Caramel apple cookies

Fall is finally (almost) here, which means it's time for all the fall baking spices and flavors! Apples, pumpkins, cinnamon, nutmeg - all my favorite ingredients to wok with!

Like last year, I ended up with a huge crop of apples from apple picking and went a little overboard with the apple-related baking.

Over the last few weeks, I've made apple crisp bites, apple macarons, and a salted caramel apple pie. I'm pretty much out of apples by now, but not before I get one more recipe in!

These cookies taste a lot like a traditional caramel apple! The cookie itself is filled with tart apple bits and the brown sugar in the cookie and the frosting gives the caramel-y taste. The pecans on top finish up the cookies with a nutty crunch, just like a real caramel apple!

The cookies are pretty soft and spread out a lot during baking though, so be sure to leave plenty of room on the baking sheet so they don't stick together!

Now that my apples are all gone, it's time to move onto other fall flavors - bring on the pumpkin recipes!

Caramel apple cookies (makes about 3 dozen cookies)
(Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy)

Cookies:

• 2½ cups (312 g) flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup peeled and shredded Granny Smith apple
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• ½ cup unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
• 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup frozen apple juice concentrate (thawed but cold)

Frosting:

• ½ cup (100 g) packed light-brown sugar
• ¼ cup butter
• 2½ Tbsp apple juice concentrate
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 2½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
• ½ cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. 
3. Toss apples and lemon juice together in a separate bowl. 
4. Cream butter and brown sugar in a stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. 
5. Mix in egg and vanilla extract until fully combined. 
6. Add in half of the flour mixture, followed by the apple concentrate, followed by the rest of the flour mixture. Fold the apples into the dough. 
7. Scoop 1.5 Tbsp of the dough onto parchment paper on baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the bottoms are set. 
8. Let cool completely. 
9. For frosting, warm brown sugar, apple juice, and salt in a small saucepan on low-medium heat. 
10. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar to form the glaze. 
11. Glaze the top of the cookies and sprinkle the tops with pecans. 
12. Enjoy!