Apple Crumble Cookies

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Fall wrapped up in a cookie. These Apple Crumble Cookies are perfectly sweet, full of apples, and topped with a delicious cinnamon crumble.

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Are you Team Pumpkin or Team Apple for Fall? Personally, I’m Team Apple all the way! There’s nothing better than a slice of apple pie or a warm pastry with apples in it. Plus, just the smell of apples and cinnamon together is heavenly. I will admit, as of the last few years, I have come to appreciate pumpkin a bit. I recently perfected The Best Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie and let me tell you, they’re really good. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t love pumpkin.

Now, let’s get back to apple! I wanted to make a super easy cookie recipe that incorporated apples and some cinnamon crumble for Fall. A cookie that was cozy and essentially like an apple coffee cake, but in cookie form — and that’s exactly what I’ve achieved with these. These cookies have a dreamy, soft & chewy texture, are full of delicious apples and cinnamon crumble, and then topped with a yummy vanilla glaze to bring everything together.

While there are a few different components of the recipe that you have to make with the cookie dough, cinnamon crumble, and the glaze, these cookies are ready in less than an hour. Also, hint hint, they would be the perfect bake to bring to your Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving dinners this year! I’m just saying!

Read on for the full recipe for these tasty Apple Crumble Cookies.

I know that my recipes usually revolve around chocolate, but I can appreciate a great apple dessert. What I love about these is that they are seriously so easy to make — you don’t need a ton of ingredients — but they do not disappoint at all, especially when it comes to flavor.

I added ground cinnamon to my cookie dough which helped bump up the flavor profile. Pair that with the apples, which are also tossed in cinnamon, and the cinnamon crumble, and the flavors are unreal. I’m not kidding when I say that these taste like coffee cake. Have one of these with a cup of coffee and you’ll be in heaven. I recommend storing these in the refrigerator so that the apples don’t get mushy. I personally prefer to eat them fresh out of the refrigerator when they’re a little chilled anyway.

For this recipe, you will need a stand or handheld mixer as we will be using softened/room temperature butter to make the cookie dough. I opted for room temperature butter as I wanted these cookies to be a bit thicker and taller so that they could hold the apples and cinnamon crumble. You will also need 1 egg for this recipe which needs to be at room temperature as well.

Only one apple is needed for this recipe (about ¾ cup). The apple will need to be peeled and diced into smaller pieces. I don’t recommend adding a ton of apple as the dough won’t be able to hold too much more than ¾ cup. I opted to season my apples with ground cinnamon, but if you like nutmeg and ginger feel free to add those in too.

Once the dough is ready, you’ll move on to making the cinnamon crumble. I recommend melting your butter first and letting it cool for a few minutes while you get all of the dry ingredients ready. Whisk together all of your dry ingredients in a bowl and then add the melted butter in. The cinnamon crumble will need a little time to set and harden so that you can break it into smaller pieces. I like to set my crumble in the refrigerator to help speed up this process. Feel free to set your cookie dough in the refrigerator as well.

When you’re able to break the crumble apart, you can begin baking your cookies. Cover the top of each cookie dough ball with a generous amount of the cinnamon crumble and you’re good to go! It’s totally optional, but I highly recommend adding a vanilla glaze on top as it adds the perfect touch. Wait until the cookies have cooled completely before adding the glaze or else it will just run right off each cookie and you won’t get that nice drizzle effect.

These cookies are so dreamy and truly the epitome of Fall. I’m so happy with how they turned out! I’ve included some additional Tips for Success and FAQs below, so be sure to scroll down and read through those. If you still have questions, feel free to send me a DM on Instagram and I can try to answer them and help walk you through the recipe.

Other recipes you may like:

• Cinnamon Crumble Banana Bread Cookies
• Brown Butter Cookie Butter Lava Chocolate Chip Cookies
• The Best Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate Dipped Cheesecake Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Brown Butter Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients you’ll need:

• Unsalted butter
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Egg
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Cinnamon
• Salt
• Apple (I used Granny Smith)
• Powdered sugar
• Milk

Kitchen tools you’ll need:

• Handheld or stand mixer
• Dry ingredient measuring cups
• Spatula
• Apple peeler
• Apple slicer
• Cookie scoop – I used the medium cookie scoop which holds 1½ tbsp of dough
• Mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Cookie turner
• Cooling rack

How to make these delicious Apple Crumble Cookies

Cookie Dough

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a handheld mixer, beat ½ cup softened unsalted butter, ¼ cup granulated sugar, and ½ cup brown sugar on medium to high speed for 2 to 3 minutes. The mixture should be light and fluffy.

Add in 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 egg. Beat until fully combined.

In a bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, and ½ tsp salt. Once whisked together, gradually add in the dry ingredients until just combined.

Peel and chop one medium-size apple (about ¾ cup). In a bowl, mix the apples with ¼ tsp cinnamon.

Gently fold the apples into the cookie dough with a rubber spatula.

Set aside the cookie dough and prepare the cinnamon crumble.

Cinnamon Crumble

Melt 3 tbsp unsalted butter in the microwave in 10-second increments.

