These apple pie cookies are buttery sugar cookie rounds topped with a teaspoon of spiced apple filling, a pie crust lattice, and a drizzle of salted caramel. The recipe makes 22 cookies in about 70 minutes, and 30 of those minutes are the dough resting in the fridge. The one thing that matters most: cook the diced apples on the stove first and let the filling cool completely, so it sits on the dough instead of melting it.
Think of them as caramel apple pie in two bites. I have baked them for autumn bake sales, packed them in lunch boxes, and set a tray out at Thanksgiving. They go fast.
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- Yield: 22 cookies
- Time: 25 minutes prep, 30 minutes chilling, 13 to 15 minutes baking (about 70 minutes total)
- Oven: 350°F (175°C), two baking sheets lined with parchment
- Dough: rolled 1/4 inch thick, cut with a 2.5 inch round cutter
- Filling: 2 medium apples, finely diced, about 1 teaspoon per cookie
- Topping: 1 pie crust for the lattice, 1/2 cup soft caramels or caramel sauce, flaky sea salt
- Keeps: 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature
Picking Apples for a One Teaspoon Filling
Granny Smith is my first choice. It stays firm in the skillet, and its tartness keeps the caramel from tasting flat. Honeycrisp works when you want a juicier, sweeter filling. Skip soft apples like McIntosh here. They collapse into sauce, and sauce leaks.
Dice the apples small, about 1/4 inch. Each cookie only holds a teaspoon of filling, so big chunks poke up through the lattice and roll off the base.
Cooking the Spiced Apple Filling
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the apples, 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring now and then, until the apples are soft and the juices bubble. The lemon keeps the flavor bright against all that sugar and butter.
Stir in the teaspoon of cornstarch and keep it bubbling for 1 to 2 minutes more. Watch the liquid. It goes from thin and watery to a glossy syrup that clings to the apples, and a spoon dragged through the pan leaves no puddle behind. Cornstarch needs that bubble to thicken fully. Stop too early and the filling runs off the cookies and burns onto the parchment.
Let it cool all the way. Warm filling softens the butter in the dough underneath, and the base spreads thin in the oven. Spreading the filling on a plate cuts the cooling time to about 20 minutes.
Rolling a Sugar Cookie Base That Holds the Filling
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in one bowl. In a larger bowl, cream 3/4 cup softened butter with 3/4 cup sugar for 2 to 3 minutes, until it looks pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla, then add the dry ingredients until a soft dough forms. With only 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, the base puffs a little but stays flat enough to cradle the apples.
Chill the dough for 30 minutes. No need for overnight. Roll it between two sheets of parchment instead of on a floured counter: you add no extra flour, so the bases stay tender.
Roll to 1/4 inch and cut 2.5 inch rounds. Thinner bases tear under the filling, and thicker ones stay doughy in the middle. Half of the rounds go onto the baking sheets as bases. The lattice comes from pie crust, not from a second round, so bake the spare rounds as plain sugar cookies on their own sheet.
Pie Crust Lattice Tops, or Open Faced
Spoon about 1 teaspoon of cooled filling into the center of each base and leave a bare rim of roughly 1/4 inch. Any more filling bubbles over the edge. That bare rim is also where the lattice strips stick.
Roll out the pie crust and cut thin strips with a sharp knife or a pastry wheel. Lay 3 or 4 strips across each cookie in a crisscross, then press the ends gently into the base so they hold in the oven. Store-bought crust works fine, and so do scraps left over from a pie. If the strips turn soft and limp in a warm kitchen, slide the tray into the fridge for 10 minutes before baking.
The lattice is optional. Without it you get filled sugar cookies instead of mini pies, and both bake the same way. For the same flavors in bar form, try my maple glazed apple pie bars.
Baking Until the Edges Turn Golden
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 13 to 15 minutes, and start checking at 13. They are ready when the edges of the base are golden, the lattice is pale gold, and the filling bubbles gently in the middle. Longer than that dries out the apples.
Leave them on the sheet for 5 minutes. Hot bases are soft and can crack if you move them too soon. Then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Salted Caramel Drizzle: Soft Caramels or Sauce
Drizzle only once the cookies are completely cool. On warm cookies the caramel melts and slides off the lattice into a puddle. You need 1/2 cup of either soft caramels or caramel sauce for the whole batch.
