Caramel Apple Pie Cookies
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.
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 140 grams granulated sugar
- 60 grams brown sugar
- 200 grams dairy free butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 220 grams almond flour
- 170 grams tapioca flour
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 1.5 teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 can apple pie filling
For the frosting:
- 150 grams dairy free butter
- 270 grams powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the caramel:
- 200 grams granulated sugar
- 55 grams dairy free butter
- 60 grams coconut milk
Instructions
- First, prepare the caramel. Over medium low heat (about a cook level of 3 or 4 on a burner is ideal) , 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 powered 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.