Soft and chewy cinnamon-spiced cookies with bits of real apples and a delightful maple glaze are the perfect Apple Cookies for fall!
This easy no-chill cookie recipe includes a delicious combination of sweetness and spice, with a soft and chewy texture that will have you coming back for more.
Whether you enjoy apple cookies as an afternoon snack or a sweet breakfast treat, they’re sure to become a new favorite recipe!
We have apple pie, apple cake, apple crisp, and now we have Apple Cookies too!
When the weather turns cooler, I’m ready to bake all of the apple-y treats, and these cinnamon apple cookies are so simple to make. In fact, you’ll be enjoying one of these in less than 30 minutes.
I love these cookies with a warm mug of tea or a cold glass of milk. They’re fantastic for breakfast, as dessert, or as a snack, packed into a lunch box. No matter how you enjoy these cookies with apples, they are delicious.
They are soft, chewy, lightly spiced, and moist from the addition of fresh diced apples. You might have a hard time deciding if your favorite fall cookie is Apple Cookies or Pumpkin Cookies!
This is a very simple apple cookie recipe. I love how quickly this recipe comes together, but If you’re looking for something a bit more challenging, try baking my Apple Pie Cookies instead. They’re similar to thumbprint cookies, with a center filled with homemade apple pie filling.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Real Apples Inside! These cookies aren’t apple flavored, they are actually filled with sweet bits of real apples. The apples add moisture to the cookies, making them soft and delicious.
- Perfect Maple Cinnamon Flavors. The cookies are flavored with brown sugar and cinnamon, and the glaze is made with maple syrup. Together these things give our apple cookies the best warm and cozy vibes.
- Easy Cookie Recipe: Just like all of our cookie recipes, this one includes step-by-step instructions and photos to help you along. This drop cookie recipe is extra simple since you can just mix up the dough and then bake – no chilling or shaping required.
Key Ingredients In Soft Apple Cookies
Complete list of ingredients with quantities and instructions is located in the recipe card below
- Flour, Baking Soda, and Salt: The dry ingredients! Be sure to use fresh baking soda, and to measure your flour using the “scoop and level” method. You can also measure by weight, those details are in the recipe card for you.
- Butter and Egg: Allow the butter to soften at room temperature before making the cookie dough. You should also leave your egg out at room temperature too. Cold eggs are difficult to mix into a smooth cookie dough.
- Brown Sugar: In cookie recipes, using brown sugar rather than regular granulated sugar creates a soft and chewy texture.
- Maple Syrup: Just a bit is mixed in with the powdered sugar and milk to create a deliciously sweet drizzle for apple cookies.
- Cinnamon: Apple’s best flavor friend is ground cinnamon, and it’s a must for this recipe. You can also try adding nutmeg, or apple pie spice for additional spicy flavor.
- Apple: You can use any type of apple that you like to make these cookies, but I recommend using one that is extra flavorful, like Granny Smith.
How To Make Apple Cookies
- Mix the Dry Ingredients: First, preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C, and line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Then, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl and set it aside.
- Cream the Butter and Sugar: In another bowl, using a hand mixer beat the butter with the brown sugar until smooth and creamy. Add in the egg, and mix again until smooth.
- Combine: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Add the Apples: Gently fold in the apples using your mixer at a low speed or by hand.
- Bake: Use a medium cookie scoop to place 1.5 tablespoon-sized cookies on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the Icing and Frost: Once the cookies are cooled, whisk together powdered sugar, maple syrup, and milk to create pourable icing. Drizzle it over the cookies and allow the frosting to set before enjoying.
Top Tips
- You can choose to peel the apples or not. I left the skin on, but if your apples have a particularly thick skin, or you don’t enjoy that texture, peel them before dicing.
- The apples should be diced very small so that you get a bit of their juicy fresh flavor in every bite! But don’t dice them too small, or they’ll disappear into the cookies.
- For even more warm and spicy flavor, try adding nutmeg, ginger, cloves, or vanilla extract to the cookie dough or to the icing.
- Caramel baking chips or toffee bits would also be a delicious add-in for these simple apple cookies!
- The icing can be left off if you want, but I definitely suggest trying it! The maple syrup in the frosting makes apple cookies completely perfect.
Storage
Keep these soft cinnamon apple cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
If they start to dry out, try adding a slice of white bread to the container. Overnight the bread will get very dry but the cookies will be moist and chewy again!
Apple cookies freeze well too! Store them in a freezer bag or container for up to 3 months. Thaw them at room temperature, or briefly reheat one or two cookies in the microwave.
Other Fall Desserts You Should Try
- Pumpkin Spice Pudding Cookies
- Banana Bread Cookies
- Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treats
- Molasses Cookies
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Apple Cookies with cinnamon and a maple sugar glaze are the perfect cookie to welcome autumn, and they will be delicious any other time of the year too! Be sure to Pin the recipe to save it for later.
Apple Cinnamon Cookies
Equipment
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 apple diced, about 1 cup
For the maple icing:
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C, and line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In another bowl, using a hand mixer beat the butter with the sugar until smooth and creamy (2-3 minutes). Add in the egg, and mix again until smooth.
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, then gently fold in the diced apples.
- Using a medium cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons size), scoop out the cookie dough and place onto the baking sheets.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom of the cookie is lightly browned, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the maple icing:
- In a bowl, whisk the powdered sugar with maple syrup and milk.
- Drizzle over the cooled cookies.
Notes
- You can choose to peel the apples or not. I left the skin on, but if your apples have a particularly thick skin, or you don’t enjoy that texture, peel them before dicing.
- The apples should be diced very small so that you get a bit of their juicy fresh flavor in every bite! But don’t dice them too small, or they’ll disappear into the cookies.
- For more warm and spicy flavor, try adding nutmeg, ginger, cloves, or vanilla extract to the cookie dough.
- Caramel or toffee baking chips or bits would also be a delicious add-in for these simple apple cookies!
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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