Caramel Apple Cookies

I’ve done it again! When will I ever learn? I should’ve known better than to buy those caramel chips at the grocery store last week but I just couldn’t resist. It’s a sickness, people! I have already confessed to my volatile love affair with sweets in this post featuring my delicious liquor-infused cupcakes.  I sold myself on the fact that I was buying the caramel chips for “blogging purposes”. You guys don’t want me to stop, do you? I mean, if I stopped, I would be depriving everybody of these mouthwatering desserts. Your life just wouldn’t be the same without these caramel apple cookies to snack on. Am I right? 😉

These caramel apple cookies are to die for! Absolutely, positively scrumptious. When you as the baker take a bite and shock yourself, you know you’ve nailed the recipe. In fact, these were so delicious I had to send them to work with Patrick and then to my neighbors to get the cookies out of my face. I do feel bad because my poor neighbors are trying to eat healthy and I just went and sabotaged their diet. To add insult to injury, I made another batch of my pumpkin butter squares and added those to my care package for them. Sorry neighbors but I couldn’t resist!

I know you want the recipe so this is my final warning in terms of the addictiveness to these cookies. Try these at your own risk!

So what do I need to make Caramel Apple Cookies?

3 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, ¾ tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 sticks unsalted butter (softened), 1 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup white sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, 1 cup walnuts (chopped), 4.5 – 5 oz bag dried apples (chopped), 10 oz bag caramel chips

Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F.

You’ll then want to line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.

Next, you are going to sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into medium bowl. I use a crank sifter that I purchased at Walmart for less than $10. Anytime I bake something from scratch I use the sifter because not only does it blend your dry ingredients together, but it also removes any clumps you might have in your flour that could ruin the consistency of what you are baking.

Using a stand-up or handheld mixer, and beat the butter until fluffy. Add both sugars and beat until blended. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla making sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients.

It’s now time to add the dry ingredients. I like to add the dry ingredients in thirds, on low speed!  If you add too much at a time, or on too high of a speed, the dry ingredients will go everywhere. Trust me on this one. You also want to mix just until the ingredients come together. Over mixing can cause tough cookies and who wants that!

Using a spatula, stir in chopped dried apples, caramel chips, and walnuts.

I like to use an ice cream scooper when making my cookies for uniformity in size. I opted for large cookies and used an ice cream scoop that holds approximately 3 tablespoons. I scooped the cookie dough into my hand, rolled it into a ball, and placed it on the cookie sheet making sure to place the cookies at least one inch apart. I was able to make 24 large cookies from this batch. If using a smaller ice cream scoop you would be able to get at least 48 cookies from the same batch of cookie dough.

Place cookie sheets in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 18 minutes for large cookies and 15 minutes for small cookies. You are looking for them to be golden brown. I rotated the baking sheets halfway through the baking process so they would bake evenly.

Allow to cool on cookie sheets, or if you’re like me, grab one as soon as they’re cool enough to the touch! They taste the best fresh out of the oven if you want my opinion. 

Ta da! The most delectable caramel apple cookies you will ever eat. I have to say, my family did it right the other night with a mug of warm apple cider, cookies, and television time on the couch. How will you enjoy these caramel apple cookies?