Apple Pie Cookies

Name: Apple Pie Cookies
Prep time: 3 h
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Ingredients: 8 oz. cream cheese, softened; 12 Tablespoons (3/4 cup) of butter, softened; 1 egg yolk, reserve the egg white to brush on top of the cookies; 2 Tablespoons water; 2 cups all purpose flour; sugar, to sprinkle on top of the cookies; 6 large Granny Smith apples; 1/2 – 3/4 cup sugar; juice from 1 lemon; 2 teaspoons vanilla

56 comments
October 28, 2019
Jump to Recipe

Apple Pie Cookies with tender dough and a juicy apple filling. The taste and flavor of apple pie in cookie form, so convenient to take to work, pack in a lunchbox and enjoy with coffee or tea.

Apple Pie Cookie - tender and flaky cookie dough with a juicy apple filling

Apples are a very dependable fruit. Even though they are in season in the fall, you can buy them all year long. Whenever I feel like having a fruity dessert, apples are always my go-to treats – Apple Upside Down Cake, Apple Sharlotka, Apple Galette and these Apple Pie Cookies.

This recipe was handed down to my Mom by a friend and our family has been enjoying them for years. In the fall, when we would have an abundance of apples, we would make these cookies all the time. The dough is tender and flaky and the sweet, tart and gooey apple filling satisfies my sweet tooth and my love for simple treats that aren’t too sweet or complicated.

One of the huge advantages of these cookies is that you can make the cookie dough and the apple filling ahead of time. It’s a great option for the days when your craving for something sweet hits. The dough can be refrigerated for a few days or kept in the freezer for up to a month. You can also make the apple filling ahead of time. Then it’s as simple as rolling out the dough, adding the filling, and baking.

How To Make the Dough For the Cookies

Apple Pie Cookies - cookie dough tutorial

Mix the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until evenly combined. It is very important to use cream cheese and butter that have softened to room temperature.
Add the egg yolk and water, setting aside the egg white to use later to brush the cookies before baking. Mix to combine, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add the flour and mix until all the flour is incorporated.
Chill the cookie dough, shaping it into a disc, and wrap well in parchment paper or aluminum foil. You can store it in the refrigerator up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Chilling the Cookie Dough – Is It Important?

Yes, the dough does have to be completely chilled and stiff. Don’t even bother working with it if it isn’t or you will get really frustrated, it will take you 10 times longer and the cookies will be a mess.

The good thing is that this dough is SUPER EASY to make and you can make it ahead of time. You can keep it in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

What Apples Can Be Used For the Filling?

Granny Smith apples and lemon for Apple Filling

You can use many kinds of apples. I prefer Granny Smith apples because they are tart and have the perfect texture. They won’t turn to mush when you cook them.

How To Make the Apple Filling:

Peel and chop the apples.
Cook the apples with the sugar in a large rimmed skillet until the apples are soft and cooked though, about 10 minutes, in a covered skillet.

You don’t need to add any butter or water. The apples will exude a lot of moisture as they cook and the sugar will melt, so the’re no need to add anything to the apples.

3. Take the apple filling off the heat and add the lemon juice and the vanilla extract. You can also add some cinnamon, if you’d like.

4. Cool. Store the apple filling in the refrigerator, if you make it in advance, for up to 5 days.

Assembling and Baking the Cookies:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll out the chilled cookie dough, on a well floured counter and cut out circles. Roll out half of the dough at a time. You can use an inverted glass, a biscuit cutter to cut out the circles. I use a 3 inch biscuit cutter.
Place a heaping teaspoon of the apple filling in the center of the circle. Fold the circle in half, pressing out any air around the filling. Use your fingers to press the ends together, then use a fork to seal the ends well.
Transfer the cookies onto the prepared cookie sheet and brush the tops with the reserved egg white (whisk it up with a fork first). Sprinkle the top of the cookies with additional sugar, if you want.

If you made the dough ahead of time and didn’t save the egg white, just use a whole egg, whisk it up with a fork. No big deal.

When rolling out the dough, take all the extra dough, scrunch it up and place in the refrigerator to chill while you are making the cookies. I usually place it in the freezer, so it chills faster. Just don’t forget about it:). You can use every last scrap of dough for cookies, and that’s a good thing.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 22-30 minutes, depending on how thin you rolled out the dough and how big you made your cookies. The cookies should be lightly golden. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough and the cookie scraps. You will have approximately 60 cookies.