“I choose to slow down to connect with the gift I’m given in this moment.”
HELLO FALL!
Something about this season really just gets me every dang time! I don’t know if it’s the beauty that fall brings in New England (yes, I know I live in the south now!), the fact that I was married in the fall, the smells and flavors, the coziness… the list truly could go on FOREVER! There are just so many amazing foods that make me think of fall, apples and apple pie being at the top of the list!
I’ve done my fair share of apple desserts, and it helps that my husband and son love all things apple—I mean my husband buys apples specifically for himself… and that being said, I just wanted to add another good one to the books! This all started with me really wanting to make snickerdoodles, but that just doesn’t sound exciting enough for me, which is where the apples came in. As my 4-year wedding anniversary is coming up in just a few weeks, I will most likely spend every day until then reminiscing about what a beautiful, crazy, exhausting, perfect day that was, and there were SO many apples included in it. Like so many. One of the tiers of our cake was apple pie, we had baskets of apples all over the venue (a family tradition, oddly enough!), my father-in-law brings up said baskets every time we are together, part of my gifts to my bridesmaids were fall scented (mainly apple) candles, the list goes on and on.
Anyways, stuffing these spiced up cookies with some delicious apple pie filling only made sense! I’ve stuffed cookies before, like these caramel stuffed gingerbread cookies or maybe these caramel corn Nutella cookies helllooooo (!!), and I just love it! It’s a fun little surprise and adds so much more flavor. These cookies are soft and chewy all on their own but adding extra moisture to the middle only ups their game! I’ve also increased the spice level as well. Cinnamon is great and all, but freshly grated nutmeg and some cloves really intensify the fallness in this cookie!
While our fall here in Atlanta is still in the 80’s, there is definitely some foliage going on in our backyard and I’ve added some candles to the mix, so we are getting to the coziness level that I love! Our son may not remember his first fall except through all of the hundreds of photos we take per day, but I hope that when he starts to love all of the seasons like I do, it’s the smells and colors and flavors that bring him joy, just like they do me!
apple filling ingredients
Apples—2 large, I love Gala or Honeycrisp
Cinnamon—1 TBL
Lemon Juice—½ lemon
Water—2 TBL
process
Cut up your apple into small, bite-sized pieces. Peeling is optional, I prefer to keep the peel on!
In a small saucepot, combine apples, cinnamon, lemon juice and water over low heat
Continue to stir every minute or two to make sure that all of the apples are getting cooked evenly
Cook until the apples become soft, this should take about 10-15 minutes depending on how small you have cut the apples
Remove from the heat and allow to cool while you’re making the cookie dough
cookie ingredients
Butter, room temperature—8 oz, or 1 C
Brown Sugar—6 oz, or ¾ C
Coconut Sugar—4.5 oz, or ¾ C
Eggs—2
Vanilla Extract—2 tsp
Flour—18 oz, or 3 C
Salt—1 tsp
Baking Soda—1 tsp
Cream of Tartar—2 tsp
Cinnamon—2 TBL
Nutmeg—1 ½ tsp
Cloves—1 tsp
process
In the bowl of your mixer, combine the softened butter and both of the sugars
Cream on medium speed for about 10 minutes, making sure to scrape down the bowl often
Once fluffy, turn mixer to low speed and add in the vanilla and then the eggs, one at a time
Beat until combined, again, making sure to scrape down the bowl often
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves
Slowly add this to the mixing bowl, while on low
Scrape down the sides of the bowl
Once all combined, turn the mixer off and prepare 2 cookie sheets with either a Silpat, nonstick spray or parchment
Scoop out all of the cookie dough using either a small-sized ice cream scoop, or about 2 TBL of dough.
Take one ball of scooped dough and flatten it
Add in about 2 tsp of the cooked apple pie filling
Take another ball of dough, flatten, and cover the apples
Pinch the sides together, roll the large cookie dough ball in your hands to make sure that no filling will leak out, and place on the baking sheet
Do this with the rest of your cookies
You may have some left-over apple-pie filling! This is amazing for a snack, my 7-month-old loves it, as it is just soft enough for him to eat!
Put your cookies in the fridge while you preheat the oven—this is the only chilling that is necessary!!
Preheat your oven to 350˚F
Once your oven is preheated, you now have two options: you may either bake just like this, or you can mix ½ C of sugar with 1 TBL of cinnamon and dip the tops of the cookies in this for extra flavor and crunch! They are so good both ways, but I love the added spice!
Bake for 12 minutes, rotate the pan, then bake for another 8 minutes
Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack
These are best enjoyed warm, so if you are reheating, a good 20-30 seconds in the microwave does the trick!
Bon Appétit!