These delicious apple pie cookies are made with a soft cinnamon cookie and filled with homemade apple pie filling and caramel sauce.
These apple pie cookies are soft, cozy, and packed with flavor. They start with a chewy cinnamon cookie base that’s perfectly spiced and melts in your mouth.
Inside, they’re filled with a homemade apple pie filling made from fresh apples, butter, spices, and a little brown sugar, giving you that warm, classic apple pie taste.
To make them extra special, they are topped with a drizzle of sweet caramel sauce that pairs perfectly with the apples and cinnamon.
These cookies are like mini apple pies, but so much easier to make and eat. They’re perfect for holidays, cozy weekends, or whenever you’re craving a sweet, comforting treat.
For more apple desserts, check out my apple cinnamon rolls, apple crumble cake, apple fritters, apple crumble muffins, easy apple cake, apple crumble pie, and apple turnovers!
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Why this recipe works
- Texture- These cookies are soft and chewy on the inside, with just the right amount of softness. The apple filling adds a juicy, gooey layer that makes every bite extra satisfying.
- Flavor- The blend of warm cinnamon in the cookie and the sweet-tart apples in the filling creates a classic apple pie taste in a cookie form.
- Apple Pie Filling- The fresh apple filling brings so much flavor and makes these cookies taste extra special. It’s sweet, tangy, and perfectly spiced.
- Caramel Sauce Drizzle- Each cookie is topped with a generous drizzle of rich, buttery caramel sauce complements the apple filling perfectly.
- No chill cookie- These cookies are no chill recipe so they are really quick and easy to make!
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- Use unsalted butter that is at room temperature for this recipe. If you only have salted butter, skip the salt in the recipe.
Flour– I used all-purpose flour for this recipe. Cake flour will work great as well.
Baking powder and baking soda- to allow the cookies to spread. Make sure that your baking powder and baking soda are not expired.
Cornstarch- cornstarch helps to create a tender texture for these cookies, plus, it keeps the cookies thick and soft.
Granulated sugar– I like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Castor sugar will work great as well.
Brown sugar- adds a caramelly flavor and chewy texture to the cookies.
Cinnamon- gives these cookies an amazing taste and compliments the apples perfectly.
Eggs- you will need 2 large eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your egg is at room temperature.
Vanilla extract- for vanilla flavor. I used vanilla paste, but you can use a whole vanilla bean or pure vanilla extract.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
For the apple filling
Apples- I like to use green apples for this recipe, they are a little bit less sweet, but any kind of your favorite apples will work!
Brown sugar- I use light brown sugar for the filling, but dark brown sugar will work great as well.
Butter- you will need unsalted butter for this filling.
Lemon- helps to balance the sweet flavor.
Cinnamon and nutmeg- give a delicious flavor and complement the apples perfectly. You can add your favorite spices.
Cornstarch- to thicken up the mixture so it will be easy to work with.
Kosher salt and water- you will need water to cook the apples and a pinch of salt to balance the flavors.
Instructions
Make the apple filling
Peel and cut the apples into small cubes. In a medium-sized pan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the cinnamon. Mix well.
Add the apples, brown sugar, vanilla extract, lemon juice, nutmeg, kosher salt, and water, and mix until well combined.
Reduce to medium-low heat, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add the cornstarch mixed with a little bit of water and mix until there are no lumps of cornstarch visible. Set aside to cool.
Make the cookie dough
Into a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and kosher salt. Mix with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
Add the eggs and mix until well combined.
Add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until just combined. Don't overmix for moist cookies and not dry cookies.
Scoop 18 cookie dough balls and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Roll each cookie dough into a ball and create a thumbprint pattern using your finger.
Bake the cookies in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10 minutes.
When you take the cookies out of the oven, immediately reshape the cookies using a spoon or your thumb.
Fill each cookie with a tablespoon of the apple pie filling and drizzle with caramel sauce. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- When baking, Granny Smith apples are a great choice because they're tart and firm, which helps them keep their shape and add a nice flavor to baked goods.
- Ensure your butter is at room temperature before making cookies. Remove it from the fridge an hour or two beforehand. The butter should be soft to the touch. Cold butter is harder to mix and may leave lumps in the dough.
- Create a deep well. Use the back of a spoon to make a deep indentation in each cookie to hold plenty of filling.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your brown butter chocolate chunk cookies release easily from the pan.
- Use a cookies scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies, plus it ensures that your cookies bake evenly.
- Be patient! I know it’s incredibly tempting to eat these cookies as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be firmer and won’t crumble up.
- Let these cookies cool for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 more minutes. This step ensures that the bottom of your cookies will not be soggy from the steam.
Faq's
I use all-purpose flour for these cookies. Cake flour will work great as well.
