These Caramel Apple Cookies are so delicious with flavors of apple pie and caramel all in one - they are the epitome of Fall baking! It's one of my favorite cookie recipes on this site. It starts with a brown sugar cookie dough that has soft cinnamon apples folded in and each cookie gets a drizzle of salted caramel sauce. These cookies are so soft and chewy and absolutely irresistible. They store well and you can keep them for several days, and even store them in the fridge. If you love baking with apples and caramel, check out my Caramel Apple Cake recipe too!
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- Easy to make - you can easily make this recipe without a mixer and just use a wooden spoon or spatula to cream the butter and sugar.
- Soft and chewy texture - you will love how soft and chewy these are thanks to the moisture from the apples. To preserve their chewy texture, I store them in the fridge so they don't get too soft.
- Apple cinnamon cookies - these cookies have soft cinnamon apples baked right into the cookie dough. First you dice them up and cook them quickly with cinnamon. Then let them cool completely.
- Salted caramel drizzle - once the cookies cool, drizzle sated caramel right on top.
INGREDIENTS FOR CARAMEL APPLE COOKIES
- All purpose flour - AP flour is the best choice for making chewy cookies and it's easily accessible. Be sure to measure accurately to get the right texture of the cookie dough.
- Dark brown sugar - dark brown sugar gives chewiness and rich caramel flavor to the cookies thanks to its molasses content.
- Fresh apple - use a firm red or green apple for this recipe, such as Honey Crisp, Fugi or Granny Smith. These will hold up better to the cooking process. Cut them in about ½-inch chunks or less - make sure they are not too big and not too small. If they are too small they will bake away right into the cookie dough, and if they are too big then they will not distribute evenly.
- Cinnamon - apples and cinnamon are an undeniable combination. You can use more cinnamon if you prefer it.
- Butter - you can use unsalted butter or salted butter in this recipe. If you use salted butter, reduce the added salt by half.
- Salted Caramel Sauce - I use my recipe for Salted Caramel Sauce that you can find here. You can make it in advance and keep it stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
First we need to make the apple mixture:
- STEP 1). Dice the apples. First peel the apple and then chop it into ¼ inch to ½-inch chunks.
- STEP 2). Cook the apples. Combine apples with sugar and cinnamon in a frying pan and cook for about 5 minutes until just slightly softened, but still firm in the center.
- STEP 3). Cool. Transfer the apples to a clean bowl and let cool completely.
Make the cookie dough:
- STEP 1). Cream butter and sugar. Beat the butter with both sugars in a large bowl for 2 minutes on medium speed using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer (or using a spatula and your own arm power!) until well combined and smooth, but not quite pale and fluffy.
- STEP 2). Beat in egg. Add egg and vanilla and and mix until combined. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- STEP 3). Mix in dry ingredients. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly. Add to the butter mixture and fold it in with a spatula until just combined.
- STEP 4). Fold in apples. Spoon half of the apples over the cookie dough and use a spatula to fold them in gently. Add the remaining apples and fold them in. Try not to over-mix so that the dough doesn't get too wet.
- STEP 5). Chill. Place the bowl in the fridge to chill while you preheat the oven. This step is optional if your dough feels too soft.
- STEP 6). BAKE. Scoop heaped portions of dough onto prepared baking sheets with at least 2 inches of space between each cookie. Bake for 12-16 minutes until golden brown around the edges. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
- STEP 7). Drizzle. Once the cookies are completely cooled, drizzle them with my favorite Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce.
EXPERT BAKING TIPS FOR CARAMEL APPLE COOKIES
- Make sure your butter is at room temperature so that it mixes well with the sugar.
- Measure the flour accurately using a scale or by spooning it gently into the measuring cup and leveling it off. Do not pack it down. Too much flour can make the cookie dough stiff and harder to mix through the apple mixture.
- Use a firm apple variety. I would not recommend McIntosh or Cortland apples for this recipe.
