5 from 7 votes

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Last week, I bought three big bags of apples for 99 cents each. My husband looked at me funny and said: what are you going to make with all of those apples? I replied: apple pie cookies of course!

apple pia cookies on a plate with apple and cinnamon sticks next to it

I’ve shared this recipe over at MOMables before because I love these cookies inside the lunchbox. I also have cookie making days where I freeze, freeze, freeze all kinds of unbaked cookie dough! I am the queen of freezing baked goods and breakfast items for later. Ok, don’t think of me as super mom because as my friend Melissa from TheFresh20 says… I am “dinner averse”. I am not that good at make-ahead dinners.

I’m glad I’ve waited a while to share them here… because since I shared them as the perfect little addition to any lunchbox, I’ve made these gluten free and grain free (still working on that recipe so I can share that version).

rolled apple pie cookie dough pieces on a baking sheet

Isn’t this little boy adorable? That is my friend Alison’s son totally munching on these cookies. Alison was the first contributor I hired for the blog side of MOMables and in the last two years she’s become a very close friend.

Let me tell you a little bit about Alison and why this adorable boy is holding on to this cookie. Alison blogs over at This Homemade Life and she also works on all of my “special projects.” Special projects are some of my recipe development shoots for brands, magazine photo shoots, and of course, my cookbook!

Alison has 3 boys and they’ve spent much of the summer tasting over 50 recipes she photographed for my cookbook. Today, I can officially announce that my cookbook: The Best Homemade Kids’ Lunches on the Planet will be released July 1st 2014. You can pre-order your copy here.

apple pie cookies on a plate with apple and cinnamon sticks next to it

This recipe makes me think of her often because it brings back memories of when she came to visit me this summer to map out a recipe photo shoot schedule for the book. While she had worked for me for nearly two years, we had never met in person! Crazy, right? Having her here was really the icing on the cake on our friendship and I’m so grateful to have her talent available for my company.

When the apples are cooked, they become part of the “cookie” with a sweet flavor. If you don’t want “crispy” cookies, use a scoop or make dough balls and pull them out of the oven when they are nice and “chewy”.

Apple Pie Cookies

Laura Fuentes

5 from 7 votes

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour*
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ brown sugar, packed
12 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon McCormick Vanilla extract
1 cup granny smith apples, chopped (about 2 apples)
1 teaspoon McCormick ground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F and line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream together sugar and softened butter. Add eggs and vanilla extract mixing until combined.
Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and continue mixing on medium speed, until cookie dough begins to form. Turn mixer off and gently fold in chopped apples by hand.
Roll dough into 2 tablespoon sized balls of dough. Arrange dough on prepared cookie sheets, giving them room to spread while baking.
Bake for 10-15 minutes (cookies should look slightly undercooked). Allow to cool completely on cookie sheets before removing. Store in airtight container.

Notes

You can make this recipe 50/50 whole wheat and all purpose flour.
For a gluten free version, I have successfully made these gluten free with Cup4Cup gluten free flour mix at a 1:1 ratio.