Apple Cinnamon Cookies

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If you love oatmeal cookies and you love cinnamon, you are going to go crazy over these Apple Cookies! They are an easy, no-fuss cookie sans frosting or icing because they are perfect just the way they are. The dough requires chilling which means you can make the dough the day/night before if you wish and then make the cookies whenever the craving strikes!

Apple Oatmeal COOKIES

I could not stop eating these Apple Oatmeal Cookies! Rarely has a cookie been so enticing. So controlling. So utterly delicious. I actually had to count how many cookies I rolled into balls (and of course take into account the cookie dough I ate) to know how many cookies this recipe makes because I was eating them just as fast as they came out of the oven.

The Apple Cookies are not only bursting with buttery, chewy, brown sugar, oatmeal and Fall spices but they boast a hint of molasses that gives them a full bodied taste and that little something-something special.

I hope you love these melt-in-your-mouth Apple Cookies as much as us!

How To Bake with Apples?

Many apple pies and apple cookies combine different types of apples but for our Apple Cookies, we want Granny Smith apples. Granny Smith Apples are fabulous for baking because they are firm and bake up tender instead of mushy. They are also perfectly tart which we need to offset the sweetness of our Apple Cookies.

For our Apple cookies, you will want to peel and dice your apples into small pieces, about ¼” in size. To do this, I slice my apple into slices per usual, then cut these slices into strips then slice them in the other direction. These small pieces of apple ensure they will bake in the same time as the rest of our cookie and that we get to enjoy their apple goodness in each bite. Apples also produce the most tender cookies you ever sunk your teeth into!

Our Apple Cookies boast a full cup of diced apples but any more will lend too much moisture. If you would still like more apple flavor, then feel free to add some chopped, dried apples.

Tips and Tricks for Apple Cookies

Whole Rolled Oats: For our Apple Cookies, you will need to use WHOLE rolled oats and not quick cooking oats. Quick cooking oats will cook more quickly than rolled oats and retain less of their texture due to thee moisture in the appples, resulting in a mushy instead of chewy cookie. Old fashioned rolled oats, on the other hand, yield the perfect chewy yet melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Unsulphured molasses: You will want unsulfphured molasses and NOT blackstrap molasses. Unsulphured molasses is the finest quality and only a small amount of sugar has been removed from the first boiling (sugar content around 70%). Blackstrap, on the other hand has been boiled further resulting in a thick, bitter, salty sludge with a sugar content of only 45%. Blackstrap molasses is never an acceptable substitute for true molasses, and will render baked goods thick, dense, salty and bitter.

Walnuts: Even if you don’t love walnuts, I highly recommend them in these Apple Cookies. They offer a very subtle flavor and texture without tasting like a “nutty” cookie. If you don’t use walnuts then add an additional ½ cup whole rolled oats.

Lemon Juice: The one teaspoon of lemon juice brightens the apples but if you don’t keep lemons or lemon juice on hand you can skip it.

Chill Dough: Due to their wonderfully buttery, chewy texture, these Apple Cookies need to be chilled before baking. Chilling keeps them thick and chewy and prevents them from spreading into thin, flat discs. You can chill the dough for 4 hours or I love make the batter the night before, refrigerate then it is super convenient to make cookies any time the next day.

Chill Dough In Between Batches: You will want to cover and refrigerate the cookie dough in between each batch and not the dough bowl on the counter while the batch in the oven bakes or it defeats the purpose of chilling.

Don’t Grease Pans. You are going to want to line your baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick mats to prevent the cookies from sticking but NOT cooking spray or the cookies will spread out too much.

8 Cookies per sheet. You will want to space your cookies at least 3 inches apart and only bake 8 cookies per sheet so they don’t spread and cook into each other.

Reshape Cookies: Even if you roll your dough into perfect balls, you will have a few edges of the baked cookies that aren’t symmetrical. If this bothers you, you can use the edge of your spatula to push the edges back into a circle when the cookies are still soft fresh out of the oven.

Can you WAIT? These Apple Cookies are addicting fresh out of the oven but if you can exercise a little self control and be satisfied with 5 cookies and not all of the cookies, then they are even more flavorful the next day!

Storing: Store your Apple Cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. The apples ensure they retain their tender texture and the warm spices become even more flavorful.

Roll balls per instructions and fit as many as you can on a parchment/nonstick lined baking sheet without touching.
Place the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze the balls until outsides are hard (about 1-2 hours).
Transfer to a freezer size plastic bag and freeze.
Most cookie doughs will freeze well for up to 3 months.
To BAKE: Place frozen cookie dough balls on a lined baking sheet (8 per sheet) and bake according to instructions, adding a couple extra minutes to cook time.

To freeze baked cookies

Fit as many baked cookies on a parchment/nonstick mat lined baking sheet without touching.
Place the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze until solid (about 1 hour).
Transfer to a freezer size plastic bag and freeze.
To EAT: When you want to enjoy an Apple Cookie, take it out and let it sit at room temperature, warm in the microwave at 10 second intervals or warm it in the oven for a few minutes.

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©Carlsbad Cravings by CarlsbadCravings.com

Servings: dozen cookies

Total Time: 34

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 14

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Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter softened (2 sticks)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon unsulphured molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)

Dry Ingredients

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp EACH salt, ground ginger
1/4 tsp EACH ground cloves, ground nutmeg
2 1/4 cups uncooked whole-rolled oats
1 cup finely chopped peeled Granny Smith apples (1/4” pieces)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (may sub ½ cup oats)

Instructions

With a stand or handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugars together at medium speed until light and creamy. Add egg, vanilla, molasses and lemon juice scraping down the sides as needed. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, add all of the dry ingredients except rolled oats and whisk to combine. Add oats and whisk together.
With the mixer running on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients. The dough will be quite thick and you will have to finish mixing with a wooden spoon. Add apples and walnuts and mix until combined. Cover tightly and chill dough for at least 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking mat. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls, 3 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheet, 8 to a sheet (keep remaining cookie dough in the refrigerator).
Bake at 350°F for 11-15 minutes or until golden around the edges and center is just set. Let stand for 3 minutes before removing to wire racks. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container.

Notes

HOW TO FREEZE APPLE COOKIES