Apple is probably my favorite flavor of pie. I never get tired of the flavors of buttery crust, brown sugar, spices and, of course, juicy apples all mixed together. Apple pies are also fun to make, which is a nice little bonus. They are a bit time consuming, however, and lately I’ve been experimenting with other applications for apple pie spices and flavors. These apple pie cookies are the result – or one of the results – of this venture. They have flavor and fruit of a pie, in a cookie form.
The cookies are big, soft and chewy. They actually use fresh apples, which adds a lot of moisture to the cookies and does make them more reminiscent of pie than, say, dried apples would if they were also in the cookies. When I said that the cookies were big, I wasn’t kidding. Each one uses about a 1/4 cup of cookie dough! For me, this is like getting a bigger slice of pie. You get more apples and more cookie. I think that these are a great “breakfast” cookie, one that will satisfy you for a couple of hours if you have one with your coffee in the morning.
Since the apples let off more moisture as time goes by, these cookies will start to stick together slightly after a day of being stored in an airtight container. To prevent this, as well as to make the cookies easier to eat, layer them with pieces of wax paper or parchment paper and you’ll have no problems.
Apple Pie Cookies
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 1/4 cups diced fresh apples (2 medium)
3/4 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and maple syrup. With the mixer on low speed, gradually blend in the flour mixture. Once all flour has been incorporated, stir in apples and pecans.
Drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until cookies are browned around the edges. Cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes about 16 large cookies
Jelli Bean
October 2, 2009My, oh my! What a beautiful concept! I bake quite a few apple pies, but would love to switch to cookies. I imagine the preparation is much faster, and the product, well..just look at that monster of a cookie! Another plus: no worries about oozing filling or plating difficulties. I’m in, all in! Can’t wait to try this.
olga lopez
October 2, 2009wow I never so this before looks so good.
regards
olga.
Valerina
October 2, 2009I can imagine how wonderful they must smell as they are baking!
Stacy
October 2, 2009Those sound delicious! I wonder if using a tart type of apple and adding in toffee chips would be as amazing as my brain thinks it would be.
jenn
October 2, 2009oh, i so know what i’m making tomorrow! thank you so much!!!!
Christina
October 2, 2009I can’t wait to try these. Did you peel the apples?
Lynn
October 2, 2009Apple pie in a cookie? Genius!
web Design Firm
October 3, 2009Mouth watering recipe thanks for sharing this I’ll try it soon kids will love this 🙂
Jen B
October 3, 2009You definitely deserve an award for this! Apple pie in cookie form? GENIUS.
Becky
October 3, 2009That’s such a good idea — so much less work than pie, but the same great flavors!
Kelsey/TheNaptimeChef
October 3, 2009I LOVE apple too, and am pleased to find that you share my obsession. I feel silly for never leaving a comment since I read your site so often – but just wanted to let you know that I can’t wait for your book!
bakingblonde
October 3, 2009I made some cookies using apples as well. I added Caramel bits but love the idea of dipping the cookies!
Jon Spy
October 3, 2009looks awesome ! i will try that tonight
joyosity
October 3, 2009I just made these this morning and added some chopped up caramel pieces. I’m not usually a fan of nuts in cookies, but I’m glad they’re in these because it adds a nice crunch to the otherwise cake-like cookie. Thanks for the recipe!
trabo
October 3, 2009I was wondering what type of apples you used in your cookies. Also, I understand the texture that the pecans bring, but if you don’t want to cook with nuts, is there something else that might work?
Allan Millar
October 4, 2009Receipe was explained very nicely. I tried it and it was very delicious.
authorsbooks
October 6, 2009Your recipes are good.
punkrawkknitter
October 6, 2009I made these, but without peacans, and I used honey instead of maple syrup, because that’s what I had on hand. Mine were really really good, but they were more lumpy and round rather than flat, like your picture. They also had almost a cake like consistency, which I liked, but it made the cookies extra soft.
Linda Allen
October 6, 2009Apple Pie and Soy Dream (Like ice cream, but made with soy milk)is my favorite. I am going to try this recipe this weekend. I am going to put the Soy Dream in between two cookies, like an ice cream sandwich. Yummy
Brittany
October 6, 2009I feel like the worm in the apple (har har), leaving the only critical comment! I didn’t 100% dig the texture of apple chunks in the cookie. I will probably throw apples in the food processor real quick next time I make these, but not long enough to puree. I will definitely make these again though! 🙂
Alexis
October 7, 2009I thin I will bed making these later today!
Teama
October 8, 2009So I made the cookies last night, and doubled the recipe. I use a 1/4 cup scoop for each cookie. I should have had about 32 cookies, but I only ended up with 20.
They baked beautifully and were very easy to make.
Kimberly
October 8, 2009I made these cookies last night and they were fantastic! I love the cake-like consistency. I gave mine a little drizzle of maple glaze. Thanks for sharing!
Cindy
October 13, 2009I just made these lovely apple pie cookies. Very tasty. I replaced 1/2 of the flour with white whole wheat and there were no problems and mine look very much like the picture. Very tasty. Thanks.
Bonnie
October 15, 2009Hi Nicole, first of all, thanks for maintaining an amazing site. I love your recipes! Second, do you think that the dough for these Apple Pie Cookies is freezable? I want to make these for a school bake sale. I would like to make the cookie dough and freeze it, and then bake it on the day of the sale.
Thanks in advance for the advice!
Fact & Fun
November 7, 2009My husband just love apple pie Cookies Will try to prepare this recipe soon thank you so much !!!
Hannah
April 11, 2010I work in an office of all boys and they LOVE these cookies. I substitute the nuts with a mixture of hershey butterscotch chips and crushed up ice cream cones (I got this idea from another apple cookie recipe). The cones give it a little crunch, kind of like a pie crust and the chips add a little sweetness (I use tart granny smiths in the cookies).
Thanks for this lovely recipe!
Gina
April 12, 2010I’ve never heard of apple pie cookies before, but those pictures sure look delicious.
Jenn
October 15, 2010After having this recipe on my list for months, I finally made them! So delicious. I put a bit more cinnamon in mine and then dipped half of the batch in caramel and drizzled caramel on the other half. Will definitely make these again!
Ali
November 21, 2011I made these and rolled them in toffee chips. It was the best thing I’ve ever made!! The toffee made a crispy out side with caramely sauce dripping down!
YUM!!!!!!!!
susan
September 9, 2012Great recipe! However, I doubled it and only got 22 cookies,not 32. I followed the 1/4 c size. I just wish it had made more. I guess next time I will make the 1/8 c size to get more cookies.
felicia
September 4, 2013hi there,
has anyone else tried this with honey instead of syrup? only have honey on hand and would love to give them a shot, but don’t know how that would affect the texture/flavor.
thanks!