These Caramel Apple Cookies are soft and thick cookies topped with a Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting, Diced Apples, Cinnamon Streusel, and Melted Caramel. They have all the cozy fall flavors of a caramel apple wrapped up into a perfectly sweet and spiced cookie.
I love apple desserts, in the fall, but this cookie is delicious all year long! Along with my Apple Strudel, and Caramel Apple Fudge its one of my favorites! This cookie is mimicked after a fall flavor from Crumbl and resembles the flavors of a Caramel Apple.
The actual cookie is flavored with Apple Juice concentrate, cinnamon, and apple pie spice giving it the perfect soft, thick, and chewy cookie. They’re then topped with a homemade caramel cream cheese frosting. Every cookie is topped with fresh apple pieces, a crunchy brown sugar streusel, and more caramel of course!
Why You’ll Love these Cookies
- Soft Texture: The Cookie Base stays thick, soft, and tender.
- Amazing Flavor: The combination of flavors in this cookie are so good together! Sweet caramel, warm cinnamon, juicy apple. They all come together perfectly.
- Beautiful Cookies: Perfect for impressing, they’re great for parties, bake sales, cookie exchanges, or gifting.
Ingredients Needed
This is a quick overview of some of the ingredients you’ll need for this Caramel Apple Cookie Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
- Unsalted Butter: You can use salted, or unsalted butter but I always prefer controlling the salt and using unsalted
- Egg: Just one egg to help bind everything together. Let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes for the best results.
- Apple Juice Concentrate: Gives the cookies a hint of apple flavor
- Vanilla Extract: Gives a nice flavor to the cookies
- Brown Sugar: Sweetens the cookies and the streusel topping to give the best texture
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the cookies, and helps them to spread
- All Purpose Flour: Gives the cookies their structure
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder: A mix of both to leaven the cooks and give them the right texture.
- Cinnamon and Apple Pie Spice: Adds a nice spice flavor
- Salt: Always use a little to balance out the sweet flavors
- Cream Cheese: Use a block of full fat cream cheese for the best results
- Caramel Sauce: Use homemade caramel sauce, or store bought
- Powdered Sugar
- Apples: I like the tartness of a green Granny Smith apple paired with the sweet cookie. Add these right before serving so they don’t turn too brown.
How to make Caramel Apple Cookies
Step 1: Make the Cookie Dough. Cream the Butter and Sugars. Add the butter, brown sugar, and sugar to a large bowl and cream together for a couple minutes until light and fluffy. Add in the egg, apple juice concentrate, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Step 2: Add in the Dry Ingredients. Add in the flour, cinnamon, apple pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix together until you have a soft cookie dough.
Step 3: Bake the Cookies. Scoop the cookie dough into 3 to 4 TBS sized portions and roll them into balls. Place them on a lined cookie sheet, at least 3 inches apart, only baking 6-8 cookies at a time. Bake the cookies until the edges are golden brown and the tops are set. Let the cookies cool completely.
Step 4: Make the Streusel Topping. Combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Press in the butter with forks or a pastry cutter until the mixture is crumble. Spread it out on a lined baking pan and bake until golden. Remove from the oven, and let it cool.
Step 5: Make the Frosting. Mix the cream cheese and butter until they’re smooth and creamy. Add in the caramel, 1 TBS at a time until combined. Then add in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Mix it until it is fluffy.
Step 6: Assemble the Cookies. Frost the cookies with the caramel frosting, top each with cubed green apples, a sprinkle of streusel, and a drizzle of caramel sauce. Enjoy immediately!
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t Overbake: This should go without saying, but the cookies will keep baking on the cookie sheet out of the oven, so even if they don’t look all the way done, remove them from the oven when the sides are done, even if the top doesn’t look all the way done.
- Apples: Cut the apples right before assembling the cookies to keep them from browning.
- Smaller Cookies: Make smaller cookies that are 1.5 to 2 TBS each of cookie dough. They’ll only need to bake for 9-10 minutes. Frost and decorate the same way.
Storage Instructions
Store the cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can store them frosted, but I recommend adding the apples, streusel and caramel topping right before serving them.
The cookies can be frozen unfrosted. Thaw them in the fridge or at room temperature, and then frost and decorate as before.
These Caramel Apple Cookies are even better than you’d get from Cr&m$% and now you can have them anytime of year at home. You’ll love the soft spiced cookie, caramel frosting, and apple topping. It all comes together for a perfect cookie for apple season, or the holidays!
More Cookie Favorites
- Christmas Gooey Butter Cookies
- Santa’s Whiskers Cookies
- Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
- Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
- Dirt Cake Cookies // Like Mother Like Daughter
- Copycat Swig Cookies // Like Mother Like Daughter
- Better than Sex Cookies // Like Mother Like Daughter
If you try this Caramel Apple Cookie Recipe, please leave a 🌟 rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Caramel Apple Crumbl
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough:
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter (softened)
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 2 TBS Apple Juice Concentrate
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2.5 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Apple Pie Spice
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
For the Brown Sugar Streusel:
- 6 TBS All Purpose Flour
- 3 TBS Brown Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 pinch Salt
- 3 TBS Unsalted Butter (softened)
For the Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 oz Cream Cheese (softened)
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter (softened)
- 4 TBS Caramel Sauce
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
For Cookie Assembling:
- 2 cups Diced green apples (dice right before assembling/serving)
- Caramel Sauce
Instructions
For the Cookie Dough:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the butter, and sugars to a large bowl and mix together for 2 to 3 minutes until they start to lighten in color. 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, 1 cup Brown Sugar, 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- Add in the egg, apple juice concentrate, and vanilla extract and stir until just combined into the butter mixture. 1 large Egg, 2 TBS Apple Juice Concentrate , 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Add the flour, cinnamon, apple pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix it in until you have a nice soft cookie dough. 2.5 cups All Purpose Flour , 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon , 1 tsp Apple Pie Spice , 1 tsp Baking Soda, 1/2 tsp Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp Salt
- Scoop the dough by 3 to 4 Tablespoon portions, and roll into smooth balls. Place 3 to 4 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 10 to 14 minutes until the sides are golden and the tops are barely set.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Brown Sugar Streusel:
- Add the dry ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk them together. 6 TBS All Purpose Flour, 3 TBS Brown Sugar, 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon, 1 pinch Salt
- Add in the butter and mix it into the dry ingredients using two forks or pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly. 3 TBS Unsalted Butter
- Spread the crumb out onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until it is golden colored.
- Remove it from the oven and let it cool completely, then break into pieces.
For the Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Add the Cream Cheese and Butter to a large bowl and mix them together (using a stand mixer or hand mixer) until nice and creamy. 4 oz Cream Cheese, 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter
- Add in the caramel sauce, 1 TBS at a time, until it is mixed evenly into the cream cheese. 4 TBS Caramel Sauce
- Add in your powdered sugar and vanilla and beat the mixture over low speed. Continue to blend the frosting till completely mixed, and nice and fluffy. 2 cups Powdered Sugar , 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
For Cookie Assembling:
- Spread the frosting smoothly over the top of each cookie. Top each cookie with a sprinkle of green apples, streusel topping, and a drizzle of caramel sauce. Enjoy immediately. 2 cups Diced green apples, Caramel Sauce
Notes
- Don’t Overbake: This should go without saying, but the cookies will keep baking on the cookie sheet out of the oven, so even if they don’t look all the way done, remove them from the oven when the sides are done, even if the top doesn’t look all the way done.
- Apples: Cut the apples right before assembling the cookies to keep them from browning.
- Smaller Cookies: Make smaller cookies that are 1.5 to 2 TBS each of cookie dough. They’ll only need to bake for 9-10 minutes. Frost and decorate the same way.
- Storage Instructions: Store the cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can store them frosted, but I recommend adding the apples, streusel and caramel topping right before serving them.
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