a trusted dairy-free heavy cream in the caramel. You can also use any dairy-free caramel recipe you trust.
- Gluten-free – I have not tried these cookies with any gluten-free flour. Let me know if you do!
How to Make this Apple Pie Cookie Recipe Step-by-Step:
Step 1: Make & Chill the Cookie Dough. Start with the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until you a soft dough forms. Chill for 30 minutes, then scoop cookie dough into balls and chill in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to 48 hours. (I do recommend a container vs. covering with plastic wrap, so things are airtight.)
Step 2: Make the Salted Caramel Sauce. This element comes together in just 10 minutes! Cook granulated sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat until completely melted, then whisk in butter, heavy cream, and sea salt. That’s it! Let cool and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Step 3: Make the Apple Filling. Peel and dice your fresh apples into small pieces, and cook them in a large saucepan over medium heat for 15 to 18 minutes, with butter, brown sugar, and spices. Use a cornstarch slurry to gently thicken the filling. Set aside.
Step 4: Make the Brown Sugar Streusel. Stir together melted butter, flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. Bake this on a sheet pan and let cool completely.
Step 5: Bake Cookies. Roll the chilled dough balls in a cinnamon sugar mixture, and bake as directed in the recipe card below, on a lined baking sheet. Let rest 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet, then use the back of a tablespoon to press an indent into each cookie. Let cool a few minutes more before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 6: Assemble. Fill the indents in each cookie with apple pie filling, then drizzle on some salted caramel sauce and finish with a generous sprinkle of the crumble!
Serving + Storing this Recipe:
Enjoy these cookies once assembled! I do recommend storing in the refrigerator because of the apples. Keep assembled cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. These are really tasty cold from the fridge, in my opinion! If you make the cookies a day ahead and don’t fill them right away, they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Don’t count on leftovers, though – there will only be cookie crumbs left on the platter after you serve these delicious cookies!
Expert Success Tips:
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
FAQs:
Yes, you can absolutely scale this recipe up or down as desired.
Yes! Freeze cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag once frozen. Freeze for 1-2 months, then thaw in the fridge overnight before baking.
Sure! See options in recipe variations directly below.
Recipe Variations:
- Other Fruits – Try my cherry compote for a cherry cobbler cookie. You can even use store-bought jam or preserves, like peach preserves or apricot jam. Here are all my fruit fillings that you could use here:
- 10-Minute Raspberry Sauce
- Homemade Blueberry Topping (You’ll want to cook this one a tad longer to thicken it up a bit more so it’s suitable as a cookie filling.)
- 10-Minute Strawberry Compote
- Peach Cookies – If you like these, you’ll love my viral Peach Cobbler Cookies!
Special Tools:
- Cookie Scoop – Use this cookie scoop to make your cookies the size I did. It’s technically an ice cream scoop, but it’s the perfect size for large bakery-style cookies.
- Baking Sheets – These are my favorite cookie sheets!
- Silicone Baking Mat – This is my favorite silicone baking mat. It reduces waste because it’s washable!
More Apple Recipes to Love:
- Salted Caramel Apple Galette
- Cranberry Apple Crisp
- Apple Crumb Cake
- Honeycrisp Apple & Kale Fall Salad
- Apple Cider Old Fashioned Cocktails
- Caramel Apple Cider Cookies
- The Best Recipes to Make During Apple Season
Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment!
Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag #bluebowlrecipes with your photo! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the bluebowlrecipes Facebook page. I’d love to see what you make!
Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 1 cup salted butter, softened at room temperature 226 grams
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled 390 grams
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 and 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
For the Apple Filling
- 4 large apples, peeled and diced 775 grams or 27 ounces of diced apple
- 1/4 cup salted butter, cubed 4 tbsp
- 2 tbsp apple cider (you can use 1 tsp of lemon juice if you don't have any cider – note that this is NOT apple cider vinegar!)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
For the Salted Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup granulated sugar 206 grams
- 6 tbsp salted butter, cubed
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp heavy cream
- pinch of flaky sea salt I love Maldon brand!
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 and 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp allspice
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
For the Crumble
- 1/4 cup salted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Make the Cookie Dough: In a large bowl, cream the softened butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed. Add the sugars and mix until creamed together with the butter, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and eggs, and mix until just combined. Add the dry ingredients last, and mix until a dough forms. Chill for 30 minutes to make it easier to roll the dough into balls.Make-Ahead Tip: Dough can be balled and frozen for 1 month or so before using. Thaw in the fridge overnight before baking.
