Imagine a caramel apple and a snickerdoodle got together and created some seriously delicious magic and you'll end up with these cookies that we couldn't get enough of during recipe testing. While caramel apples are more fun to look at than actually eat, becoming a sticky mess after a bite or two, these cookies combine similar textures and flavors in an easy-to-eat package. Cooking the apple caramel to the right consistency is key here. You want to cook down the caramel and grated apple mixture until all the liquid from the apples has evaporated, leaving behind a tacky and pliable (but not wet) caramel that tastes like a mug of warm spiced cider on a crisp fall day. The cooled caramel gets gently swirled into cookie dough and topped with flaky sea salt for swirls of deep apple flavor in every salty-sweet bite. The best part about this recipe is you can use any apple you’d like—it’s a fantastic way to make the most of apple-picking season.
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What you’ll need
Medium #40 Cookie Scoop
$17 At Amazon
Box Grater
$12 At Amazon
Get It Right Spatula
$13 At Amazon
Kitchen Towels
$16 At Amazon
Wire Rack
$23 At BA Market
Ingredients
Makes about 24
Apple Caramel
3
1¼
⅛
2
1½
1
½
¼
Dough and Assembly
3½
1½
1
1
1
1
½
2
1
Preparation
Apple Caramel
Step 1
Grate apples on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor with the grater attachment. Transfer grated apples to a clean kitchen towel and squeeze over a medium bowl to extract all the juice possible. Measure out ¼ cup apple juice and set aside (save any leftover apple juice for another use). Set grated apples aside (you should have about 2½ cups).
Step 2
Bring sugar, cream of tartar, and reserved ¼ cup apple juice to a rapid boil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring just to dissolve sugar. Cook, without stirring but swirling pan often, until bubbles slow and caramel turns a deep amber color, 5–7 minutes. Remove caramel from heat and stir in butter, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg.
Step 3
Set pan over medium-low heat and add reserved grated apples, stirring quickly to combine (don’t worry if the caramel mixture looks like it’s seizing at first). Cook apple caramel, stirring constantly, until the liquid from the apples has evaporated and the bubbles noticeably slow down, 9–11 minutes. (The caramel should be sticky and clump together as you stir). Scrape apple caramel onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread out in an even layer; let cool 30 minutes. Set ¼ cup apple caramel aside for topping cookies.
Dough and Assembly
Step 4
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 375°. Whisk flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar in a medium bowl to combine.
Step 5
Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, starting on low speed, then increasing speed to medium, until combined, about 2 minutes total. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating thoroughly before adding the next, then add vanilla. Reduce speed to low; add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Add apple caramel and pulse mixer two or three times to swirl caramel throughout dough or fold in caramel using a sturdy rubber spatula (take care not to overmix or else you’ll lose the swirled caramel effect as the cookies bake).
Step 6
Using a #20 ice cream scoop (about 3 Tbsp.), portion out 16 balls and divide between 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing at least 2" apart (you will have dough left over). Top each cookie with a few small pieces of reserved apple caramel and sprinkle with sea salt.
Step 7
Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until golden brown at the edges, 13–16 minutes. Let cookies cool 5 minutes on baking sheets then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Let 1 baking sheet cool, then repeat process with remaining dough to make 8 more cookies (they may bake slightly faster).
Do Ahead: Cookies can be made 5 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
Leave a Review
Reviews (199)
Back to TopI had a fun time making these. I’m just waiting for them to cool now but I’ve tried both the raw caramel and cookie dough and they tasted amazing. The whole kitchen smelt just like fall! I have little complaint but my cookies spread and fused together super flat. I’m sure they’ll still taste the same but aren’t pleasing to look at. They also have little holes all over it’s weird. Great recipe!
Anonymous
Canada
9/19/2023
Can you tell me why I can't print a recipe from this website? I'm signed in and a subscription holder. Many thanks.
Anonymous
11/27/2022
This recipe just did not work for me. I weighed out all my ingredients (at least those that were given in weight), all of them were fresh/recently purchased. But my cookies just did not spread :( I've never had this happen before. I found the instructions to be lacking in visual cues, like how runny we should expect our caramel to be (mine was definitely sticky/clumpy, but it did not flow at all). Not even the caramel melted on top of the cookies lol when I baked them. Kinda wondering if I squeezed too much liquid out of my apples, so they made everything too dry?? Or maybe I just need a new scale. FWIW, they still did taste delicious. I just would've them rather not be giant cakey lumps. Will probably make them again, but they were labor intensive and the outcome was disappointing.