- Do not over-cook the apples. They should soften a bit but still be firm in the center. Do not cook them until they are mushy or they will all bake right into the cookie dough.
- Let the cooked apples cool completely and then chill it thoroughly in the fridge before using it. It is very important that it is cold so that it doesn't smear too much in the cookie dough.
- Bake these all the way through. These cookies are hard to over-bake since they have a lot of moisture from the apples. Let them get nicely golden brown - this is not a recipe that you want to under-bake.
RECIPE FAQ
It's easy! You can make caramel sauce at home with just 4 simple ingredients. There are two methods: the wet method and the dry method. I have step-by-step videos for both recipes on this site.
Caramel sauce becomes grainy if the sugar recrystallizes. This can happen when some liquid sugar syrup splashes up onto the sizes of the saucepan and immediately turn into crystals as they cool down. If this crystal touches the melted sugar in syrup, it causes a chain reaction and the sauce will seize up and become grainy.
Some recipes ask you to brush the sides of the pan with water to dissolve crystals that form on the sides of the pan, but I find that it can sometimes introduce other foreign matter that causes crystallization. Instead, I recommend to carefully swirl the pan and catch those crystals with hot syrup and melt them down. Use a gas stove if you have one so you can get the flame on the sides of the pan. Ensure that the caramelized (amber) sugar syrup is completely clear and free of lumps before adding the butter and cream.
You can save your caramel if it clumps up after you add the cream by returning it to the heat and let it come to a boil while whisking to dissolve any clumps of sugar. If you caramel recrystallizes and turns grainy after it has cooled, then there is little you can do at that point. It likely means that there was some contamination such as a piece of dust or other particulate in the sugar that induced crystallization.
The cookies are ready when they are evenly browned. They take a little longer than normal cookies to bake due to the moisture from the apples.
Store these cookies in an airtight container at a cool room temperature for up to 2 days. If you live in a hot climate, then I would recommend refrigerating them since they have higher moisture. They will keep longer in the fridge, and I actually LOVE them cold from the fridge!
These cookies will stay soft and chewy for up to 5 days.
If you love cookies, check out these recipes!
Chewy Brown Butter Snickerdoodles Cookies Brown Butter M&M Cookies Recipe Lemon Blueberry Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks Coffee Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies Hazelnut Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies THE BEST Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies – Bakery Style! The BEST Chewy Pumpkin CookiesCaramel Apple Cookies
Ingredients
Apple mixture:
- 2 cups 200g diced peeled firm tart apples (cut about 2 apples into ¼-1/2 inch cubes and measure after you chop them) *see note
- 2 tablespoon 30g packed dark brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
*use Granny Smith or Honey Crisp which are firm apples that will hold their shape in the cookie dough
Cookie dough:
- ½ cup 113g unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup 110g packed dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup 50g granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon 5ml pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cups 190g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
1 recipe Rich Salted Caramel Sauce
Instructions
- Make the apple mixture. Add the chopped apples, brown sugar and cinnamon to a small frying pan. Cook over medium heat while stirring frequently and for about 5 minutes until the apples soften just slightly but still stay intact (do not cook them down until they’re mushy). Transfer to a clean bowl and let cool completely.
- Make the cookie dough. Combine soft butter, both sugars and vanilla extract in a large bowl and beat using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer for 1-2 minutes on medium speed until it is pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg until well combined.
- Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and fold it in gently until mostly incorporated.
- Add the apple mixture. We are going to mix the apple mixture into the dough in two stages to minimize the amount of mixing that is required to incorporate it evenly. Add half of the apples to the dough and fold it in. It's ok if you use a little force. Add the remaining apples and fold it into the cookie dough. Do not add any of the liquid that comes out of the apples. If your dough is very soft, you can refrigerate it for 20 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Use a medium spring-loaded ice cream scoop or two large spoons to scoop mounds of dough onto baking sheets. This makes 12-15 cookies. Bake for 12-16 minutes until browned around the edges and on the bottoms, and lightly golden on top. If you make 12 larger cookies, then it will take closer to 16 minutes. Let them cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Drizzle with salted caramel sauce and enjoy!
