Enjoy the combination of this caramel apple recipe with these delicious Caramel Apple Cookies. Made with fresh apples, warm spices, and gooey caramel, these cookies are the perfect treat for satisfying your sweet tooth and celebrating the season.
They're easy to make with simple ingredients and straightforward instructions, and make a perfect gift or treat to share with friends and family during the fall season. This caramel apple recipe combines the comforting taste of freshly baked cookies with the tartness of apple chunks and the richness of gooey caramel.
These cookies have lightly dried apple slices therein that you can make yourself or simply purchase to add right into your batter and a super simple homemade caramelized apple butter which infuses your cookies and results in the most amazing smell as these bake.
Why you'll love these
Irresistible Flavor Fusion
The marriage of caramel and apple flavors creates a taste sensation that is both comforting and refreshing. With each bite, you'll experience the luscious sweetness of caramel perfectly complemented by the juicy tartness of fresh apple chunks.
Perfect for fall
Made with fresh apples and warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, these cookies are the perfect way to embrace the flavors of fall. This caramel apple recipe is the perfect treat for crisp autumn days, and a great way to celebrate the season.
Soft and Chewy Texture
These cookies are baked to perfection, resulting in a soft and chewy texture that's simply divine. This caramel apple recipe results in slightly crispy edges give way to a tender center, delivering an incredible mouthfeel that will leave you wanting more.
Ingredients and substitutions for Caramel Apple Cookies
- Apples: The apples used were a mixture of ones I had picked and Granny Smith apples. Meaning a variety of sizes and the fact the flesh browned quicker than store bought. If you cannot pick your apples, it is recommended to use either Granny Smith or Royal Gala. These apples have a firm texture that hold their shape during baking and a slight sweetness which requires less added sugar.
- Caramels: The caramels used here were store-bought chewy type that melt and get a little sticky on a lined baking tray so it’s best to keep em on the top of your cookies when baking.
- Sugar: The combination of superfine/caster sugar and brown sugar helps not only add sweetness to our cookies, but also add a lightly caramelized flavor and chewiness. The sugar with the apple butter also helps draw the liquid from the apple
- Butter: Plain unsalted was used here, though you could substitute with salted, though you might want to omit the salt from the dough. The butter helps to create the nice crumb mixture to compliment the apples and also helps our dough stick nice and firmly together as it bakes. You could substitute in equal measure with non dairy butter, however, I have not tried this so cannot be sure of the outcome.
- Eggs: The egg binds and adds structure to our cookies resulting in that soft interior that compliments the sugar and butter.
- Flour: Plain or all purpose flour is best for a nice light cookie crumb.
- Baking powder: This helps our cookies rise so they are not stodgy.
- Baking soda: This helps our cookies rise alongside the baking powder avoiding a heavy dense cookie.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Caramel Apple Cookies:
Heat oven to 120C/250F and slice 1 apple thinly.
Lay on greaseproof paper on a tray and bake for 30 minutes until lightly dried to the touch, but still springy in the center. Set aside.
1
Meanwhile, finely chop the other apple and place into a small sauce pan with half the water and the 14 grams / 1 tablespoon sugar.
2
Cover and cook until the apple is soft and lightly sticking to the base of your saucepan, approximately 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add in the remaining water to help draw out any of the sugar from the base of your saucepan.
3
Stir throughly, then place into a blender or immersion blender and pulse until your mixture is smooth.
Strain the caramelized apple butter into a small dish and set aside.
4
To make the cookies, place the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat on medium until pale and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes with an electric mixer.
5
Add the egg and continue to beat until well combined, beating for a further minute.
Add the caramelized apple butter and vanilla extract and beat to combine.
6
Toss in the oats, flour, baking powder, soda and salt and combine on low until no dry portions remain in the edges or base of your bowl.
7
Slice your cooked dried apple roughly and add to the cookie batter along with half the caramels.
8
Fold ⅔’s of the cut apple pieces and ½ the caramels through the batter (see FAQ’s to ensure these don’t stick to your tray) until combined.
Scoop up a portion of the batter and place onto your baking tray.
Press a caramel into the cookie and 1-2 apple pieces into the tops of your cookies.
9
Place in the oven and bake the cookies for 10 minutes.
Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes to help harden any caramel.
Remove and place onto a cooling tray.
Serve up and dig in.
Equipment needed to make a batch
Mixing bowl: You’ll need a medium mixing bowl to make the cookie dough.
