During a previous visit to my parents’ house to spend time with them and play with their new puppy, my dad offered to barbecue for dinner. With the warm summer weather still lingering, everyone immediately agreed, so he drove to the store to pick up groceries.
A little while later, he stood outside over the grill, carefully spreading out the hot coals before setting the grate on top. Once satisfied with the temperature, he added freshly shaped burgers for my mom and brother, a sriracha sausage for himself, and a seasoned chicken breast for me.
Just before rotating the entrées for the final time, Dad slid the veggies onto the barbecue, gingerly rotating those zucchini spears, mini bell peppers, and ears of corn for the perfect kiss of char. We call him the Grill Master of our family for a reason!
The entire meal turned out perfectly, as we all commented multiple times while enjoying bites of everything. As we started clearing the table, Mom casually mentioned she had a craving for pie, just like when we typically grill during the hot summer months.
The rest of us thought nothing of it… Until Mom returned from the grocery store the following evening with a frozen berry pie to bake. That craving must have been much stronger than any of us realized!
Although I flew home shortly after, I kept thinking about Mom and her pie… But before I started craving it as strongly as she did, I baked a batch of these healthy apple pie cookies to satisfy my sweet tooth!
They’re so much faster and easier to make, compared to baking a pie entirely from scratch, yet they have the same sweet and cozy spiced flavors as the traditional pie. They also have built-in portion control!
(In case you’re anything like me and feel tempted slice off an itty bitty sliver of pie nearly every time you walk through the kitchen… 😉 )
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY APPLE PIE COOKIES
So let’s talk about how to make these healthy apple pie cookies!
You’ll start with one of my trusty cookie dough recipes. You’ll need white whole wheat flour (like this!), which has the same exact health benefits as regular whole wheat flour but a lighter taste and texture. That really lets the chewy texture of these cookies shine! Then for added softness and chewiness, you’ll whisk in a tiny bit of cornstarch. Such a nifty trick, isn’t it?
Tip: If you’d like to make your apple pie cookies gluten-free, then check the Notes section of the recipe. I’ve shared my top recommendations there!
With just 1 ½ tablespoons of butter or coconut oil (but I truly prefer the rich flavor of butter in these cookies!), you’ll also mix in extra vanilla extract. That boost of vanilla enhances the butter’s flavor, which makes these cookies taste much more buttery and indulgent!
To sweeten your cookie dough, you’ll use coconut sugar (like this!). It’s an unrefined sweetener that comes from coconuts, but it doesn’t actually taste like coconuts! It has a rich, caramel-like flavor similar to brown sugar, but it pours like granulated sugar. It’s a staple in my pantry!
After chilling the cookie dough, you’ll drop it into small mounds on your baking sheet. I just use a spoon and spatula for this — no special equipment! To make each mound of cookie dough round and form the well in its center, moisten your fingers with a tiny bit of water first. This trick prevents the cookie dough from sticking to your hands!
The filling is even easier to make! You’ll toss finely diced apples (yes, very finely… even smaller than the size of miniature chocolate chips!) with a little cinnamon, and then you’ll cook those on the stove. This softens the apples so they’re not entirely raw when you bite into the cookies… Because the cookies don’t bake long enough for the apples to fully cook all the way through in the oven. Just before spooning the filling into your cookie dough, you’ll toss it with a little pure maple syrup (like this!), for a sweetness boost.
Tip: I highly recommend Saigon cinnamon! It has a slightly stronger, richer, and sweeter flavor compared to regular cinnamon. It’s basically the only kind I use in my baking now, and I buy it online here. (It’s really affordable!)
Remember to gently press the filling down into those wells! The filling does not spread or change shape while baking… So it will look exactly the same as it does when you pop your baking sheet in the oven, even though the cookie dough typically spreads some!
So much easier than pie… And just as sweet and satisfying! 😉 When you make your own batch, would you mind leaving a comment and rating the recipe? (You can also snap a picture and share it with me on Facebook!) I’d love to hear what you think of these healthy apple pie cookies!
Healthy Apple Pie Cookies
Ingredients
FOR THE COOKIES
- 1 cup (120g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg white (room temperature)
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (96g) coconut sugar (or light brown sugar)
FOR THE FILLING
- ½ cup (60g) very finely diced apple (see Notes!)
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup
Instructions
- To prepare the cookie dough, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg white, and vanilla. Stir in the coconut sugar. Add in the flour mixture, stirring until incorporated. Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
- While the cookie dough chills, prepare the filling. Add the apples and cinnamon to a small pan lightly coated with cooking spray, and cook over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes, or until the apples are tender. Transfer to a small bowl to cool. Once at room temperature, stir in the maple syrup.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Using a spoon and spatula, drop the cookie dough into 24 small rounded mounds on the prepared baking sheet. Using your index finger or thumb, make an indentation in the center of each. (If the dough cracks, gently pinch it back together with your fingers. If the cookie dough sticks to your fingers, moisten them with a small amount of water!) Carefully spoon in a small amount of filling, and gently press it down into the cavity with a spatula.
- Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack. (If the cookies stick to the baking sheet, slide a knife underneath each first!)
