These apple cookies are soft, chewy, and packed with apple flavor from both fresh apples and applesauce. Oats give them a delicious chewy texture, cinnamon adds cozy fall flavor, and best of all, there’s no need to chill the dough.
These apple cookies took several tries to get perfect. I started with my base sugar cookie recipe, replaced some of the butter with applesauce and added bits of apple and oats. It was okay, but not sweet enough.
Then I changed gears and used my oatmeal raisin cookies as a base. The applesauce had to stay, so the butter amount was again reduced. But the cookies spread too much. I was torn between adding in a chilling step or adding in more flour. Since I personally loathe a chill step, I added an extra cup of flour which resulted in the perfect apple cookie.
Why This Apple Cookie Recipe Works
- Two kinds of apple flavor. Applesauce flavors the dough while fresh Granny Smith apple gives you pieces of apple throughout each cookie.
- No chilling required. I increased the flour until the cookies held their shape without requiring a long chill time.
- Oats give them the perfect texture. Old-fashioned oats make these cookies soft and chewy and balance the moisture from the applesauce and fresh apple.
Key Ingredients for Apple Cookies
- Applesauce: Replacing some of the butter with applesauce gives us a boost of apple flavor while maintaining a soft cookie. I used my homemade sweetened applesauce, but store-bought will work as well.
- Fresh apples: I went with the tart Granny Smith to balance sweetness. One medium apple peeled, cored, and diced will give you about one cup.
- Old-fashioned oats: I use these rather than quick cooking oats because they give the cookie a better chewy texture. You could use quick cooking oats, but know that it will change the texture of the cookie, making it more cake like.
- Brown + granulated sugar: The combination of the two gives the perfect level of sweetness with the best chewy texture.
Best Apples for Apple Cookies
I love Granny Smith apples in these cookies. Their tart flavor balances the sweetness of the cookie, and they hold up well when baked. Peel the apple and dice it into small pieces so you get apple in every bite. Honeycrisp and Gala, though sweeter, would also work well in this recipe because they are firm.
How to Make Apple Cookies
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Then mix in each egg and the vanilla. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula before each addition.
- Add the flour mixture all at once and mix until just combined. Then mix in the oatmeal, followed by the diced apples.
- Scoop the cookies and roll them into balls. Place 2 1/2 inches apart on a baking sheet and bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Using Applesauce in Apple Cookies
Adding applesauce to this recipe was a must so that we could get another layer of apple flavor beyond the chopped apples. This also allowed me to reduce the amount of butter in the recipe while keeping the cookies soft. Adding applesauce does increase the spread of cookies, which is why I added more flour to the recipe.
Troubleshooting
Cookies That Spread too Much
- Too little flour: It is best to weigh your flour, but if you don’t own a kitchen scale, follow my steps in my post “How to Measure Flour.”
- Butter is too soft: Room temperature butter should still feel cold to the touch. If your butter is warm and overly soft, it will make the cookies spread too much.
Cookies That Don’t Spread
- Too much flour: If you used a measuring cup for liquids or scooped the flour with the measuring cup you may have packed the flour. Be sure to scoop the flour into a dry measuring cup and level off.
- Using quick cooking oats: They absorb moisture faster, which can keep the cookies from spreading.
- Expired baking soda: Baking soda helps cookies rise and spread, so if your baking soda is expired (usually after the six month mark), you may end up with denser cookies.
Storing Apple Cookies
These apple oatmeal cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to one week. You can freeze them in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to three months. I recommend freezing these in a single layer for a few hours before transferring to a an air-tight container so they don’t freeze together.
More Apple Recipes
- Easy Apple Crisp: Fresh apples come together with cinnamon, apple juice, and vanilla, are covered in a simple sugar and butter topping, and baked to perfection.
- Cinnamon Apple Bread: We use diced apples again to give this great bread a perfect apple flavor in each bite.
- Apple Pie Filling: Use the rest of your apples to make this! Bake it into a pie, or use it in one of the different desserts listed in the post.
If you make this apple cookie recipe or any of my other recipes, be sure to leave a comment letting me know how you enjoyed it.
Apple Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour see note (300 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature (113 grams)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (148.5 grams)
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed (159.8 grams)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1/3 cup applesauce (85 grams)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups old fashioned oats (178 grams)
- 1 cup chopped Granny Smith apple see note (120 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until completely mixed.2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, with a hand-held mixer or using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. This will take between 3 and 6 minutes.8 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- Add the eggs one at a time. Then add in the vanilla. Finally, add in the applesauce. Be sure to scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula before each addition.2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1/3 cup applesauce
- Add in the flour mixture. With the mixer on its lowest setting, beat the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until it just begins to combine. Then turn the mixture up and finish mixing until it is just combined. Be careful not to continue mixing after the flour is combined.
- Mix in the oats and then the apple pieces.2 cups old fashioned oats, 1 cup chopped Granny Smith apple
- Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookies and roll them into balls. Place 2 1/2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. For best results, rotate the pan halfway through. Remove from the oven, let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container for up to one week.
Notes
Carrie says
These came out cake like it should have called for baking soda.
Baking soda is used in recipes that have an acid for it to react to. As this recipe doesn’t have an acid in it, this wouldn’t work here. While these do have a slight cakey texture on the inside, I find that the crisp exterior balances that perfectly.
Leila Spickerman says
This is an amazing recipe. Soft, wonderful cookie with gentle spice and apple flavor. I add caramel bits sometimes for fun. A favorite whenever I make them. Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m so glad you like these as much as I do Leila!
Katherine says
I love the layout of recipe. I didn’t have to keep going back to see how much was needed.
The cookies were delicious! I went a step further and added a finely chopped apple!
This will be my go to fall recipe!
I’m so glad that you liked them!
Patricia says
I really enjoyed this recipe. I made them for my grandson‘s class. They were learning about the different kinds of apples so I made some of these cookies. The teacher said they really enjoyed them.They are quite delicious. I also made some for the home which I’ve been asked to make them again. The only thing is, I didn’t have any apple butter, so I chopped up apples, seasoned them with cinnamon and nutmeg and allspice and a few other things, cooked them down and let them cool and then added them to that recipe they were to die for thank you so much for the recipe. I will definitely be making them again.😋
Becca Chery says
I made the recipe but I also have two questions/comments – 1) I have always heard you should refrigerate your cookie dough, no matter the recipe. I noted this recipe only says to refrigerate if it is “too sticky”, is there a reason you don’t recommend refrigerating in general even for 15-20 min? 2) I have also never heard of a cookie recipe that recommends dumping all the flour in at once – is this because of a big concern about over-mixing? As for how mine turned out, I did refrigerate the dough for a little over an hour (it was still pretty sticky, actually). I also made sure butter & eggs were room temp. I love cinnamon and did not think 1/2 tsp would be nearly enough so I added a full tsp. I added a little less than 1/2 tsp salt. Aside from those notes, followed the recipe as written using some marvelous homemade apple butter someone gifted us. I thought the texture came out pretty perfect! I thought they could be sweeter (surprising considering how much sugar the recipe calls for) but that’s just my personal taste. They were a hit with family and co-workers!
I think it’s really important to follow recipes as written. So if a recipe doesn’t say to refrigerate it, it shouldn’t be refrigerated as that will greatly impact baking. As for the flour, that was an old standard, to add a little at a time. Years ago I read an article that tested that method and adding it all at once, and they found better results by adding it all at once, mixing for a very short time on low and then as soon as able mixing on high until just completely mixed through. So that’s what I’ve stuck with since. I’m so glad these were a hit!