These apple pie cookies are like mini apple pies! Flakey pie crust combines with a delicious homemade apple pie filling for a sweet Fall dessert with all the flavor of apple pie in cookie form!
Sure traditional apple pie is amazing, but these bite-sized apple desserts are just as tasty–if not better.
I mean who doesn’t love miniature desserts?!
These “cookies” are really more like miniature hand pies. Call them cookies, call them mini pies, whatever you call them you are going to adore them.
Like my soft apple cookies and caramel apple cookies, these delicious apple pie cookies are one of my go-to apple recipes throughout the Fall months.
Whether enjoyed at room temperature or served warm with a dollop of whipped cream, I am sure that you will agree that this apple pie cookie recipe is a keeper!
The beautiful cookies would make for an incredible Thanksgiving dessert as well.
Ingredients
You will find the full recipe with instructions and measurements and all that good stuff at the bottom of this page in the printable recipe card. But first, take a minute to read through the ingredient notes, step-by-step instructions with photos, and recipe tips below.
Here is what you will need…
- Unsalted butter
- Fresh apples – I used honey crisp for this recipe.
- Lemon juice – freshly-squeezed or bottled is fine.
- Granulated sugar – also known as white sugar or cane sugar.
- Ground cinnamon & nutmeg – or substitute with apple pie spice.
- Salt – I like to use fine sea salt but table salt can be used as well.
- Cornstarch – you can substitute with tapioca starch or arrowroot powder if you prefer.
- Refrigerated pie crusts – I used 9 inch crusts. Many crusts come with 2 pie crusts per package so you would need 2 boxes for a total of 4 pie crusts.
- Egg – the size of the egg doesn’t really matter since you are just using it as an egg wash to brush on the pie crusts.
Helpful Kitchen Supplies
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Medium sized pan
- Apple corer and peeler
- Mixing spoon
- Circle shaped cookie cutter– I used a 2.5 inch round cookie cutter. A biscuit cutter would work, too.
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
- Small mixing bowls or prep bowls
- Pastry brush
- Wire cooling rack
How to Make Apple Pie Cookies
This section shows you how to make the recipe with step-by-step photos and instructions. For the full printable recipe, see the recipe card below.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Step 2: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. When the butter has melted, add in the prepared apples, lemon juice, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, sea salt, and ground nutmeg. Stir well.
Step 3: Heat the mixture, stirring often, until it begins to boil, about 6-7 minutes. Cover and allow to simmer for about 7 more minutes or until the apples soften. Add the cornstarch and continue to heat and stir until the mixture thickens, about 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool while you prepare the rest of the cookies.
Step 4: Unroll the pie dough onto a large piece of parchment or wax paper. Use a circle-shaped cookie cutter to cut 2 of the crusts into 24 circles, gathering and rolling out scraps if necessary.
Step 5: Prepare 2 baking sheets by lining with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and place the pie crust circles onto the cookie sheets, leaving about an inch between each crust.
Step 6: Scoop 1 Tablespoon of the apple filling into the center of each crust. Leave a border around the edges of the cookie and brush with beaten egg.
Step 7: Take the remaining 2 pie crusts and slice them into thin strips.
Step 8: Create a lattice pattern on top of each cookie by weaving the pie crust strips over the cookies. Gently press the lattice around the edges so it sticks to the bottom crust. Use the same cookie cutter you used to cut out the circles to trim the edges of the lattice topping for a uniform top crust.
Step 9: Brush more egg wash onto the top of each pie cookie.
Step 10: In a small ball, stir together the remaining ¼ cup of granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture generously over each cookie.
Step 11: Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.
These cookies can be served cooled or slightly warm!
Storage
Room temperature: Keep these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Freezer: The delicious apple pie cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Variations
Use canned pie filling: Save time and use a can of store-bought apple pie filling instead of making it from scratch with fresh apples. If you do go this route, I would recommend chopping the apples in the filling into smaller pieces before beginning and adding a bit of cinnamon and sugar to the pie filling to sweeten things up.
Switch up the flavor: Use a can of blueberry pie filling or cherry pie filling for a fun twist.
Homemade pie crust: Make your own pie crust instead of using ones from the grocery store. Just make sure that you make the equivalent of 4 Pillsbury crusts.
Apple Pie Cookie Recipe Tips
- To make the refrigerated pie crusts easier to roll out allow them to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes.
- I found the easiest way to cut the pie crust into thin strips is using a pizza cutter. The strips don’t need to be perfectly straight or even but to get them more evenly sized you can cut along the edge of a ruler.
- To make lattice tops like a traditional apple would have, simply weave 3 strips of crust on top of each cookie. Alternatively, you can simply place 3 strips vertically over the cookie and then place 3 strips horizontally over the first set of strips.