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Pumpkin Pie Thumbprint Cookies
♡ Pecan Pie Thumbprint Cookies
♡ Carrot Cake Thumbprint Cookies
♡ Peanut Butter Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies
♡ Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies
♡ Grandpa’s Thumbprint Cookies
♡ PB&J Thumbprint Cookies
♡ Apple Pie Oatmeal Cookies
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy cookie recipes!
Those apple cookies are so delicious. Easy recipe. Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies Valeria! That means a lot to me! 🙂
Amy, I would love a healthy cookie cookbook!
I’m honored that you’d be interested in seeing another cookbook, Janeen! 🙂 In the meantime, you can find all of my healthy cookie recipes here. I’d love to hear what you think if you try these cookies too!
These look amazing!! So darn cute, and it’s like having a mini slice of apple pie all to yourself!
Thanks so much Karly! I’m ALL for not sharing my slices of apple pie! 😉
Overall, I have really enjoyed your recipes! I just made these, and next time I would add cinnamon to the dough because they seemed lacking in taste (the taste of the wheat was dominate). I also had to add a fair amount of water to the dough in order to get it to start to stick. I doubled the recipe, and it made only 22 small cookies. Yours must have been absolutely tiny!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipes Shanae! Judging by your comments, where the wheat flour dominated and you needed to add water, there was actually too much flour in your cookie dough. How did you measure your flour? Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe in detail how you measured? That info will really help us solve your issues! 🙂 And yes, these cookies are meant to be bite-sized, about half the size of regular cookies. See my third photo for size comparison (you can see my fingers in it!). 🙂 ALSO! Did you remember to double the sugar when doubling the recipe? (I only ask because I’ve done that before… Doubling every ingredient except the sugar! 😉 ) If you didn’t double the sugar, that would DEFINITELY be why there was a strong wheat flavor and why you needed a lot of water to bring the dough together. And why you only got 22 cookies too!
I just made this recipe. I used regular whole wheat flour and organic cane sugar. My dough came out VERY dry. So I ended up adding one whole egg and 1 and 1/2 TBL butter mixed with chai tea. I read through the comments to see if anyone else had similar issues. I guess not, I’m not sure what I did wrong but my tweaks worked and came out delicious!
I’m glad enjoyed these cookies Siobhan! 🙂 If the cookie dough was dry, then there was too much flour in it. If you don’t own a kitchen scale, here’s what I recommend doing for measuring flour (and cocoa powder, oats, etc!): use a fork to “scoop” up flour from the container, and lightly shake the fork back and forth over the top of your measuring cup to transfer the flour into it. Once there’s a small mound of flour extending past the rim of the measuring cup, then place the flat back of a knife against the top of the measuring cup, and gently scrape it across the top to get rid of the excess flour. Never “pat” the flour down with the knife or fork. This fork method acts like a sifter (without dirtying another dish!) and guarantees you’ll add less flour to the batter, so you’ll end up with chewy and tender cookies. Does that make sense? 🙂
Yes! Thank you! I read your instructions on how to measure flour once and found It confusing but this was very helpful! I’ll definitely make these again. The boyfriend LOVED them!
Yay!! Thanks for your feedback about my original flour measuring instructions being confusing. I’ll look into updating them with this info too! 🙂 I’m so glad your boyfriend loved these cookies! I hope he likes your next batch even more! 😉
Hello again Amy,
I read your recipe ahead of time and made sure to follow your recipe exactly as stated including the proper way to measure which I have been doing for years to ensure proper results. These cookies are like mini apple pies…they are AWESOME! It’s one of those cookies where you just can’t have one! LOL! You are talented and I appreciate everything you do for your readers. Thank you!! 🙂
Yay!! I’m really glad these cookies were a hit with your family too! I completely agree… I could rarely stop after just one cookie also! 😉 And I truly appreciate everything you’re doing for ME! ♡
These look lovely! Could you use coconut flour or almond flour instead?
Coconut flour won’t work, but almond flour would be okay! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cookies, Cathy!
I just tried making these cookies! It turned out good except I switched flour to gluten free flour and the cookie came out dense and bread like. Is there anything I can try to mix this? I wish to try it again because I really like the idea & the recipe! Please let me know!
It came out quite hard!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Laura! We can definitely fix that issue. 🙂 Did you use the GF flour blend that I recommended in the Notes section?
I followed all the instructions for measuring, etc., and we, too, found that dough to be overly dry. It simply would not stick together. Thanks to the suggestion above, we added an egg, and that fixed everything!
I’m honored that you tried making my recipe Linda! I’m glad you figured out a way to fix the dough, but that’s so strange that it was that dry. I haven’t had that issue before, so I’d love to figure out why that was! Did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? How did you measure the flour — with a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe how you used them to measure?
Hi Amy,
I used a fork to move the flour from the canister into the measuring cup, and once it was slightly over the rim, I used the backside of a knife to skim off the rest. I wish I’d taken a picture of how the dough looked when we did it. Again, after adding an egg and bit of water, it turned out fine. They’re very yummy!
Thanks for sharing Linda! I’m so glad to hear that you used a fork. Definitely one of my favorite measuring tricks! 😉 Did you happen to shake your measuring cup back and fork at all while filling it with flour?