Freshly baked Apple Cookies with Maple Icing are the perfect fall treat! Soft, chewy, apples in every bite and packed with spice, this easy apple cookie recipe is sure to be a hit. Top them off with a decadent maple icing and you’re ready to indulge all season long!
Looking for more fall treats? Make sure to try my Apple Crumble and Apple Muffins!
Apple Cookie Recipe
Apple Cookies are the perfect sweet treat for a chilly fall evening. Fresh apples, warm vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, all come together to make the perfect melt in your mouth cookies. Maple icing drizzled over the top sends these cookies over the edge. Who needs Halloween candy when Apple Cookies are clearly the superior choice of the season?!
These cookies come together so fast you’ll find yourself turning to them all season long. Great for sharing with friends and family or for a tasty treat that you can make with the kids.
The maple icing is an extra special touch that really takes these cookies to the next level. They icing isn’t require but it sure is delicious!
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
Nothing better than a plateful of cookies to make an afternoon extra special. Here are a few of our tried true favorites:
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Loaded Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Snickerdoodle Recipe
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- No Bake Cookies
Ingredients for Apple Cookies
Whether you’ve gotten the chance to go apple picking, or just excitedly picked up a too large bushell at the grocery store, now’s your chance to let those apples shine!
For the Apple Cookies:
- butter – Unsalted and softened.
- brown sugar – Light works best for these cookies. But dark brown sugar can be substituted.
- egg – One large.
- vanilla extract – To add sweetness and spice.
- flour – All-purpose.
- baking soda – To make these cookies light and fluffy.
- salt – Just a pinch.
- ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and nutmeg – You could also substitute apple pie spice.
- maple syrup – Make sure to use real maple syrup, not pancake syrup.
- grated apple – Granny Smith or Honey Crisp work wonderfully in this recipe. The tartness of the apples balance the sweetness in the rest of the cookie.
For the Maple Icing:
- powdered sugar – The perfec sweet base for a good glaze, cannot be substituted.
- heavy whipping cream – You can substitute milk but your icing will have a thinner consistency.
- melted butter – Unsalted.
- maple syrup – The real deal.
How to Make Apple Cookies
These cookies are baked to soft and chewy perfection. Plus, they sure make your home smell amazing!
For the Cookies:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- With an electric mixer, cream together the softened butter and brown sugar in a large bowl on medium high speed. Mix until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla extract and egg and beat until combined.
- Now, in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
- The process of combining the wet and dry ingredients may seem excessive but it’ll ensure your batter turns out just right! Start by stirring in one-third of the dry mixture into the wet on medium low speed. Add half of the maple syrup followed by another third of the flour mixture. Finally, add the remaining maple syrup and then the last third of the flour mixture, again, stirring just until combined. Don’t overmix the batter or your cookies will end up tough.
- Incorporate the grated apples into the batter until combined.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop the batter onto the prepared baking sheets. Cookies should be about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the cookies are turning a light golden brown in color. Let the cookies rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
For the Icing:
- While your freshly baked cookies are cooling, prepare the Maple Icing by whisking together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, melted butter, and maple syrup in a small bowl until smooth. The icing will be rather thick.
- Transfer the icing to a resealable plastic bag and cut out a small corner to pipe the icing onto the cookies. Pipe the icing onto the cookies or skip the piping altogether and simply spread with a spatula. Enjoy!
FAQs for Apple Cookies
How long will these Apple Cookies stay fresh?
These cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you can keep them around that long, that is! In my house, these autumnal treats are usually gone within the first 24 hours.
Can these cookies be frozen?
Yes! Let cool completely and then transfer to an airtight freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
What kind of apples work best?
While you can use any apple you like, the more tart variety will have a better flavor blend. The maple icing is very sweet, so a tart and tangy Granny Smith will help to balance that sweetness. Pink Lady or Macintosh apples would work nicely as well.
Tips and Variations
- Make the apple in these cookies more prevalent by dicing your apples into chunks instead of grating them.
- If you prefer more warm spice in your cookies, add extra ginger and cinnamon. Cloves are great in this recipe as well.
- For a slightly thinner icing (more like a glaze), use milk instead of heavy cream.
- Be sure not to overmix your batter as your cookies will end up with a tougher consistency.
More Apple Recipes
Apple season is here! Check out more recipes below:
- Apple Crumble
- Snickers Salad
- Apple Muffins with Crumb Topping
- Cinnamon Swirl Apple Bread
- Deep Dish Dutch Apple Pie
- Easy Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce
- Caramel Apple Empanadas
- Homemade Apple Pie Filling
- Baked Apple Pie Dip
How To Make Apple Cookies
Apple Cookies with Maple Icing
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- â…› teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup maple syrup real maple syrup, not pancake syrup
- 1 ½ cups grated apple Granny Smith or Honey Crisp are best but any apples will work
Maple Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
Instructions
Make the Apple Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Cream together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl on medium high speed until light and fluffy with an electric mixer.¾ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup brown sugar
- Add vanilla extract and egg and beat until combined.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- Stir in one-third of the dry mixture into the wet mixture just combined on medium low speed. Add half the maple syrup followed by another third of the flour mixture. Finally, add the remaining maple syrup and then the last third of the flour mixture, again, stirring just until combined.½ cup maple syrup
- Stir in grated apples until combined.1 ½ cups grated apple
- Use a medium cookie scoop to coop batter onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies are turning light golden brown in color. Let cookies rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Prepare the Maple Icing
- While the cookies are cooling, prepare the cookie icing by whisking together the powdered sugar, heavy cream,melted butter and vanilla extract in a small bowl until smooth. The icing will be rather thick.1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, 1 tablespoon melted butter
- Transfer the icing to a resealable plastic bag and cut out a small corner to pipe the icing on the cookies.
- Pipe the icing onto the cookies or spread on with an offset spatula.
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