Soft Caramel Apple Drop Cookies

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I love making old-fashioned cookies like these Soft Caramel Apple Drop Cookies and taking them up a notch, don’t you?  These amazing drop cookies have little bits of apple and hints of nutmeg, clove and cinnamon in the cookie dough! 

Once baked, you get the most amazing apple-icious cookies. For those who like salted caramel give the tops a pinch or two of sea salt.  I tried it, it’s really good! 🙂

The ‘taking them up a notch’ is the delicious, buttery caramel frosting swirled on top!  Super delish like these  Caramel Frosted Brown Butter Brownies!

Apple Drop Cookies

These cookies remind me of the soft home-made cookies you get back home on the farm when visiting your sweet Aunt Bea, with Granny Smith Apple trees in the back yard. You can imagine, right? 

Ok, my Aunt Bea had a dairy farm and made the most delicious home-made vanilla ice cream, but if she had apple trees, she would  have served these Ultimate Soft Caramel Apple Drop Cookies!  I’m sure of it!

If you have company coming over, you should throw a batch in the oven.  They smell ridiculous!!  Heavenly ridiculous! I’m telling ya! 

You might want to give these Ultimate Soft Chocolate Drop Cookies, these Soft Sprinkle Sugar Cookies and these Super Soft Lemon Glazed Sugar Cookies a try too!

cookie halves on top of each other

Fall Fave Dessert Recipes You’ll Want to Make!

Ingredients You Need for Apple Cookies

Apple Drop Cookies

Caramel Frosting

apple in center of cookies

How to Make Soft Caramel Apple Drop Cookies

Apple Drop Cookies

  1. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
  2. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and cloves and beat until well combined.
  3. Beat in the egg and apple juice until well combined.
  4. Add flour and diced apples and beat until just combined not overmixing.
  5. Drop dough by a rounded teaspoon 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheet.
  6. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto lightly greased cookie sheets or by using parchment paper.
  7. Bake in a 375 degrees oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are light brown or until tops spring back when pressed.
  8. Cool on sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Caramel Frosting

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cream, brown sugar and salt, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla.
  2. Cook, stirring occasionally until mixture just begins to boil; remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
  3. Let cool, then stir in the powdered sugar to make a good frosting consistency.
  4. Spread the frosting over the cooled cookies.
  5. Sea Salt optional.
  6. If you like, sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg.
  7. Store in an air-tight container in refrigerator.

Tips for Drop Cookies

  • These cookies were made with a large cookie scooper – ¼ cup for jumbo cookies.  A cookie scoop or a measuring cup give drop cookies a more uniform size than scooping them with a spoon.
  • This apple cookie recipe makes 18 cookies and bakes for 15 minutes to get best results.  Drop cookies are “done” when peaks on the cookie surfaces begin to brown.
  • To get drop cookies to set, let them cool 3-5 minutes on the baking tray before transferring them to a wire rack.
  • Additions: You could add your favorite nuts or caramel bits in the cookie dough too.
  • Keep cookies fresh in a tightly sealed container or cookie tin. Add a slice of bread or apple to keep cookies soft.
cookies on a plate

August is gone…makes me sad.  Thank goodness, I have these cookies to make it better, thank you!  

 I love summer, and fall is wonderful too, it’s just that next season that really bugs the crap out of me.  But I can deal with Fall and these cookies are excellent for Fall baking with all the spices, caramel and apples that are perfect for the season!

More Fall Yummies!

Ultimate Soft Caramel Apple Drop Cookies

Ultimate Soft Caramel Apple Drop Cookies

Kim Lange
These cookies have little bits of apple and hints of nutmeg and cinnamon in the cookie dough and when baked, you get soft, mellow apple-icious cookies. The 'taking them up a notch' is the delicious, buttery caramel frosting swirled on top! For those who like salted caramel, give it a pinch of sea salt.
4 from 19 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Calories

Ingredients
  

Apple Drop Cookies

  • ½ cup butter softened
  • cup granulated sugar
  • cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup apple juice or apple cider
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup finely chopped peeled apple

Caramel Frosting

  • 6 Tablespoons butter softened
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions
 

Apple Drop Cookies

  • In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
  • Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and cloves and beat until well combined.
  • Beat in the egg and apple juice until well combined.
  • Add flour and diced apples and beat until just combined not overmixing.
  • Drop dough by a rounded teaspoon 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheet.
  • Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto lightly greased cookie sheets or by using parchment paper.
  • Bake in a 375 degrees oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are light brown or until tops spring back when pressed.
  • Cool on sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Caramel Frosting

  • In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cream, brown sugar and salt, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla.
  • Cook, stirring occasionally until mixture just begins to boil; remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
  • Let cool, then stir in the powdered sugar to make a good frosting consistency.
  • Spread the frosting over the cooled cookies.
  • Sea Salt optional.
  • If you like, sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg.
  • Store in an air-tight container in refrigerator.

Notes

These cookies were made with a large cookie scooper - 1/4 cup. Makes 18 cookies and bake 15 minutes.
You could add your favorite nuts or caramel bits in the cookie dough too.
Keyword apple, brown sugar, caramel, cookies, fall baking, frosting
Tried This Recipe?Let us know how it was by commenting below!

8 Comments

  1. Caramel apple cookies!? Does it even get any more delicious than that!? These look to die for! You seriously leave me drooling every time I stop by!

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