Melted soft caramels, like my homemade salted caramels, firm up as they set and stay in place, so they are the better pick for stacking, packing, or gifting. Melt them in 20 second bursts, stirring between each. A jarred or homemade caramel sauce gives a shinier finish but stays a little tacky and can smear in a box. Warm it slightly so it pours in a thin line.
Sprinkle a small pinch of flaky sea salt over each cookie right away, while the caramel is still sticky. Once it sets, the salt just bounces off. Give the caramel 10 minutes to set before serving.
Making Apple Pie Cookies Ahead for Thanksgiving
Make the dough and the apple filling a day ahead and keep both covered in the fridge. Let the dough sit out for about 10 minutes so it rolls without cracking, then assemble, bake, and drizzle on the day.
Baked cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Put parchment between the layers so the caramel does not stick. Keep them out of the fridge, which softens the crust and takes away the tender bite.
For a fall dessert table, they sit well next to apple cider whoopie pie cookies and a warm apple crisp. Leftover apple filling is good spooned over a caramel apple skillet brownie, and the same flavors make a weekend breakfast in apple pie cinnamon rolls.
Quick Answers on Apple Pie Cookies
Can I use canned apple pie filling?
Yes. Chop the slices into small pieces, leave the thin syrup behind, and use about 1 teaspoon per cookie. A batch of homemade apple pie filling from the freezer works the same way.
Why did my apple pie cookies spread?
Usually the filling was still warm or the dough sat out too long. Cool the filling completely and chill the assembled tray for 10 minutes if the dough feels soft.
Can I make them without caramel?
Yes. They still taste like apple pie without it. Bake them as written and skip the drizzle and salt.
If you try a different apple or leave off the lattice, tell me in the comments how your batch turned out.
Apple Pie Cookies Recipe
These apple pie cookies are buttery sugar cookie rounds topped with spiced apple filling, a pie crust lattice, and a salted caramel drizzle. The recipe makes 22 cookies in about 70 minutes, including 30 minutes of chilling, and they bake at 350°F for 13 to 15 minutes until the edges turn golden. The finely diced apples are cooked first with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and a little cornstarch, so the filling is thick and stays in the center. Serve these caramel apple pie cookies on a Thanksgiving dessert table, at a fall bake sale, or in lunch boxes. Skip the lattice for open faced cookies, and store them airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Ingredients
- FOR THE APPLE FILLING
- 2 medium apples, peeled and finely diced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- FOR THE COOKIE BASE
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- FOR THE TOPPING
- 1 pie crust (homemade or store-bought)
- 1/2 cup soft caramels or caramel sauce
- Flaky sea salt, for garnish
Instructions
- MAKE THE APPLE FILLING: In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft and the mixture is bubbling.
- THICKEN THE FILLING: Stir in the cornstarch and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes until the filling thickens slightly. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
- PREPARE THE COOKIE DOUGH: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until a soft dough forms. Chill the dough for 30 minutes to make it easier to roll out.
- ROLL AND CUT THE COOKIES: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out the chilled dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Use a 2.5-inch round cutter to cut circles. Place half of the dough circles on the prepared baking sheets to use as cookie bases. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of cooled apple filling into the center of each base.
- ADD LATTICE TOPS (OPTIONAL): Roll out the pie crust and cut into thin strips. Lay 3 to 4 strips over each cookie in a crisscross pattern to resemble a lattice. Gently press the edges of the strips into the base dough to seal.
- BAKE THE COOKIES: Bake the cookies for 13 to 15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let them cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- FINISH WITH CARAMEL AND SALT: Drizzle warm caramel sauce or melted soft caramels over the cooled cookies. Immediately sprinkle with a small pinch of flaky sea salt. Let the caramel set for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Use firm, tart apples like Granny Smith and dice them finely. Let the apple filling cool completely before assembling; warm filling softens the dough and the cookies spread. Use only about 1 teaspoon of filling per cookie and leave a small bare rim so the lattice strips seal to the base. Drizzle the caramel only after the cookies are completely cool, and add the flaky salt right away while the caramel is tacky. If using store-bought caramel, warm it slightly before drizzling. The dough and filling can be made a day ahead and refrigerated. Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days; do not refrigerate.
Nutrition Information
Yield
22Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 234Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 28mgSodium 123mgCarbohydrates 33gFiber 1gSugar 17gProtein 3g