This usually means that there is too much flour in the dough. It is very important to measure your flour correctly. Check out our expert tips for how to measure flour correctly.
Use your favorite kind of apples! I like using granny smith apples, but any apple kind will work. If you like sweet apples, use Honeycrisp, or Pink Lady.
Storing
Store these cookies in the fridge for up to 4 days. Make sure that you store them in an airtight container so they won't dry out.
Freezing
You can freeze these cookies before or after baking. For unbaked cookies, roll them into balls, and freeze on a baking sheet for 1–2 hours, then transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag.
Bake straight from frozen, adding 1–2 minutes to the baking time.
For baked cookies, let them cool completely, fill them with the filling, freeze them in a single layer for 1–2 hours, then store them in an airtight container or bag for up to 2 months.
Thaw at room temperature and drizzle the caramel sauce right before serving for the best flavor and texture.
Substitutions
Dairy-free - If you are dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter or plant-based butter.
Gluten-free- you can swap the flour with gluten-free flour to make these gluten-free. I have not tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but it should work.
Variations
Spices- Add your favorite spices for cinnamon-spiced desserts! Like nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin spice, ginger, etc.
Nuts- Add chopped nuts to the cookie dough for an added crunch.
Crumble- Sprinkle a buttery crumble topping over the cookies before baking for a crunchy, bakery-style twist.
Glaze- Top these cookies with a simple glaze instead of caramel sauce.
Equipment
- Baking sheet and rack set (my fave).
- Cookies scoop set of 3 (my fave cookie scoop).
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together.
- Electric hand mixer.
- Mixing bowls.
- Cooling rack.
- Apple corer and slicer.
- Saucepan.
More fall recipes
Cinnamon bundt cake- This cinnamon bundt cake is moist, buttery, and has a tender crumb. It is made with a cinnamon swirl and topped with a velvety cream cheese frosting.
Caramel pecan cheesecake- This caramel pecan cheesecake is made with a cinnamon crust, creamy cinnamon cheesecake filling, and a caramel pecan topping.
Mini pumpkin cheesecakes- These mini pumpkin cheesecakes are made with a lotus biscoff cookie crust, filled with an easy pumpkin cheesecake filling, and topped with whipped cream and cinnamon!
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment below. I love hearing from you.
If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Easy Apple Pie Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter softened, unsalted
- ½ cup Brown sugar
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ⅓ teaspoon Baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 3 cups Flour AP, plain
Apple pie filling
- ½ cup Butter unsalted
- 6 Apples peeled and chopped
- ⅔ cup Brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 4 tablespoon Water
- ⅓ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 4 teaspoon Cornstarch mixed with a little bit of water
Instructions
Make the apple filling
- Peel and cut the apples into small cubes. In a medium-sized pan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the cinnamon. Mix well.
- Add the apples, brown sugar, vanilla extract, lemon juice, nutmeg, kosher salt, and water, and mix until well combined.
- Reduce to medium-low heat, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Add the cornstarch mixed with a little bit of water and mix until there are no lumps of cornstarch visible. Set aside to cool.
Make the cookie dough
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and kosher salt. Mix with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
- Add the eggs and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until just combined. Don't overmix for moist cookies and not dry cookies.
- Scoop 18 cookie dough balls and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Roll each cookie dough into a ball and create a thumbprint pattern using your finger.
- Bake the cookies in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- When you take the cookies out of the oven, immediately reshape the cookies using a spoon or your thumb.
- Fill each cookie with a tablespoon of the apple pie filling and drizzle with caramel sauce. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days and enjoy!
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- When baking, Granny Smith apples are a great choice because they're tart and firm, which helps them keep their shape and add a nice flavor to baked goods.
- Ensure your butter is at room temperature before making cookies. Remove it from the fridge an hour or two beforehand. The butter should be soft to the touch. Cold butter is harder to mix and may leave lumps in the dough.
- Create a deep well. Use the back of a spoon to make a deep indentation in each cookie to hold plenty of filling.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with the back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your brown butter chocolate chunk cookies release easily from the pan.
- Use a cookies scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way, you will have even-sized cookies, plus it ensures that your cookies bake evenly.
- Be patient! I know it’s incredibly tempting to eat these cookies as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be firmer and won’t crumble up.
- Let these cookies cool for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 more minutes. This step ensures that the bottom of your cookies will not be soggy from the steam.
Patti Burak
This recipe is AMAZING !! Our Culinary students mad these and they were a hit !!
Courtney
The notes above say you'll need 25g of butter. But then the ingredients Say 230g for the cookies and 120g for the filling. Which do I follow?
RichandDelish
Sorry, a typo, fixed it.
CR
The recipe calls for eggs but doesn’t say how many.
RichandDelish
Sorry! And thank you for letting me know. You will need 2 eggs for this recipe. I fixed the recipe card.