Greaseproof paper: Lining your baking tray will make getting the soft cookies off easy.
Hand or stand mixer: To whip the dough, this is best done with a mixer to get as much air as possible into the moist ingredients.
Ice Cream Scoop: The scoop used here creates large cookies with a diameter of 6 centimeters / 2.36 inches.
Saucepan: A small saucepan to cook the caramelized apple butter.
FAQ’s for the best Caramel Apple Cookies
bsolutely! While Granny Smith apples are commonly used for their tartness, you can experiment with different apple varieties such as Honeycrisp or Gala to suit your taste preferences. Just make sure to adjust the sweetness accordingly.
The key to ensuring your cookies slide right off your baking tray once your caramels have gone all gooey during baking is to make sure the caramel’s are placed as near to the top and center of your dough as possible. If one struggles to come off the tray once you've allowed the cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, give it a little longer before removing as the caramel will set in the cookie as it cools. The dough will be a little sticky due to the oatmeal so do be aware this will be a little messy.
Yes, you can freeze Caramel Apple Cookies! Simply store them in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to two months. When you're ready to enjoy them, let them thaw at room temperature or warm them up in the oven for a freshly baked taste.
More Fall recipes you'll love
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Caramel Apple Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes per batch
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: Makes 16 cookies
- Category: Cookies
Description
Caramelized apple butter and dried apples flavor these cookies alongside chewy caramels and oatmeal combine in this Caramel Apple Cookies recipe full of Fall flavors.
Ingredients
Apple butter
2 medium Granny Smith apples, cored
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
14 grams / 1 tablespoons superfine/caster sugar
100 milliliters / ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon water
Cookies
130 grams / 4.58 ounces browned butter, room temperature
135 grams / ⅔ cup brown sugar
60 grams / ⅓ cup superfine/caster sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
60 grams / ⅔ cup rolled oats
230 grams / 1 ⅓ cups + 2 tablespoons plain flour
4 grams / 1 teaspoon baking powder
3 grams / ½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
80 grams / 12 soft caramels, cut into bite size portions
Instructions
Apple butter
- Heat oven to 120C/250F and slice 1 apple thinly.
- Lay on greaseproof paper on a tray and bake for 30 minutes until lightly dried to the touch, but still springy in the center. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, finely chop the second apple and place into a small sauce pan with half the water and the 14 grams / 1 tablespoon sugar.
- Cover and cook until the apple is soft and lightly sticking to the base of your saucepan, approximately 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and add in the remaining water to help draw out any of the sugar from the base of your saucepan.
- Stir throughly, then place into a blender or immersion blender and pulse until your mixture is smooth.
- Strain the caramelized apple butter into a small dish and set aside.
Cookies
- To make the cookies, place the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat on medium until pale and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes with an electric mixer.
- Add the egg and continue to beat until well combined, beating for a further minute.
- Add the caramelized apple butter and vanilla extract and beat to combine.
- Toss in the oats, flour, baking powder, soda and salt and combine on low until no dry portions remain in the edges or base of your bowl.
- Slice your cooked dried apple roughly and add to the cookie batter along with half the caramels.
- Fold ⅔’s of the cut apple pieces and ½ the caramels through the batter (see FAQ’s to ensure these don’t stick to your tray) until combined.
- Scoop up a portion of the batter and place onto your baking tray.
- Press a caramel into the cookie and 1-2 apple pieces into the tops of your cookies.
- Place in the oven and bake the cookies for 10 minutes.
- Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes to help harden any caramel.
- Remove and place onto a cooling tray.
- Serve up and dig in.
Notes
Trick to keeping your cookies easy to remove from the tray: The key to ensuring your cookies slide right off your baking tray once your caramels have gone all gooey during baking is to make sure the caramel’s are placed as near to the top and center of your dough as possible. If one struggles to come off the tray once you've allowed the cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, give it a little longer before removing as the caramel will set in the cookie as it cools. The dough will be a little sticky due to the oatmeal so do be aware this will be a little messy.
You can freeze them: Simply store them in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to two months. When you're ready to enjoy them, let them thaw at room temperature or warm them up in the oven for a freshly baked taste.
Dried apples and apple butter: This recipe show you how to make lightly dried apple pieces and caramelize your own apple butter, but you are welcome to replace with store-bought versions of both.
Recipe by Roamingtaste
Nutrition
- Calories: 214 calories per cookie
Keywords: fall, apples, caramel
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