Jen
NYC
10/19/2022
Followed the ingredients exactly as written and am entirely perplexed at people saying any part of this cookie was "bland" bc I thought it was an amazingly well-balanced cookie. The apple caramel added just the right amount of sweetness and the warm spices within it added so much flavor. I know it's tempting to listen to reviewers, but have faith in the recipe! I used a different sized cookie scoop and so I know I went over on the bake time, but I'm not sure by how much since I just went by visual cues. I saw someone else say that they would 2X or 3X the apple caramel and I agree (but not bc I think the cookie itself needs it; I think it's the perfect amount) but bc I'd love to have extra to put on ice cream or pancakes!
Izzy G
New York, NY
10/5/2022
Oh my goodness - some of the comments were scaring me off but I’m glad I ignored because these were INSANE!!!! Not sure where people had issues with the caramel…I followed the directions and the IG video and had zero issues. Are you people weighing your apples? Squeezing enough juice out? Re: the cookie tasting “bland” without the caramel…..what?!?!? It tastes like the most perfect snickerdoodle. 10/10 would repeat. Sure, little time intensive, but I wanted a fun and not too crazy project to funnel my work stress into on a Monday evening and these certainly delivered.
Meg
Los Angeles, CA
9/27/2022
Complicated to say the least. My apple caramel was like a sheet of solidified tacky candy. I couldn’t mix it with dough. I had to cut chunks with a knife and stud each blob of dough. Cookies are huge. I really want to like these but for all the work definitely not worth it.
Hubbell Gardiner
4/16/2022
These were fantastic and unique. I grated the apples by hand, by leaving them whole and holding the core, it was quick. I loved the texture of the apple "jam", especially the bit that goes on top of the cookie. It was sort of chewy, but completely delicious. When the dough was ready, I only baked off one cookie, the rest I scooped and kept in the fridge to bake the next day. This ended up being great for me, because the first cookie didn't spread much. I went back and slightly flattened the rest of my cookie scoops and that helped them bake more evenly. I do understand what people mean by the plain part of the cookie tasting flat. This seemed odd, since the recipe has a good amount of salt in it, but I went ahead and tested another cookie the second day with fine salt sprinkled on top, in addition to the flake sea salt that is called for. This is just what the cookie needed and the rest of the batch was incredible.
Anonymous
2/13/2022
Think it would work with other fruit and complimentary juice? I'm specifically thinking cherry with a dark chocolate cookie and pistachios.....
Jocelyn
12/17/2021
These are pretty good, I would totally make them again. Before I scoop my second batch I’m going to mix more of the caramel into the cookie. Definitely recommend checking out Kelly Janke’s Instagram highlight to make sure the caramel turns out properly. The caramel cooking time was pretty spot on for my stove.
Anonymous
San Francisco
12/6/2021
Loved the cookies, though I used only 100g of sugar in the dough which is only 1/3 of the original amount, as it seemed to be way too much and I always cut down on sweetness in recipes from the US. I would also maybe add some lemon juice or apple vinegar to the apple caramel to provide a bit of a tang next time.
Greta
Lithuania
12/4/2021
Great cookie!! I used 1.5 teaspoon of baking powder, instead of soda and COT in cookie dough and it turned out fine. Also, as most folks recommend, MAKE 2x or 3x the amount of caramel in recipe. The caramel is time consuming so make extra and use for another batch later, ice cream, etc... !
D Thomas
London
11/29/2021
These were a bit dry - more like a scone than a cookie. The sea salt flakes on top were key. I also added spices to the cookie dough as others suggested - cinnamon and ginger.
Lindsay B
Charlotte
11/25/2021
Came out BOMB!!!!! took me longer to caramalize the sugar and then cook the apples. Came out like I bought store bought cookies. Requires time and effort but totally worth it. I would make extra Caramel Apple because it's so good and would be great to add as a topping for ice cream.
Kashfia
Raleigh, NC
11/23/2021
Thanks to the other reviewers I added the spices in the cookie dough too. Caramel came out fine for me. I went on time (10 minutes after the apples were in) and didn't wait for it to form long strands. I'm going to make them again, but this time I'll double the apple caramel part. I wish I had more to put on as the topping before cooking. It's like an adult snickerdoodle.
S Zeigler
Atlanta, GA
11/22/2021
Somewhat time intensive but worth it.
Nancy B
NY
11/10/2021