These Cinnamon Apple Cookies With Walnuts will be your new favorite cookie recipe. They smell heavenly and are loaded with chewy apples and crunchy walnuts.
Why This Recipe Works
Chill or Not to Chill? That is the Question!: Your choice! These Chewy Pumpkin Cookies Dipped In Chocolate turn out perfectly delicious, with a chewy center and crispy edges even if you do not chill the dough at all. But if you would like an ever crispier, chewer, caramelized cookie feel free to chill the dough overnight in the refrigerator. Chilling is done so that the flour gets fully hydrated and helps to make the cookie dough firmer which prevents the cookies from spreading too much when cooking. However, I didn’t have a big issue with these cookies. They spread quite well!
Cream the sugar and butter! This will give you a superb cookie! Creaming butter and sugar together adds pockets of air that aerate the batter. This air puffs up the cookies as they bake, giving them a lighter and more appealing texture. The air is added by beating room-temperature butter with sugar at high speed. You will need a stand mixer for that ( using a hand mixer will take slightly longer). If you do not have any type of mixer just melt the butter in the microwave, then let it cool in the fridge for about 10 min. Then add the sugar and the rest of the wet ingredients, and mix well. Then add the dry ingredients and mix carefully and not too long. You just want to incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ones. As soon as you stop seeing flour pieces stop mixing. Overmixing will give you cakey cookies because gluten will start to develop.
Prebake the apples with cinnamon and brown sugar. We will cut the apples into small cubes and sprinkle them generously with cinnamon and some brown sugar then bake them. They will soften, and almost caramelised and smell heavenly. When you add them to the cookies they will add a great flavor and texture to the cookies.
Walnuts! To contrast the chewy baked apple pies and add some crunchiness to every bite we will add some chopped walnuts.
Table of contents
Ingredients
For the full list of ingredients for this Cinnamon Apple Cookies With Walnuts recipe check the recipe card below.
- Sugar: We will use brown and white sugar. Brown sugar works well for adding moisture to the cookies, whereas granulated sugar will create a more aerated crumb and crispier texture.
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour which is great for cookies. It does not have a very high gluten content which is what we want since we do not want gluten development.
- Butter: I use 2 sticks of unsalted butter. I prefer the European kind. It has high fat content and it is delicious. The butter should be at room temperature for the creaming.
- Eggs: I use two whole eggs which also need to be at room temperature. If we add cold eggs to the creamed butter and sugar it will cause the butter to harden and we will have a hard time mixing the dry ingredients which will affect the structure of the cookies in the end.
- Aromas: And of course, we can not forget about the cinnamon! It gives the cookies a festive and irresistible smell!
- Apples baked in sugar and cinnamon: Instead of adding raw apples, which will add water to the cookies while baking we will prebake them. That will give a more concentrated apple flavor and improved texture.
- Leaveners: I use 1 tsp of baking powder and 1 tsp of baking soda. If you end up with a chemical taste that means you have added too much baking soda.
Step By Step Instructions
Here is how you can make this easy Cinnamon Apple Cookies With Walnuts recipe.
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking tray with a baking sheet. Peel the apples then cut them into small cubes. Sprinkle with 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp brown sugar, and 2 tbsp melted butter mix well. Then bake for 14-20 minutes until the apples soften.
Step 2
Take the eggs and 2 sticks of butter out of the fridge for about an hour or two before you start making the cookies. We want them to be at room temperature for optimal results. If you are going to bake the cookies right away preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 3
Place the room-temperature butter in a stand mixer bowl. Add the 1/4th cup of brown and white sugar. Using the paddle attachment turn the mixer on medium speed and mix for about 6-8 minutes while stopping the mixer a few times to scrape down the mixture from the walls. The mixture should look fluffy and airy.
Step 4
Add the eggs to the mixture and keep mixing for another 3-4 minutes until the eggs are well incorporated. The mixture should still look fluffy and airy.
Step 5
In a bowl add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix them for a few seconds with a whisk.
Step 6
Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture. Pulse the mixer a few times. Do not mix continuously because you can overmix the batter and we do not want that.
Step 7
Add the chopped walnuts and baked apples to the mixture and fold by in by hand with a spatula.
Step 8
If you are going to chill the dough place it in an airtight container for 3 hours to overnight in the refrigerator. If you are going to bake the cookies right away take a baking tray with lined parchment paper. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the cookie dough. Place about 6 cookies per tray. Make sure to leave space between the cookies because they will expand. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes on the middle rack.
