Food and Recipes Recipes Caramel-Apple Cookies 5.0 (1) Add your rating & review The enticing combination of caramel and apple is one of the most popular flavor pairings with bakers during the fall months. Holiday and party buffets are sure to have at least one sweet and juicy apple dessert, usually a golden-crusted apple pie, a tender apple-spice layer cake or even the Appalachian classic, the Apple Stack Cake. When you add caramel to the mix of ingredients like we did in our Caramel Apple Coffee Cake, you get an extra level of flavor and gooey sweetness. As much as you love apple and caramel desserts for any occasion, sometimes packing and transporting a pie or cake just isn't an option. Give these spice-filled Caramel-Apple Cookies a try–we promise you will think you are eating a hand-held apple pie, and they are perfect for stashing away in a picnic basket. If the jarred caramel sauce doesn't easily drizzle, warm the jar up in a simmering pot of water or over a double boiler. The apples will absorb moisture out of the air, so these cookies are best enjoyed the day they are made. If you need to store them, put them in an airtight container and keep in your pantry or on your kitchen countertop. By Southern Living Test Kitchen Southern Living Test Kitchen The Southern Living Test Kitchen has been publishing recipes since 1970, four years after the first issue of Southern Living Magazine appeared on newsstands. The Southern Living Test Kitchen team includes a team of professionals with deep expertise in recipe development, from pastry chefs and grilling experts to nutritionists and dietitians. Together, the team tests and retests, produces, styles, and photographs thousands of recipes each year in the state-of-the-art test kitchen facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on July 20, 2022 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Photographer: Alison Miksch Food Stylist: Erin Merhar Prop Stylist: Prissy Lee Active Time: 30 mins Total Time: 1 hrs Servings: 18 Ingredients 1 cup (8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup light brown sugar 2 large eggs 2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 1/2 cups (about 10 5/8 oz.) all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips 3 small Granny Smith apples (about 1 lb. total), peeled and cut into 1/8-in.-thick slices 1 cup sea salt caramel sauce (such as Mrs. Richardson's) Flaky sea salt, for garnish Directions Preheat oven to 375°F. Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides. Add eggs and vanilla, reduce speed to low, and beat until well incorporated, about 30 seconds. Whisk together flour, apple pie spice, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, in 3 additions, beating on low speed until mostly incorporated after each addition, about 45 seconds total. Using a rubber spatula, fold in white chocolate chips until well combined. Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop, spoon dough onto 3 baking sheets lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches. Bake in preheated oven in 3 separate batches until cookies have spread out, but still raw, about 7 minutes; remove from oven. Quickly press 3 apple slices into top of each cookie, and return to oven, and bake until edges of cookies are golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes; transfer to wire racks, and let cool completely, about 10 minutes. Drizzle caramel sauce over cookies, and, if desired, lightly sprinkle with sea salt. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days. Rate it Print