Caramel Apple Pie Cookies (Grain-Free/Dairy-Free)
The Story:
A deliciously soft grain-free cookie, topped with creamy dairy-free buttercream, then topped with comforting apple pie filling and silky dairy-free caramel. These caramel apple pie cookies will have you ushering in the Fall season with excitement! The season is upon us! Each cookie boasts the most buttery soft texture, a decadent caramel pull, and brimming with the nostalgic flavors of apple pie. Fall baking is all about warmth, comfort, stick-to-your-bones kind of baking and cooking, and these caramel apple pie cookies hold true to that. September is for apples. Enjoy friends!
The Ingredients For Caramel Apple Pie Cookies:
Almond Flour: This grain-free flour makes up the base of the cookie dough and helps with maintaining a delicious moisture and chewiness to the cookies.
Tapioca Flour: This grain-free flour helps balance out the moisture content from the almond flour to create the perfect, fluffy texture while absorbing the liquid ingredients.
Egg: Egg yolks get added to the batter for the perfect amount of liquid and structure.
Dairy-free Butter: I use Earth Balance butter as it maintains its structure well. Butter is needed for the cookies and frosting.
Sugar: Of course a cookie needs a good dose of sugar. A mix of sugar and brown sugar creates the perfect flavor and texture balance.
Brown Sugar: Brown sugar gets added for depth and rich flavor.
Apple Pie Filling: Any store bought apple pie filling will do here! You can also make your own if you prefer! My Momma makes delicious apple pie filling for me and I keep it stocked in the pantry. :-)
Baking Powder: The rising agent for these cookies to give them a nice rise and fluff.
Xanthan Gum: This is a replacement aid for gluten, to help your grain-free and gluten-free bakes maintain their moisture and structure.
Salt: To offset the sweetness for flavor balance.
Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger: Every pie benefits from warm spices for comforting flavor. so they are a must for these cookies!
Powdered Sugar: The frosting will use powdered sugar. If you cannot tolerate grains, look for organic powdered sugar, which does not use corn starch. \
Vanilla: For flavor in the frosting and cookie.
Caramel Sauce: Click here for a full recipe on how to make your can make your own dairy-free caramel sauce, or you can look for a store brand. Most caramel sauces are not dairy free. Natures Charm has a dairy-free caramel sauce that is phenomenal, but it is difficult to track down.
How to Make Caramel Apple Pie Cookies :
I would start with the caramel sauce first so that it has time to cool. For a full recipe with ALL my tips and tricks (like which pan to use, which dairy-free butter to use, click here!) The key to a good caramel sauce is to not let the sugar burn. You want a beautiful caramelized amber color, but to achieve that, you need to watch your sugar and swirl your pan or stir regularly. Over medium low heat (about a cook level of 3 or 4 on a burner is ideal0, heat your sugar until it has caramelized and achieved a nice amber color. You don’t want it to be super dark.
Once golden brown, remove from the heat and add the butter. Be careful when you add the butter, as it will bubble and steam a lot! Carefully whisk (I like using a fork) in the butter until it has melted completely into the caramelized sugar. You want it to be smooth and fully incorporated. Keep whisking if there is any separation. Once combined, then add in the coconut milk and whisk until once again it has become fully incorporated and homogeneous. If it is being a little stubborn and not coming together well, place your pan back on low heat and continue to whisk.
Once smooth and it has the texture you would like, set aside to cool completely. Now, for the cookies. Preheat the oven to 350. Add the butter and both sugars to a bowl (or to a mixer if you would like, but keep it on low speed during the whole process) and begin to work the butter into the sugar until creamy. Next, add in the egg yolks and vanilla extract and mix well, again until creamy and smooth. Lastly, add in the flour, remaining dry ingredients, and mix until the dough comes together. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a big cookie scoop (3 tbsp), scoop out the dough and place on the cookie sheet, leaving a good amount of space in between each cookie. Bake for 13-14 minutes. You want them to have just a slightly golden bottom. Don’t over-bake or you will lose the delicious chewy texture! Let them cool completely.
Now for the frosting. By hand, or with a mixer on low speed, cream the butter until smooth. Then, add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and cream together until smooth and creamy. I have found the most success with dairy-free buttercream when mixing by hand. Dairy-free butter can become soft very quickly when using a mixer, so just go slow and err on the side of under-mixing to begin with.
Lastly, let’s assemble the cookies! Generously pipe on the frosting to the top of the cookie, then pipe on a small amount of your dairy free caramel. I find it helpful to pipe the frosting in a ring, or circle shape around the top of the cookie, leaving the middle unfrosted. This makes a nice little crevasse for the caramel so it doesn’t slide off the cookie. Finish the cookies off with a generous dollop of apple pie filling on top. Enjoy!
The Recipe For Caramel Apple Pie Cookies:
Additional Grain-Free, Dairy-Free Desserts:
The Finished Product:
The perfect Fall, Halloween or Thanksgiving treat. These caramel apple pie cookies feel cozy, taste delicious and have just the right amount of all the flavors you love in an indulgent caramel apple pie. Happy Fall Y’all!
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