These thick, soft, and chewy apple oatmeal cookies are guaranteed to be your new favorite cookie for fall!
Do you ever have those days where you feel like nothing is working in your favor? I think I can honestly say that I felt this way this past weekend. I went to the store early to get some groceries and got to work in the kitchen testing recipes. After a few failed recipe attempts, I was about to throw in the towel when I saw a few apples and a container of oats sitting on my kitchen counter.
My mind immediately went back to the delicious Apple Spice Whoopie Pies my friend Michelle posted and these Cinnamon Caramel Apple Cookies another friend Jess posted. I immediately knew that an apple oatmeal cookie had to happen and immediately.
I quickly gathered some oatmeal cookie ingredients and made a batch, then tossed in some chopped apple. Once these came out of the oven, I felt like I finally had a winning recipe. But once I took a bite of the cookies? I immediately knew I had a winning recipe!
I won’t admit how many cookies I actually ate, but lets just say I had to take the rest to work to get them out of the house as quickly as possible. The verdict? Everyone else loved them too!
Just like some of my other cookie recipes, I let the dough chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Not only does it make the dough a bit easier to work with, but the cookies also bake up thicker too.
I usually bake most of my cookies for about 10 minutes, but I found that these need to bake just a bit longer (mine were perfect right at 13 minutes). But no worries about over baking these, the chopped apple in these cookies helps to keep them super soft for several days!
Apple Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 and 3/4 cup (175 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 medium apple (120 grams) peeled, cored, and chopped into small pieces
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth. Add in the egg and vanilla, making sure to mix well after each ingredient.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Mix in the oats, then the chopped apple until fully combined.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silipat mat.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and scoop two tablespoon sized pieces of dough onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Baked at 350 for 12-14 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
I made these today after doing a Google search for “apple cookies”. They are very good, not too sweet, but a good apple and cinnamon flavor.
Glad you liked the cookies, Doreen!
I have just made them and they r delicious! I was wondering if I can freeze half and bake later?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would be okay.
Hello!
I want to make this cookies but I don’t have ground nutmeg, what is it for the ? For better flavor, texture? What if I don’t use it? 🤔
It’s for flavor, you can omit it if you don’t have any.
I used pumpkin pie spice as a substitution, turned out great!
All of these cookie recipes look so good! I will have to try one out this weekend and see how it turns out. I find that homemade cookies are a great snack for teenagers on the go as they come home from school! Danielle’s recipe’s are so easy and there isn’t too many ingredients to buy so that makes it a wonderful treat to make on any occasion, thanks Danielle! I’m going to add nuts or pecans to my oatmeal raisen cookies.
Thank you, Cholena! Hope you enjoy the cookies!
I made these with almonds, coconut and apple…amazing!!
I made these at work for my residents and they loved them! Even added a little carmel on top once they were cooling down ☺️
So glad everyone enjoyed the cookies, Madilyn!
These were great cookies! I was thinking of next time subbing applesauce for half of the sugar, as I do sometimes with other cookie recipes They are lovely as is though.
So glad you liked the cookies, Valerie!
What’s the best apple to use for these?
Any kind of baking apple is fine, I like to use Granny Smith, Gala, or Honeycrisp.
Can you add peanut butter to these? If so, how would you use it? (Like amount and if I need to change anything) I do not bake often so I am not good at this stuff.
You could use this cookie recipe and add the chopped apples to it: https://www.livewellbakeoften.com/soft-peanut-butter-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/.
I made these today and boy are they amazing. I did a brown sugar, butter, milk carmel glaze to put on top and that pushed them from Heavenly to sinful! Thank you for sharing your recipe. Ohh I used quick oats and it worked!
That glaze sounds fantastic! So glad you liked the cookies!
Is there an ingredient left out of this recipe? I tried to make these cookies and they were so dry that they would not even hold together to put on to the cookie sheet. I had to add quite a bit of liquid
I double checked the recipe, it’s not missing an ingredient. Did you spoon & level your flour and did you make sure to use a large egg?
These cookies tasted amazing! They came out a little Cakey tho, is there something I can do to make them a little crispier and chewier?
The moisture from the apples does make them softer and cakey. You could try freeze-dried apples if you’re wanting a crispier cookie.