Let the butter cool for a few minutes. While the butter is cooling, mix together 3 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and ¼ cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour.

Stir in the butter until everything is fully combined. The crumble will need about 10 to 15 minutes to harden so that you can break it into smaller pieces. I recommend wrapping the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and setting it in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 to minutes to speed up the process.

Assembly

Scoop out 12 equally-sized dough balls. Dip the top of each cookie dough ball in the cinnamon crumble so that there’s a generous amount of crumble pieces on top. Press them in a little bit so that they stay attached to the cookies.

Place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Set the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set and lightly golden. The tops of the cookies may look a little wet.

Once removed from the oven, let the cookies cool completely before topping them with the vanilla glaze.

Vanilla Glaze

Whisk together ½ cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp milk, ¼ tsp vanilla extract, and ¼ tsp (or to taste) salt. Whisk the mixture together well so that everything is well combined. If you would like a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar. For a thinner glaze, add more milk.

With a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the top of each cookie. 

Store the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. I don’t recommend leaving these cookies out at room temperature or else the apple will get mushy.

Tips for success

• Measure your dry ingredients correctly! Too much flour will impact the taste, texture, and overall look of your cookies. Before you measure out the flour, run a spoon through it so that you loosen up any clumps. Then, use your spoon to spoon the flour into the measuring cup. If you scoop up the flour directly with your measuring cup, the flour will be compacted and you’ll end up with too much. You should be measuring dry ingredients with dry ingredient measuring cups (there are different measuring cups for liquids) — these are the ones that I use for dry ingredients. If you prefer to bake using grams and like to weigh out your ingredients with a kitchen scale, you can use an online conversion calculator (like this one from Inch Calculator) to convert the recipe.
• Ensure that your butter and egg for the cookie dough are at room temperature as this will impact how the cookies bake up. Butter is at room temperature when you can press your finger in it and it leaves a small mark/dent. It will probably still feel a little cold. If your butter is very delicate and easy to dent, then it’s too soft.
• Peel, chop, and season your apples after you’ve added in your dry ingredients. While you may want your apples to just be ready to toss right into the dough, you don’t want to let them sit out as they could start browning.
• Refrigerate your cinnamon crumble. I repeat, refrigerate your cinnamon crumble. When you first make your crumble, it WILL appear to be more of a liquid. It just needs time to set and harden. Placing it in the refrigerator will help speed up this process. If you leave it in for too long, it may be more difficult to break apart — just let it sit out and it will soften a bit.
• This is my regular reminder to use the baking time listed as simply a guide and not a set rule. Everyone’s oven is different. Please buy yourself an oven thermometer as you’d be surprised how often your oven is heating to a different temperature than it’s telling you it is. And, even despite the oven thermometer, always go by how the cookies look to determine when they should be removed from the oven. For these cookies, the edges should look set and lightly golden. The tops of the cookies will still look a little wet, and that’s okay! Do not overbake the cookies to the point where they are golden and fully set on top as we want these cookies to have a nice, soft & chewy texture. If you overbake your cookies, they will have a dry, crumbly texture.

FAQs

What size cookie scoop did you use?

I used the medium cookie scoop which holds 1½ tbsp of cookie dough.

Can I make my cookies smaller or larger?

Yes, you will just need to adjust your bake time accordingly. This recipe made 12 medium-sized cookies (10 to 12 minute bake time) or 8 large cookies (12 to 14 minute bake time) for me. If you choose to make smaller cookies, set your timer for 6 minutes and check on the cookies. Add an additional 1 to 2 minutes, as needed. For larger cookies, go by the 12 to 14 minute bake time and add 1 to 2 minutes, as needed. Regardless of cookie size, always go by how the cookies look — the edges should be set and lightly golden and the tops of the cookies will still be a little wet. At this point, they’re ready to be removed from the oven. You can always bake 1 test cookie first to determine bake time.

My cinnamon crumble isn’t crumbly, what should I do?

When you first combine the butter with the dry ingredients, your crumble will be very soft and more of a liquid. Just let it set and harden. I recommend placing it in the refrigerator for at least 10 to 15 minutes as this will help speed up the process.

Can I make this dough in advance?

Normally, I would say yes, but since this recipe uses apples and they have a tendency to brown, I would advise against it. It’s best to make and bake these ASAP.

My vanilla glaze tastes like powdered sugar, what should I do?

Add salt! Salt is the magical ingredient that will get rid of that powdered sugar taste. For this recipe, I have ¼ tsp listed for the glaze, but feel free to add more or less, as needed.

How to store

Store the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container or bag. If freezing, set the cookies out for about 20 to 30 minutes prior to consuming so that they soften.

The easiest, but dreamiest, Apple Crumble Cookies. I really love these so much. Each bite is full of delicious apples and cinnamon crumble which is just a match made in heaven. Plus, that vanilla glaze on top just takes these to the next level. I’m telling you, you need to make a batch of these cookies. You will not be disappointed!!

If you try this recipe, share and tag me on socials using @itsbrunchoklock or #itsbrunchoklock.