It’s officially September, which means the better half of the year is about to start. You know what I mean: Halloween and Thanksgiving are coming closer; Christmas is close enough to feel excited about it, but far enough not to be stressed; the blistering summer weather is finally beginning to fade into the comfortable coolness of fall; tv shows are starting to come back (This is Us returns this month!!); and it’s finally apple season.
I’m not going to lie. I’m really excited about all of the cookies that are about to come up the rest of these weeks. I have a good chunk of recipes that are perfect for the fall months and the holiday season. Plus, I’m ready to start working on another 52 weeks project, meaning that next year, the weekly recipes will shift from away from cookies.
I conducted an Instagram poll about a month ago about what this new project should be. The overwhelming winner was Pies & Tarts. Sunday will now feature pastry! And–my weekends will finally free up, which means I’ll have more time to dedicated to recipe development and testing. The non-52-week posts will be less sporadic in the future, and I’m really excited about that!
Now that that’s out of the way, lets get to these cookies: I’m obsessed! Inspired by my favorite cookie from Schmackary’s–the cookie that started my obsession and addiction–these cookies feature real chunks of Granny Smith apple, white chocolate chips, salted caramel, and toffee pieces. Then, they’re topped with more salted caramel and a sprinkle of crumble topping. They’re gorgeous and chunky with crisp edges and a soft center.
You get the tartness of the apple, the sweetness of the caramel/white chocolate/toffee, and a slight nuttiness from the oat and pecan topping which helps round out the flavors in these cookies. This is the perfect recipe to ring in fall, and you know it’s not too early to do so now that Pumpkin Spice Lattes have reemerged into the world.
Now, if only the weather will get the hint that it’s supposed to be brisk out, we can fully enjoy the season of hot, hand-crafted coffee, apples, football, and scary movies!
Since I’m starting this next project with the blog already out there, I’m hoping to take some suggestions for what you want to see made into a pie/tart! Let me know in the comments if there’s anything you want to see–a specific fruit, flavor, or alternate dessert you want to see in pie form. I want to create recipes that people want to see and try!
Also, the Great British Bake Off is back & even though it’s not the same without Mel, Sue, or Mary, I am still super excited (I also do surprisingly love Noel Fielding as a host, as weird as this gig may seem for him).
| Cook Time | 20-22 minutes |
| Servings |
cookies
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- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp coarse salt
- 2/3 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
Ingredients
Crumble Topping
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- Chop up the apples and place in a small bowl. Sprinkle a little bit of lemon juice and sugar on top of the apple pieces. Let them sweat about 5-10 minutes then put them between two paper towels and pat them dry. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, rolled oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). One at a time, add in the egg, vanilla, and salted caramel; mix to combine between each addition.
- Add half of the dry ingredients, mix until combined. Add the other half and mix until the dough comes together.
- Stir in the apple pieces, white chocolate chips, and toffee bits. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, make the crumble topping: stir together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, oats, and chopped pecans.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop out the cookie dough (I only put 4 per sheet as these spread a bit while baking). Using a spoon, create a small dip in the middle of the scooped dough. Pour or spoon in some salted caramel. Sprinkle the crumble topping over the domes of the cookie dough. Bake 20-22 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet before transferring.
You can use either store-bought or homemade (salted) caramel. If you want to go homemade, I use the same recipe that I use for my Snickers Cookies.
Sweat the apple before mixing it in to help get some of the moisture out.