- Make the Apple Filling: Rinse & peel your apples. Dice into bite size chunks. Add all the apple filling ingredients to a medium pan over medium high heat. Cook for 15 to 18 minutes, stirring lazily the whole time. Taste around 15 minutes and finish cooking once desired tenderness is reached. Transfer apple mixture to a medium bowl to cool (this can be done at room temp or in the fridge).Make-Ahead Tip: This can be done up to 2 days ahead. Store in a jar in the fridge.
- Make the Salted Caramel Sauce: Make the Salted Caramel Sauce according to my easy, 10-minute recipe (linked in the blue text). Let cool at room temp for 20 minutes or so, until thickened. Make-Ahead Tip: This can be cooled at room temperature and stored in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- Scoop & Chill the Dough: Scoop the dough into balls 65 grams in size, with a large cookie scoop, and place in an airtight container to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, in the freezer for 2 hours, or in the fridge for up to 48 hours. Note: You must scoop the dough into balls before any of these chill times. If you chill the dough solid and then scoop, it'll be very difficult, and the dough will re-warm in the process. You can chill the dough for 20 mins or so to make it a little easier to roll into balls, but then start your chill time over once the dough is balled and returned to the fridge.
- Make the Crumble: Make the crumble while your dough chills. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Melt the butter in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the remaining streusel ingredients. You should have a crumbly mixture. Crumble into small pieces on a parchment-lined pan and bake for 12-14 minutes, until deep golden brown. Set aside to cool. Break up the pieces further, as desired, while it cools, with a metal spatula. Make-Ahead Tip: This can be made 1-2 days ahead. Store in a container at room temp, or in the freezer for 1-2 months.
- Bake the Cookies: Preheat your oven to 365° F. Line a few cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and spices for coating. Roll the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place about 6 cookies on each sheet, with room for them to spread.Bake for 10-12 minutes. The edges should look and feel set when tapped with a fingertip, and the centers will be puffy and look just the tiniest bit underdone. They will set up as they cool. Let rest on the cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes, then press an indent into the centers with the back of a tablespoon. Let cool a few more minutes on the cookie sheet, then, once they feel sturdy enough, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Assemble Cookies: Spoon apple pie filling into the cooled cookies, sprinkle on the crumble, and drizzle over the salted caramel sauce.
- Serve & Store: Enjoy immediately once assembled! Store cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. I don't recommend leaving them at room temp overnight because of the fresh fruit.
Notes
Nutrition
Olivia says
I made these GF with King Arthur 1:1 Flour for a girls night- everyone LOVED them! Several said they were the best GF cookie they’ve ever had and couldn’t tell they were GF!
Stephanie Simmons says
Glad to hear they turned out well gluten-free! Did you have to make any other modifications?
Claire says
I made these when my partner asked for cookies and we both loved them. Exactly like an apple pie. I made enough to bring to works and they were devoured. The process was a bit long for me personally as I normally do drop cookies but I would totally make these again. Only issue I had was trying to travel with them. They started to fall apart because the bottoms were soggy.
Stephanie Simmons says
Glad you enjoyed these cookies, Claire!
Erin says
These are the BEST cookies I’ve ever made! These were such a hit! Thank you so much for sharing! These will be my new fall cookie!!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks so much, Erin! So happy to hear that. 🙂
Elisa says
I did this recipe today, perfect for my autumn mood craving !
I replaced the normal flour by wholemeal flour and the traditional butter by a vegetal one (and translated everything in french and european measurements). AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN.
It is delicious !!!!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks for noting those recipe substitutions, Elisa! I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies.
Yazmin says
Tastes just like an Apple Pie! Amazing recipe and so well detailed. Loved everything about it. Definitely a must bake for fall
Stephanie Simmons says
That’s exactly what I was going for! Thanks for your review, Yazmin. 🙂
Paige says
I put the dough balls in the freezer for 2 hours as suggested and the dough is frozen.How long should I let it sit out for before baking, or is it okay to bake frozen?
Stephanie Simmons says
Hi Paige! You can bake them from frozen ☺️ they may need 1-2 mins longer. Let me know how you like these cookies!
Melissa says
Loved these – easy to make! My dad said this is what you’d find at a bakery!!!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks so much for your sweet comment, Melissa! Glad you loved these cookies.
Latisha says
These were sooo good! Everything about this cookie reminds me of Fall! Love love!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks so much, Latisha! Happy fall 🙂
Charlotte papa says
These were great! The recipe was very easy to follow and very detailed which was helpful!!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks so much, Charlotte! Glad to hear you enjoyed these.