Loaded with recent apple taste and loads of heat spices, these comfortable and chewy apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies are completely good for the autumn season. Completed with a heat, candy maple icing, they’re the quintessential autumn cookie!
I initially revealed this recipe in 2016 and have since added new photographs and updates to the recipe to enhance the feel and cut back the spreading. The adjustments are mirrored within the recipe card under.
Within the fall months, apple desserts are sometimes overshadowed by pumpkin pie and all issues pumpkin spice. Whereas these fan-favorite brown butter pumpkin oatmeal cookies at all times hit the spot, at the moment’s apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies are simply as satisfying and ship massive on these fall flavors (sans pumpkin!).
Talking of favourite desserts, have you ever tried salted caramel apple pie but? It’s my #1 favourite dessert of all time!
Inform Me About These Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
- Texture: These apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies are comfortable and chewy with moist facilities and crisp edges. Each hearty, healthful chunk is loaded with chewy oats, tender bits of apple, crunchy walnuts, and topped with creamy maple icing. A lot texture in simply 1 cookie!
- Taste: You’ll take pleasure in many fall flavors in every chunk together with apple spice, cinnamon, and maple—similar flavors you’ll find in these wholesome apple muffins. Should you’re searching for a maple cookie to strive, these maple brown sugar cookies are a preferred selection.
- Time: After taking the ten minutes initially to scale back the applesauce, the apple oatmeal cookie dough comes collectively rapidly. And there’s no dough chilling required, so you possibly can bake these cookies instantly!
Selecting the Proper Substances
Listed below are a few of the key components and why they work on this recipe:
- Extra oats than flour = a chewier cookie: You want 2 cups of entire oats and 1 and 1/4 cups of flour to realize the right chew.
- Sugars: You’ll want each granulated sugar and brown sugar on this recipe. I favor darkish brown sugar right here for a bit of further molasses taste, however mild brown sugar works simply as properly.
- Applesauce: Search for the unsweetened selection. And you probably have some leftover, strive a batch of those applesauce muffins. Lowering the applesauce on the range deepens its apple taste whereas eradicating further liquid, so your cookies bake up comfortable—not soggy.
- Egg yolk: Utilizing simply the yolk of the egg provides richness and helps to bind the components, with out including an excessive amount of further liquid to the dough (since we’re including applesauce).
- Walnuts: I really like including walnuts to those apple cookies (a lot nice texture!), however you possibly can go away them out in the event you favor.
- Finely diced apple: Be sure to reduce the apple into teeny-tiny chunks—not slices like I like to recommend for apple pie. I often seize a Granny Smith apple for this recipe, however you should use any crisp, juicy selection you like. (And in the event you’re , listed here are the greatest apples for baking.)
- Spices: Cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg add simply the appropriate heat and depth of taste.
You additionally want baking soda, salt, vanilla extract, and room-temperature butter.
Key Step in This Recipe: Briefly Cook dinner the Applesauce
After I first shared this recipe again in 2016, there was no must cook dinner down the applesauce. However the cookies typically unfold an excessive amount of, turned out a bit of cakey, and lacked daring taste. My group and I’ve since found that spending simply 10 minutes lowering the applesauce on the range makes all of the distinction.
Simply as we cut back recent strawberry puree for strawberry cake and mashed banana for the banana walnut cookies in Sally’s Baking 101, we’ll cook dinner the applesauce on the range earlier than utilizing it. Simmer till it’s diminished by about half—this straightforward step concentrates the apple taste and removes extra moisture.
Left, under: applesauce earlier than lowering. Proper, under: applesauce after lowering.
From there, it’s only a matter of whisking the dry components, creaming the butter and sugars, mixing within the moist components (together with the diminished applesauce), and bringing the whole lot collectively. Right here is the cookie dough… and there’s no must refrigerate it earlier than baking! It will likely be a bit of sticky:
Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough (about 1.5 Tbsp/35g of dough every) onto lined baking sheets.
A drizzle of maple icing is the right completion on these apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies. Soften butter with pure maple syrup, after which whisk in confectioners’ sugar and a pinch of salt. Drizzle over the cookies. It’s the identical icing we use for fan-favorite maple brown sugar cookies.
In case you have a bit of extra time, salted caramel frosting would even be scrumptious… or strive the brown butter icing from these brown butter apple blondies… YUM!
Success Suggestions for Apple Cinnamon Cookies
- Cut back the applesauce first: That is the important thing to creating positive these cookies don’t overspread. We need to focus the apple taste with out including an excessive amount of moisture to the cookie dough.
- Bake instantly: The oats will absorb lots of the moisture in the event you let the cookie dough sit too lengthy. You’ll get a greater cookie in the event you bake them instantly. Impatience lastly pays off!
