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I spent 3 weeks perfecting these apple pie cookies (yes, I am that serious about my cookie recipes)! I knew I wanted a cinnamon brown sugar cookie base combined with the apple pie filling I had perfected for my apple hand pies. The result? A cookie that is soft, chewy, packed with cozy fall flavor, and a drizzle of gooey caramel on top that takes it to the next level!
When I go all out on testing a recipe, it’s because I want to do all the trial and error for you, so the recipe I share gives clear step-by-step instructions to make a successful cookie every single time. These apple pie cookies deliver on presentation and taste. Your friends and family are going to be seriously impressed!
Keep reading because I’m sharing all my best tips and tricks, storage instructions and more!
We all have those go-to recipes that we make after going apple picking—apple pies, applesauce, maybe even apple muffins. I think once you try these Apple Pie Cookies, they’ll earn a spot in your fall baking lineup, too.
They start with a soft, chewy cinnamon-spiced brown sugar cookie. These are topped with a generous portion of homemade apple pie filling, then they’re baked to perfection to bring it all together.
Oh, and the cookies are drizzled with caramel sauce to make them extra delicious.
These Apple Pie Cookies are a fun treat to make for fall parties and bake sales, but they’re also easy enough that you can make them just because!
Ingredients to Make Caramel Apple Pie Cookies
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Apple Filling:
- Apples – I recommend Granny Smith, Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, or Pink Lady for these Apple Pie Cookies.
- Lemon juice
- Water
- Brown sugar – Light brown sugar is best for this recipe, as it has a milder flavor than dark brown sugar.
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch will thicken the apple pie filling; some bakers use flour or tapioca starch, but I prefer cornstarch for Apple Pie Cookies.
Cookies:
- All-purpose flour – Be sure to spoon the flour into a measuring cup and then sweep off the excess.
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Unsalted butter – Let this come to room temperature.
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Caramel sauce – I used store-bought jarred sauce.
How to Make Apple Pie Cookies
If you want to get a head start on your Apple Pie Cookies, you can make the filling up to 3 days in advance and store it in the refrigerator.
Make the Apple Topping
Cook the topping ingredients. Combine the apples, lemon juice, water, brown sugar, spices, and cornstarch in a skillet set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the apples are tender.
Make the Apple Pie Cookies
Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Mix the wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes, or until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients on low speed until a thick dough forms.
Shape the cookies. Use a cookie scoop to form golf ball sized cookie dough balls, then roll the balls between your palms until they’re smooth and round. You should have room for about 8 cookies on a standard-size cookie sheet.
Bake. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes.
Add the filling. Remove the pan from the oven. Use the back of a tablespoon to create a well in the center of each cookie. Spoon a tablespoon of filling into the well.
Bake again. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for 3 to 4 minutes.
Finish. Let the Apple Pie Cookies cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack. Drizzle the cookies with caramel sauce once they’ve cooled.
Apple Pie Cookie Recipe Tips
With these simple tips, your Apple Pie Cookies will turn out perfect!
- Finish mixing the dough with a spatula. Because this is a no-chill cookie recipe, the dough will be quite thick and it may be hard to beat with your blender. I usually switch to a rubber spatula to finish mixing the dough.
- Bake one sheet of cookies at a time. I recommend baking one cookie sheet at a time for even baking. This also makes the process of adding the filling a little more manageable.
- Mess-free drizzle. When you transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool, slip the parchment paper from the baking sheet under the rack. Then, when you drizzle the Apple Pie Cookies with the caramel, any excess will slip through the rack onto the parchment for easy clean up.
Storing Pie Cookies
The center of the cookies, where the filling is, will become soft over time, so these Apple Pie Cookies are best eaten the day of baking. You can store them in an airtight container and eat them the next day, but I recommend eating them with a fork because they will be soft from the apple filling.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
You can freeze these Apple Pie Cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months, but after freezing and thawing, they will soften and be more cake-y. So, again, you’ll probably want to eat them with a fork.
Cornstarch is a heavy-hitter when it comes to cookies. It makes the dough thick so it doesn’t spread on the pan as it bakes, which means you don’t have to chill the dough before baking. In addition, it gives cookies a soft, tender texture, a little like those frosted Lofthouse sugar cookies they sell at grocery stores.
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Caramel Apple Pie Cookies
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 2 ½ cups peeled & finely diced apples, 3 large or 4 small apples, I recommend Granny Smith, Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, or Pink Lady
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup water
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Cookies
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, 1 cup
- 1 ¼ cups brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Caramel Sauce – I used store bought jarred sauce
Instructions
Apple Filling
- Combine the diced apples, lemon juice, water, brown sugar and all spices & cornstarch in a skillet over medium-low heat on the stove. Stir occasionally while mixture simmers, 5-7 minutes or until the apples are tender. Note: you can make the apple filling up to 3 days ahead of time and store in the fridge until ready to use.
Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- In a larger mixing bowl combine the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. You want this mixture to be fluffy and pale in color.
- Add in the eggs and vanilla extract, beat for 30 seconds.
- Gradually mix in the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed. The dough will be thick. I like to finish mixing the flour into the dough by hand with a spatula.
- Use a cookie scoop to form golf ball sized cookie dough balls, roll into a smooth ball between your hands. Place about 8 cookies on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat at a time. I recommend only baking 1 cookie sheet at a time for even baking.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, then add the filling. Carefully remove the pan from the oven. Use the back of a tablespoon to create a well in the center of each cookie. Add about a tablespoon of filling to each cookie. Return to the oven and bake for 3-4 additional minutes. Allow the cookies to cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet before removing. Drizzle with caramel sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
The texture of these is more like banana bread or cake . They did not turn our crisp or cookie like.
Hi Ashley! They are softer cookies because of the amount of apple pie filing added.
These definitely get soft, but I loved them! It’s the perfect mix between a cookie and apple pie.
I am going to make these for Thanksgiving but I can’t use butter because of dairy allergies, can I make them with butter flavor crisco (no dairy in it)?
Do you think I can use mini cupcake pan to make more of a cup shape.
Hi Lana! I haven’t tried this recipe with a butter alternative so I can’t offer an accurate answer if it will work, sorry!
I saw almost the exact same recipe online that uses vegan butter, not sure if this helps!
These were seriously so yummy. Everything worked well together- the cookies were a perfect texture and weren’t too sweet, the apple filling was sweet and tangy and spiced, and the caramel tasted great with the apple filling. I was worried because I didn’t know if the recipe would turn out since it only had one review, but it was a win 👍
Hey! May I ask if drizzling the cookies with the caramel sauce is optional?
100% optional!
These were amazing!! I left the caramel off a few and they were just as delicious!! Thanks so much for the recipe!
These are the most popular cookies I bake. I brought my daughter a variety of desserts I recently made and she had a hard time deciding between my limoncello whoopie pies and this apple pie cookie. I think the homemade caramel drizzle is what brought it over the finish line! Thank you for your marvelously detailed recipe and beautiful photos.
Made these and they turned out perfect. The cookie dough to apple topping ratio was just right and I didn’t have any leftovers. Will be making again.
Can the dough be frozen?
Beautiful and delicious!
But don’t you need to bring the filling to a boil before simmering? I think cornstarch activates (as a thickener) at 200-some degrees.