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Putting real apple pie filling on a cookie sounds easy until the dough spreads all over the pan. That’s exactly what happened when I baked the filling and cookie together. So I bake the cookie first, press a well in the center, and finish it with the filling. You get a soft, chewy cookie with a caramelized apple center every time.
My husband said these were the best cookies he’s ever had and I have to agree!
-Karen
Why I Bake the Cookie Before Adding the Filling
These took me 3 weeks to get right. I already had the filling nailed from my apple hand pies, so the real work was building a cookie that could hold it. I tried a batch with the filling and cookie baked together from the start, and the cookies spread too much. So I switched the order and bake the cookie first.
The cookie bakes for 10 to 12 minutes, then I press a well into the center and spoon in the filling. Back in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes, and the filling caramelizes right into the cookie. Cornstarch in the dough keeps it thick enough to skip chilling. You get a soft, chewy cookie that holds its shape every single time.
Then comes the caramel. A drizzle of caramel sauce on top is what turns this into a caramel apple pie cookies recipe. Your friends and family will think you spent all day on them.
Everyone has a go-to recipe after apple picking. Maybe it’s apple pies, apple butter, or apple muffins. These cookies deserve a spot in that lineup too. They’re easy enough to make just because and pretty enough for fall parties and bake sales.
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.
These really are apple cinnamon sugar cookies in the best sense, because the cinnamon shows up twice. There is 1 teaspoon in the cookie dough itself, right alongside the brown sugar and granulated sugar, and another 1 1/2 teaspoons plus a little nutmeg in the apple filling. That double hit is why the whole kitchen smells like fall the second these hit the oven.
How to Make the Apple Filling
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.
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. My apple hand pies use a similar process.
How to Make 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 sugar 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.
How to Store Apple 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.
Apple Pie Cookies FAQs
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.
After three weeks of testing, this is the one I stand behind. The base is a soft, chewy cinnamon brown sugar cookie, the center is the apple pie filling I perfected for my apple hand pies, made with 2 1/2 cups of finely diced apples cooked down with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cornstarch, and the whole thing gets a drizzle of gooey caramel on top. Prep is 15 minutes, they bake in 16, and the recipe makes 20 cookies.
Apple cookies usually just have chopped or shredded apple stirred into the dough. Apple pie cookies, like these, are built around an actual cooked apple pie filling: diced apples simmered with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cornstarch until thick, then spooned into a cinnamon brown sugar cookie base. That extra step is what gives you the pie flavor in a cookie shape.
Yes. Skip the homemade apple pie filling instructions and use canned apple pie filling as directed in step 7.
These are SOOOOO GOOD!! Everyone loved them! My brother and 5 year old have requested that I make them again and again!
-Megan
More Cookies
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Caramel Apple Pie Cookies
Video
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 (118ml) water
- ⅓ cup (71g) packed brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
Cookies
- 3 cups (360g) all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature, 2 sticks
- 1 ¼ cups (267g) brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) 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.2 1/2 cups peeled & finely diced apples, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 cup (118ml) water, ⅓ cup (71g) packed brown sugar, 1 ½ tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1 Tbsp cornstarch
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.3 cups (360g) all purpose flour, 2 tsp cornstarch, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp salt
- 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.1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, 1 1/4 cups (267g) brown sugar, 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- Add in the eggs and vanilla extract, beat for 30 seconds.2 large eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 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.Caramel Sauce – I used store bought jarred sauce
Last Step: I’d love to hear what you think. Leave a rating and comment here.
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.