- I recommend preparing the cookies right on the baking sheet. You will be able to fit all 24 cookies on 2 half-sheet baking sheets. These cookies can be hard to transfer once put together so preparing them on the cookie sheet makes it much easier!
Apple Pie Cookies FAQ
Yes! To freeze the cookies follow the recipe as written but omit the cinnamon and sugar topping. After the cookies are baked and completely cool, place them on a baking sheet and in the freezer until completely frozen. When the cookies are frozen add them to a freezer-safe container and store them frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar when ready to serve. You can dab the tops of the cookies with a tiny bit of water to help the cinnamon sugar stick.
Some of my favorite apples to use in these Apple Pie Cookies are Honey Crisp, Granny Smith, Jonathan, and Braeburn. The best apples for baking are apples that are on the firmer side and will hold their shape after being baked. Granny Smith apples are on the sour side and will provide a nice balance in a sweet dessert. Honey Crisp are on the sweeter side and provide an extra dose of flavor.
To make these Apple Pie Cookies extra special drizzle them with a homemade or store-bought caramel sauce or serve them with a scoop of ice cream. You can even cut out shapes using leftover pie crust and decorate the tops of the cookies in a number of ways.
More apple dessert recipes to try this Fall
- Apple Dump Cake
- Slow Cooker Cracker Barrel Fried Apples
- Apple Pie Cupcakes
- Crockpot Apple Pear Crisp
- Apple Pie Crescent Rolls – easy 3-ingredient recipe!
- Apple Cider Bundt Cake
- Stovetop fried apples
Apple Pie Cookies
↑ Click stars to rate now!
Print Pin Save RateIngredients
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 apples, cored, peeled, and cut into small cubes
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar + ¼ cup for topping
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon + 2 teaspoons for topping
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 4 store-bought refrigerated pie crusts
- 1 large egg, beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Melt the butter in a medium pan over medium-low heat. When the butter has melted, add in the prepared apples, lemon juice, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, sea salt, and ground nutmeg. Stir well.
- Heat the mixture, stirring often, until it begins to boil, about 6-7 minutes. Cover and allow to simmer for about 7 more minutes, or until the apples soften. Add the cornstarch and continue to heat and stir until the mixture thickens, about 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool while you prepare the rest of the cookies.
- Unroll the pie crusts onto a large piece of parchment or wax paper. Use a circle-shaped cookie cutter to cut 2 of the crusts into 24 circles, gathering and rolling out scraps if necessary.
- Prepare 2 baking sheets by lining with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and place the pie crust circles onto the baking sheets, leaving about an inch between each crust. Scoop 1 Tablespoon of the apple filling into the center of each crust. Leave a border around the edges of the cookie and brush with beaten egg.
- Take the remaining 2 pie crusts and slice them into thin strips. Create a lattice pattern on top of each cookie by weaving the pie crust strips over the cookies. Gently press the lattice around the edges so it sticks to the bottom crust. Use the same cookie cutter you used to cut out the circles to trim the edges of the lattice topping for a uniform top crust.
- Brush more egg onto the top of each pie cookie.
- In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ¼ cup of granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture generously over each cookie.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely. These cookies can be served cooled or slightly warm.
Notes
- To make the refrigerated pie crusts easier to roll out allow them to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes.
- I found the easiest way to cut the pie crust into thin strips is using a pizza cutter. The strips don’t need to be perfectly straight or even but to get them more evenly sized you can cut along the edge of a ruler.
- To make a lattice topping weave 3 strips of crust on top of each cookie. Alternatively, you can simply place 3 strips vertically over the cookie and then place 3 strips horizontally over the first set of strips.
- I recommend preparing the cookies right on the baking sheet. You will be able to fit all 24 cookies on 2 half-sheet baking sheets. These cookies can be hard to transfer once put together so preparing them on the baking sheet makes it much easier!
- Make this recipe even faster and easier by using pre-made apple pie filling!
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by a third party and intended to serve as an estimate only. The accuracy of nutritional information is not guaranteed.
These are the cutest cookies!! And yummy, too! I’ll be baking another batch ASAP!!
I will like to get one of your recipe book please if you giving them out
I do not currently have a recipe book but you can sign up for my e-mail list to get a 5-day email series all about quick and easy desserts and then weekly updates with links to recipes on my site.
What happens if you don’t have lemon juice? I want to make them for my trip as a snack but I don’t have lemon juice!
You can leave the lemon juice out. The apple filling will just be a bit sweeter since it will lack the added tartness from the lemon juice.
Are these able to be frozen either before or after baking ?
Yes, they can be baked and frozen for up to 3 months. You can read some tips for freezing the cookies in the FAQ section of the blog post above.