If you’re looking for an easy baking project with apples, this apple cookies recipe will have your heart! They’re essentially apple snickerdoodles, irresistibly soft, with a sweet coating of cinnamon and sugar. Each bite has a burst of sweet tart apple! They take no time to whip up and don’t require any refrigeration of the dough before baking: which means you can sink your teeth into that soft, spiced cookie as soon as possible. These were big winners at our house!
Ingredients in this apple cookies recipe
Here at A Couple Cooks, we love it when we can make a recipe without a trip to the store. Such is this apple cookies recipe, a simple snickerdoodle that only requires the normal baking cast of characters: flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and of course, cinnamon! If you’ve got one apple, you can make this recipe. The cookies are ideal as a fall dessert, but they work in any season! A friend of ours taste tested these and said she couldn’t stop eating them (a good sign!). Here’s what you’ll need:
Sweet tart apple All purpose flour Cream of tartar Baking soda Kosher salt Unsalted butter Granulated sugar Egg Vanilla extract Cinnamon
Best type of apples for cookies
The best variety of fruit for apple cookies is the same as with apple cobbler or apple crisp: select a firm, crisp tart apple. The tangy tartness accents the sweetness of baked goods, and the crisp texture stays together while baking. Other apple varieties can end up in a mushy, sweeter filling that’s not as satisfying as with a crisp tart apple. Here are some of the best types apples for baking and cooking:
Pink Lady Jonathon or Jonagold Granny Smith Honeycrisp Fuji
Tip: make sure to finely dice the apple
This apple cookies recipe is very simple: the dough comes together quickly and you don’t even have to refrigerate it before baking! The most important part of putting together the recipe is this: dice the apple as finely as possible. If the apple pieces are too large, they can cause the cookies to crack and break when baked. We cut our apples into pieces that were about 3/8-inch wide (between ¼ and 1/8-inch). You don’t have to measure, simply cut them as small as you can.
Non-stick cookie sheets make for an even bake
Another tip for this apple cookies recipe is the quality of pans matters! We made half of these cookies on a shiny aluminum pan with parchment paper, and the size and shape were completely off. However, the half of the batch baked on our non-stick cookie sheet worked great. So, we recommend using two of these non-stick cookie sheets for the most even bake! The entire batch baked on these, rotating the sheets in the middle of baking, came out beautifully consistent.
Storage info for apple cookies
The final important thing to know about this apple cookies recipe is to store them refrigerated! The cookies are a little delicate because of the apple pieces, which contain moisture. So for best results, store them refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Place the cookies in a sealed container with parchment paper between the layers. Make sure to let the cookie stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes before enjoying: it tastes better that way!
More apple recipes
When it’s apple season, we love making all things with apples: breakfast, desserts, and more! Here are some of our favorite apple recipes:
Bake up Apple Bread or Apple Cinnamon Muffins Make an Apple Cobbler, Apple Crisp, or Apple Crumble Go for Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Make Crisp Apple Salad
This apple cookies recipe is…
Vegetarian.
5 from 3 reviews
1 cup sweet tart apple, peeled and finely diced into 3/8-inch pieces (1 large apple) 1 ¾ cups [245 g] all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon cream of tartar ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon kosher salt ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For rolling
3 tablespoons granulated sugar ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
**We found that the bake good on a shiny aluminum baking sheet with parchment paper, so the quality matters! The linked non-stick sheets made an even bake with the entire batch in the oven at once.
