Apple Oatmeal Cookies

These Apple Oatmeal Cookies are a deliciously chewy, healthy cookie loaded with flavor from fresh apples, rolled oats, and cinnamon!

Best Cinnamon Apple Cookies

Making homemade lighter versions of favorite treats is a great way to control what goes into recipes! These oatmeal cookies are made with simple, wholesome ingredients without sacrificing taste and can be eaten for breakfast with coffee, an afternoon snack or a classic dessert. No matter what, they disappear way too fast!!

These apple pie oatmeal cookies, like these pumpkin oatmeal cookies and our almond butter chocolate chip cookies are one that you can feel good about indulging in when your sweet tooth is calling! They also make a perfect fall cookie to make during apple picking season.

Ingredients You’ll Need

The complete list of ingredients with amounts are listed in the full recipe card below.

• Old-fashioned oats – I like the larger size of rolled oats. But feel free to use quick oats if you’d like but the texture won’t be quite as hearty.
• All Purpose Flour – Spooned and leveled. Baking is a science and too much or too little flour can change the texture. Use a one-to-one gluten free flour instead if you’d like.
• Brown Sugar – use white sugar, agave, honey, or maple syrup or Stevia instead. Use this Stevia conversion calculator is so helpful.
• Applesauce – unsweetened all natural is best.
• Vanilla extract
• Baking soda
• Butter – You can use coconut oil instead or a non-diary vegan butter, if you’d prefer. Melted slightly.
• Ground cinnamon – Substitute cinnamon with a pre-made apple pie spice for added nutmeg and allspice.
• Salt
• Apples – Finely diced. Honeycrisp apples are my favorite but McIntosh, Cortland, Fuji or even granny smith work nicely in baked cookies.

Variations to Try

1.  Use one large egg in place of the applesauce or substitute with a “flax egg” which is a mixture of flax seed and water.

2. Add ½ cup of chopped nut like pecans or walnuts or raisins.

3. Drizzle with a simple icing by mixing a cup of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of whole milk or heavy cream and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

How to Make These Oatmeal Cookies

There is about 30 minute of chill time and only 15 minutes in the oven which helps give it the soft, chewy texture we want!

Step 1: In a medium skillet, melt one tablespoon of butter and add the diced apples. Cook for approximately 4-5 minutes until apples get a little soft.

Step 2: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Step 3: In a separate large bowl, beat together the remaining butter, applesauce, brown sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed.

Step 4: Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the diced, cooked apples. Chill for 10-15 minutes.

Step 5: Drop the cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet using a cookie scoop, lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Gently press each cookie with the bottom of a glass or back of a spoon to flatten them.

Bake in a preheated 350° F oven until golden brown.

Step 6: Allow to cool on the sheet pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips

• Make sure you measure both the oatmeal and flour correctly according to the instructions. Anything outside of that could end in crumbly results. Using a kitchen scale is your best bet!
• Don’t skip the chill time! When you place chilled dough in the oven it takes longer for it to melt, which means that it warms up slowly keeping everything nice and thick. If you don’t chill, it will warm up too quickly and spread too much leaving you with larger thinner cookies that are crispier.

How To Store

Keep cookies in an airtight container to keep in the moisture for up to 3-4 days.

Freeze: Once completely cooled, transfer cookies to a plastic freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for a month.

Try these other cookie recipes too:

Molasses Cookies

Peanut Butter Honey Cookies

Snickerdoodle Cookies

Raspberry Pecan Pinwheel Cookies