- Don’t over-bake: You need the facilities of the cookies to look very comfortable and even a bit of underbaked while you take them out of the oven. They’ll proceed to set as they cool on the baking sheet. Over-baking them till the facilities look completely finished will end in dry cookies.
- Avoid wasting for day 2! Like banana bread, these cookies have even extra taste on the second day… in the event you can wait that lengthy to eat them!
Description
These comfortable and chewy apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies are exploding with candy apple taste. Crammed with cinnamon and apple spices, loaded with applesauce and apple chunks, and topped with a creamy maple frosting, they’re completely good for the autumn season. Don’t skip lowering the applesauce on the range (step 1); it’s key to the feel and taste.
Cookies
- 2/3 cup (160g) unsweetened applesauce
- 2 cups (170g) old school entire rolled oats
- 1 and 1/4 cups (156g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon floor cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon floor allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon floor nutmeg
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) mild or darkish brown sugar (I take advantage of darkish)
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (60g) finely diced apples
- 1/2 cup (63g) chopped walnuts
Maple Icing
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup (80ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 cup (112g) sifted confectioners’ sugar
- pinch salt, to style
- Cut back the applesauce: Place the applesauce in a medium saucepan over medium warmth. Carry to a low boil after which simmer, stirring often, till the quantity is diminished by half (to 1/3 cup/80g). On my range, this takes about 10 minutes. Switch the applesauce to a heat-proof bowl and put aside to chill to room temperature.
- Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line giant baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Whisk the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg collectively in a big bowl. Put aside.
- Utilizing a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium velocity till creamed collectively, about 5 minutes. (Right here’s a useful tutorial in the event you want steerage on cream butter and sugar.) Scrape down the perimeters and backside of the bowl with a silicone spatula as wanted. Add the diminished applesauce, egg yolk, and vanilla, and beat on medium-high velocity till mixed. Scrape down the perimeters and backside of the bowl as wanted.
- Add within the dry components and beat on low velocity till mixed. Lastly, beat within the chopped apples and walnuts (if utilizing). The cookie dough might be thick and sticky.
- Utilizing a medium cookie scoop, scoop mounds of cookie dough (about 1.5 Tbsp/35g of dough every) and prepare 3 inches aside on the ready baking sheets.
- Bake for 14–16 minutes or till frivolously browned and set across the edges. The cookies will look very comfortable within the center however will proceed to set as they cool. Take away the cookies from the oven and permit to chill for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then switch to a cooling rack.
- Make the icing: In a small saucepan over low warmth, soften the butter and maple syrup collectively, whisking often. As soon as the butter has melted, take away from warmth and whisk within the sifted confectioners’ sugar. Style. Add a pinch of salt, if desired. Drizzle over cookies. Icing will set after about 1 hour.
- Retailer cookies in an hermetic container at room temperature for as much as 2 days, or within the fridge for as much as 1 week.
Notes
- Make Forward Directions: You may make the cookie dough and chill it within the fridge for as much as 3 days. Permit to come back to room temperature then proceed with step 5. Baked cookies, with or with out icing, freeze properly for as much as 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze properly for as much as 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an additional minute, no must thaw. Learn my suggestions and tips on freeze cookie dough.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Small Saucepan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack | High-quality Mesh Sieve (for sifting confectioners’ sugar)
- Oats: Use entire rolled oats for one of the best texture. Fast oats are reduce finer, which makes them extra powdery. They’ll soak up extra moisture, inflicting the dough to bulk up so the cookies don’t unfold correctly, and may go away the cookies tasting dry.
- Brown Sugar: I like to recommend darkish brown sugar for a deeper taste, however you should use mild brown sugar as an alternative.
- Apple: Be sure to reduce the apple into teeny-tiny chunks. I often use a Granny Smith apple for this recipe, however you should use any crisp, juicy selection you like. (And in the event you’re , listed here are the greatest apples for baking.)
- Can I Use Apple Butter As an alternative of Decreased Applesauce? We haven’t examined it at the moment. I’m not sure if the cookies will unfold an excessive amount of since apple butter is thinner than the diminished applesauce. Should you use it, you might need to refrigerate the cookie dough for not less than 1 hour earlier than shaping and baking. And in the event you strive it, tell us the way it seems.
- Replace in 2025: My group and I made 4 small updates to the recipe to scale back the spreading and enhance the feel. The adjustments are mirrored on this recipe. To make the previous model, cut back the flour to 1 cup (125g). Cut back the applesauce to 1/2 cup (120g) and skip lowering it on the range (step 1). Use 1 entire egg as an alternative of 1 egg yolk. Cut back the butter to 1/4 cup (56g) and soften it. Whisk it along with the moist components in step 4, as an alternative of creaming it with the sugars.