Step 9
Take the cookies out. Let them rest on the tray for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a rack to cool for about 10 minutes.
Expert Baking Tips
- For crispy edges and chew center let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
- When adding the dry ingredients stir just so that they get incorporated. Do not overmix. Overmixing will develop gluten and you will end up with a cakey cookie.
- To get the Cinnamon Apple Cookies With Walnuts it is optimal to chill the dough. Chilling is done so that the flour gets fully hydrated. That helps to make the cookie dough firmer which prevents the cookies from spreading too much when cooking. Chilling also improves texture and flavor. However, these cookies are delicious without chilling too!
- If you want to get a light cookie cream your butter and sugar for about 6-8 minutes.
- If the cookies do not end up having the same circular shape, you can use a biscuit cutter to “scoot” the cookies into a circular shape.
- Use a scale to weigh your ingredients. Using cups as a measurement tool will result in a lot of variation in the amount of ingredients you use. And you will not be able to get the optimal result. You can end up with dry or greasy cookies.
- On average it will take about 14 min to bake the cookies. However, every oven is different. Use your judgment. The cookies should be golden brown at their edges and slightly soft in the center.
FAQs About Cinnamon Apple Cookies With Walnuts
Too much flour was added. Make sure to use a scale to measure the ingredients.
Too much baking soda/powder was added. Make sure you use unsalted butter.
The ingredients were not mixed consecutively but rather dumped at once.
Not enough flour. Make sure you use a scale to weigh your ingredients.
You didn’t add enough flour or the cookies are underbaked.
You did not add enough sugar. Make sure you use a scale to weigh your ingredients.
They are probably underbaked.
Probably you overbaked the cookies.
Creaming butter and sugar together adds pockets of air that aerate the batter. This air puffs up the cookies as they bake, giving them a lighter and more appealing texture. The air is added by beating room-temperature butter with sugar at high speed.
Brown sugar works well for adding moisture to the cookies, whereas granulated sugar will create a more aerated crumb and crispier texture.
Yes! You can freeze the dough for up to a month. Then thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Storing
The Cinnamon Apple Cookies With Walnuts have optimal texture and flavor on the first day you have baked them. You can store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Would You Like To Try Other Sweet Treats?
Here are some other sweet treats you can try:
Have You Tried This Cinnamon Apple Cookies With Walnuts Recipe?
If you make this Cinnamon Apple Cookies With Walnuts recipe be sure to rate it or/and leave a comment. I would love to hear from you! And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! I would love to see how your cookies turned out! Thank you so much!
Cinnamon Apple Cookies With Walnuts
Ingredients
- 8 oz unsalted butter 225 g / 2 sticks plus 2 tbsp melted butter for the apples
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 300 g
- 1/4 cup brown sugar 60 g plus 1 tbsp for the apples
- 1 1/4 cup white sugar 240 g
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup chopped walnuts 100 g
- 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp for the apples/ 1 tsp for the cookie dough
- 1 lb honeycrisp apples
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking tray with a baking sheet. Peel the apples then cut them into small cubes. Sprinkle with 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp brown sugar, and 2 tbsp melted butter mix well. Then bake for 14-20 minutes until the apples soften.
- Take the eggs and 2 sticks of butter out of the fridge for about an hour or two before you start making the cookies. We want them to be at room temperature for optimal results. If you are going to bake the cookies right away preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place the room-temperature butter in a stand mixer bowl. Add the 1/4th cup of brown and white sugar. Using the paddle attachment turn the mixer on medium speed and mix for about 6-8 minutes while stopping the mixer a few times to scrape down the mixture from the walls. The mixture should look fluffy and airy.
- Add the eggs to the mixture and keep mixing for another 3-4 minutes until the eggs are well incorporated. The mixture should still look fluffy and airy.
- In a bowl add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, and salt. Mix them for a few seconds with a whisk.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture. Pulse the mixer a few times. Do not mix continuously because you can overmix the batter and we do not want that.
- Add the chopped walnuts and baked apples to the mixture and fold by in by hand with a spatula.
- If you are going to chill the dough place it in an airtight container for 3 hours to overnight in the refrigerator. If you are going to bake the cookies right away take a baking tray with lined parchment paper. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the cookie dough. Place about 6 cookies per tray. Make sure to leave space between the cookies because they will expand. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes on the middle rack.
- Take the cookies out. Let them rest on the tray for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a rack to cool for about 10 minutes.