I have made this recipe twice now and I love the flavor. However my issue has been that after a few hours after baking, or the next day, the cookies turn kinda mushy and too soft. They’re actually hard to pick up and just kinda fall apart in your hand. I’m wondering if they need to be baked for longer maybe, but I’m worried about burning them. Would baking at a lower temperature for a longer amount of time help them to firm up, or is there an ingredient that I need to add more of?
The moisture in the chopped apple is what causes the cookies to soften. You could try using chopped freeze-dried apples in place of the chopped apple and that should help.
My son Loves oatmeal cookies..celebrating christmas at his home…I will be making these to take with me….thanks so much..
Hope you enjoy the cookies, Jean!
My 4 year old loved baking these easy and delicious cookies with me. A keeper!
So happy to hear that, Farah!
Is there something I can switch for the cinnamon.
You can just leave it out and add a little more nutmeg if you prefer.
thank you for this recipe, just tried it and it was very tasty. We used spelt flour and less nutmeg and it turned out great. Next time I’m going to try to add some more apple and less sugar, hope they will still be chewy and holding together.. there will be a next time for sure, though, we ate half of them still warm!
Can you freeze these cookies once baked.
Yes, that should be fine!
great recipe, perfect just like it is; the cookies turned out delicious
thank you!!
My step-dad was a huge fan of these when I made them for him last fall. I am going away next weekend, leaving my 3 & 4 year old boys with him and my mom, and would love to bake some for him to enjoy while we are away. How long will the dough hold up before baking? Can I freze it? I was thinking maybe making the dough on Sunday but baking them on Thursday if possible.
You could probably refrigerate it for 1-2 days. I honestly haven’t tried freezing this cookie dough, I’m not quite sure how the apples would hold up. Typically cookie dough will freeze fine for up to 3 months, but with this one, I’m just not sure if it freezes well.
I have made these up and froze individual balls on a plate once partially frozen I then transfer to a gallon zip loc bag. They freeze just fine and cook up perfectly. These cookies are to die for topped with a nice dollop of Browned Butter Frosting. You must try it. You’ll be happy you did!! Yummy!!
How many kcal per cookie?
I’m not sure on the nutritional information, but you can put it into an online calculator to get an estimate.
I have made these at least 6 times in the last year. They are so yummy!
These look and sound wonderful. Would these freeze well? Thank you
I haven’t tried freezing them, but I imagine that they would freeze okay.
Delicious cookies! New fall favorite for sure! Any idea of the calories per cookie?
Glad you liked the cookies, Judy! I’m not sure about the calorie count, but you can plug it into an online calculator to get an estimate.
These are awesome, but I was thinking of adding some maple sugar this year, mostly because I accidentally used breakfast oatmeal when I ran out of rolled oats last year (Maple and brown sugar) I was wondering if you had any suggestions on how much of the white sugar I’d sub out with granulated maple sugar.
Do you mean granulated maple sugar? If so, I haven’t tried it but I imagine you could just replace the white sugar with maple sugar.
Hi Sorry yes, granulated maple sugar. I’ll sub 1:1 an see how it goes!
I made these with Apple pie spice and a little extra cinnamon and added Hershey’s cinnamon chips. The result was delicious!
A while ago, I was looking for a recipie to use up some apples that I had picked and found this recipie. They turned out amazing and everyone loved them. Going to make them again tonight to give to a friend as a thank you for picking up groceries for me. Thank you for sharing!!!
Did you use granny apples for the cookies? Or does that even matter?
Yes, I’ve used Granny Smith apples in these. Any kind of baking apple is fine though!
Hello Danielle,
I have been cooking and baking up a storm the past month here in NY due the Pandemic. I bake and/or cook 6/7 days sometimes twice a day. I thought my oatmeal raisin cookies were good until I tried your Apple Oatmeal. Thank you it has been a pleasure following your recipes. No adjustments needed.
Thank you, Richard! So glad you enjoyed the cookies!
Amazing flavor.! Very easy, only change instead of brown sugar I have been using coconut sugar . Same but a little bit healthier. Cookies were chewy soft and a great taste. Thanks for the your recipe.