Mauigirl
I made these, and the recipe is spot on! A hit to my coworkers! Making more for the Superbowl party.
Please publish a book with your recipes for cookies!!!!!!!
christina.marsigliese
Oh wow thanks so much Mauigirl! My cookbooks have so many original cookie recipes in them already... but I am planning to publish a cookie only book sometime!
Lisa
OMG, I added caramel bits instead and these cookies were simply amazing. I cooked mine on parchment paper and let them cool a few minutes or the caramel sticks to your pan.
christina.marsigliese
Hi Lisa, wow that sounds amazing!
Kim
Hi Christina! Happy Thanksgiving! I tried to make these but failed miserably- the dough turned out incredibly liquidy, almost like batter. Any idea why this could have happened? I didn’t add the liquid from cooking the apples like you specified!
Van Thonney
This is a good subject to talk about. Usually when I find stuff like this I stumble it. This article probably won’t do well with that crowd. I will be sure to submit something else though.
Oscar Speyrer
It’s rare knowledgeable folks with this topic, however, you sound like do you know what you’re speaking about! Thanks
Liz
I had a craving for apple pie and then I found these. Thank you!
Sue Anne
These are so delicious! It’s like eating apple pie in cookie shape. The recipe was straightforward and easy enough to make with the kids.
christina.marsigliese
Thanks Sue! They really are like apple pie cookies!
happybaker
I'll be making this cookie all Fall! They are really cozy and delicious with the cooked apples and cinnamon. I'm a happy baker!
Beth
I made them recently and loved them. They have a nice soft texture and taste like apple pie.
christina.marsigliese
Thanks Beth!
Jeremy
I’ve never thought to put apples in cookies so this recipe was really intriguing to me. I loved it! The cookies are nice and soft and everyone loved them.
Rozella Labrec
This is a lot of information to take in, but I am enjoying the thought process. I really am impressed with your article. Thank you.
Jasper Leske
Excellent! I thank you your contribution to this matter. It has been insightful. my blog: how to turn a girl on
Devin Marashio
I simply needed to make a quick comment as a way to express gratitude for you for anyone wonderful pointers you happen to be posting here. My time consuming internet investigation has right at the end of waking time been rewarded with good quality ways of present to my guests. I would state that many people readers are actually endowed to take place in an incredible network with the greatest marvellous those with useful hints. I am quite privileged to own used your webpages and look toward really more fabulous minutes reading here. Many thanks for a number of things.
Virgil Adachi
You will have not intended to do so, but I think you’ve managed to express the state of mind that quite a lot of consumers are in. The sense of wanting to assistance, but not knowing how or where, is one thing a lot of us are going via.
Tomoko Wemmer
Hi, you used to write magnificent articles about seattle plumbers, but the last several posts have been kinda lackluster… I miss your tremendous articles. Past several posts are just a little out of track! Seattle Plumbing
Jacinta Vierling
The majority of us don’t know how to start. Making it basic, you might be capability to ask all people nearest thing to you personally is most likely the best method to look for these types of condos in simply the subject associated with time and place.
Serina Sayed
I love the efforts you have put in this, thankyou for all the great articles .
Doyle Degenhart
I got what you mean , appreciate it for posting .Woh I am pleased to find this website through google.
Myrta Ronco
Howdy, have you previously thought about to create about Nintendo or PS handheld?
Sandra
I made these cookies but instead of drizzling with caramel over the top I put caramel bits in the dough and they turned out amazing.
christina.marsigliese
Thanks so much Sandra! I love the idea of caramel bits in the dough!
Shelbs
These are irresistible for a caramel lover like me! I had so much fun making them and they were gone in a flash.
christina.marsigliese
Yes! I'm glad to hear you loved them Shelbs.
Crystal
These cookies are so delicious and the recipe is so unique. It was very different than any cookie I've made before and everyone loved them!