Soft and Chewy Apple Pie Cookies

Give someone who goes above and beyond in your life a thank you with these tasty Soft and Chewy Apple Pie Cookies. This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. I am partnering with them today to bring this recipe. 

My daughter and I have a yearly tradition– baking cookies for others. We make small treat baskets for neighbors and various teachers, and we always include a tasty cookie variety. While the holidays are a festive time, there are many people who find the holidays difficult due to the loss of a loved one or due to personal issues, and this is our way of hopefully bringing a smile to their faces and a sweet treat to their tummies.

Apple pie is one of my favorite holiday flavors, but apple pie itself is not necessarily so easy to pack and gift. Without making dozens of pies, these Soft and Chewy Apple Pie Cookies fit the niche on apple pie taste in a more portable package.

The end result of every recipe is only as good as the ingredients used. Bob’s Red Mill are created with the highest quality, and their selection of flour varieties offers something for everyone. Have you gone gluten free this year? Bob’s Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour can be swapped out with traditional wheat flour with the same taste.

Ingredients:

• 2 small Gala Apples
• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill All-Pupose Organic Flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon Pink Himalayan sea salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup shortening
• For cookie coating: (4) tablespoons sugar, (2) teaspoons apple pie spice

Preheat the oven to 350.

Shred the apples into fine pieces. I used a grater for this. If using a grater, use the largest grating surface. The apple slices will turn to mush if the apple is ran over the tiny grating surface.

Mix the sugar and shortening until they form a creamy combination.

Mix in the apple pieces, vanilla, and egg. Stir in the flour, Pink Himalayan sea salt, and baking powder. If the batter is too soft, add more flour (a Tablespoon at a time) until the desired consistency is reached. Note that the moisture from the apples will make this batter a softer batter than traditional cookies.

Set this mixture aside.

Stir together the cookie coating ingredients.

Roll the batter into 1″ balls, then roll them in the cookie coating mixture before placing them on a parchment paper covered baking sheet.

Bake for 10-15 minutes. The cookies should be “set” but not hard. Overcooking the cookies will turn them into “snaps” rather than soft and chewy cookies.

Have you ever made someone a baked treat and realized that the experience was therapeutic? Psychologists have discovered that baking something for someone else benefits the baker as much as the person receiving the baked good. As someone who frequently bakes for others, I have found this to be true. My daughter and I enjoy our time spent baking, packaging, and hand delivering goodies.

Do you have a go-to recipe for baking goodies for others? What is your favorite holiday cookie recipe?

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill.