Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

Why this Recipe Works

This recipe tastes like caramel apple pie in cookie form! I love the chewy texture of the oats, the sharpness from the fresh apple, and gooey caramel center. The flavors are perfect for fall and only take about 10 minutes to make and get into the oven.

Ingredient Notes

• Butter. You’ll need room temperature butter. Salted or Unsalted will work.
• Sugar. White, granulated sugar helps sweeten the cookies.
• Brown Sugar. The molasses in the light brown sugar adds richness, contributes to the chewy texture.
• Vanilla. Vanilla adds flavor.
• Eggs. Use large eggs.
• Cinnamon. A little bit of cinnamon adds some warmth to the cookie’s flavor profile.
• Salt. A little balances out the flavors
• Baking Soda. Baking soda leavens the cookies, helping them rise and spread.
• Cornstarch. Cornstarch helps keep these cookies soft.
• Flour. All-purpose flour gives the cookies body.
• Oats. Used old-fashioned or rolled oats, not quick or steel cut oats.
• Apple. A tart, green, granny smith apple is best.
• Caramels. Use soft caramel candies are needed for the gooey center of the cookies. I used Werther’s.

How to Make this Recipe

This is an overview of the recipe with photos. The recipe ingredient measurements are provided in the recipe card below.

1. Cream together butter and sugars. Cream together room temperature butter, sugar, and light brown sugar for 1 minute until smooth.
2. Add wet ingredients. Add eggs and vanilla and mix on high for 3 minutes. Mixture should be light and fluffy.

3. Mix in dry ingredients. Stir in the flour, cinnamon, salt, cornstarch, and baking soda. Be sure to scrape the bottoms and sides of the bowl to make sure it is mixed evenly.
4. Add Apple & Oats. Leave the skin on the apple, but remove the core and seeds. Slice into ½” chunks. Don’t cut the pieces up too small or the apples will release more juice and result in soggy, soft cookies. Stir in the oats and chopped apple until evenly dispersed.

3. Stuff the Caramel. Scoop ¼ cup of dough and roll into a ball. Use your finger to make a hole in the center, insert the caramel candy vertically, so just a little bit of it peeks out the top of the cookie dough.
4. Bake. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Place about 6 cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 11-13 minutes. The edges should be golden and the caramel bubbly.

Baking Apples: What are they? What are the different kinds?

Baking apples are apples that are firm, crisp, and do not breakdown much when baked. They are ideal for baking pies, crisps, cobblers, or in this case, caramel apple oatmeal cookies.

For these caramel and apple cookies, I recommend a nice green, Granny Smith apple. The sharpness of the apple pairs perfectly with the sweet caramel, and doesn’t soften too much when baked.

If Granny Smith apples are unavailable, I would recommend using a Braeburn apple (they have sweet and tart flavor profile), a Cortland, Honey Crisp, Fuji, or  Pink Lady.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Expert Tips

• Weigh ingredients. If you have a food scale, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients. There’s too much variation that can happen when measuring ingredients using volume. A cup isn’t always a cup, but a gram is always a gram. Ingredients in the recipe card have measurements for grams and cups.
• Parchment paper or silicone mats. Because the caramel sometimes seeps out the bottom or top of these apple and caramel cookies, its best to line the baking sheet with parchment paper of silicone mats. It makes removing any caramel that oozed out easy.
• Cookie scoop for consistent sizes. Getting consistent and even cookies can be tricky, l always use a cookie scoop for uniform cookies.
• Cream sugars long enough. Creaming the sugar and butter for the full amount of time is important to ensuring these caramel apple oatmeal cookies have the best texture. Don’t skimp on it! I usually set a time to hold myself accountable to creaming for the full amount of time.  
• Don’t cut apple too small. I recommend slicing the apple into ½ inch chunks. If you cut them any smaller, the apples release more juices when baking and the cookies take on a cakey and soggy texture over time.

Variations of this Recipe

You can create some fun variations of this recipe! Here are a few ideas.

If you love cinnamon, you can add an extra ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to the recipe. Or try swapping the cinnamon for apple pie spice, which is a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, and all-spice.

Instead of chopped fresh apple, try adding dried apples their place. Make sure you’re using soft, chewy dried apples, not crispy apple chips.

If you don’t want to add gooey caramels to the center some other options are toffee bits, caramel bits, caramel chips, cinnamon chips, or butterscotch chips. Add about 1 ¼ cups of any of these.

How to Store this Recipe

These caramel apple oatmeal cookies, once cooled, are best stored in an airtight container. The apple cookies are best if eaten within three days of being made.

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