Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cookies
These mini apple hand pies are delicious cookies made with whole wheat flour and doused in salted coconut caramel. They're perfect for lunches, snacking and more!
Prep Time1 hour hr
Cook Time45 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 45 minutes mins
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: caramel apple pie cookies, mini apple hand pies
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 198kcal
Author: Jovita | Yummy Addiction
For the dough:
- 1 1/2 cups (225g) whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cups (200g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (230g) unsalted butter , cold, cut into cubes
- 2 eggs , whisked
- 1 tablespoon milk
For the caramel sauce:
- 1 13.5 oz. (400ml) can full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the filling:
- 2 large apples , cored, peeled and small diced
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch of ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
For the egg wash:
- 1 egg , whisked with 1 teaspoon water
- sugar for sprinkling
The dough:
Add both flours, coconut sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix until combined. Add the butter and use a pastry cutter or two forks to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles crumbs. Pour whisked eggs and a tablespoon of milk into the butter/flour mixture and mix thoroughly. Alternatively, you can do the dough in a food processor.
Gather the dough into a ball. If it doesn't stick together, add another tablespoon of milk until a ball can be formed. Knead the dough on a floured surface for a few minutes (add more all-purpose flour as you knead, if it's extremely sticky). Form the dough into 4 balls, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for around 30 minutes. A chilled dough is easier to handle.
The caramel:
In a saucepan, over medium heat, combine together the coconut milk, coconut sugar, and sea salt. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a light simmer. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. During the last 5 minutes of cooking time, stir more frequently to mix in the darker caramel bits from the bottom into the sauce.
The sauce is ready when it has turned dark amber in color and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut oil and vanilla extract. Set aside to cool.
The filling:
Toss the diced apples and lemon juice in a medium bowl. In a separate, small bowl, stir together the sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cornstarch. Pour this mixture over the apples and gently toss to combine. Set aside.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Assembling apple pie cookies:
Work with one dough ball at a time (keep the others refrigerated till ready to use). On a floured surface roll out the dough into a thin sheet (about 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick). Use a 2 1/2 to 3 inch round cookie cutter to cut as many rounds as possible from the dough. Transfer them to the prepared baking sheet and repeat the process with the second dough ball. When the baking sheet is full, put it in the refrigerator. Repeat the process with the remaining dough balls. Refrigerate the dough scraps if they become too stretchy and soft. I usually place it in the freezer, so it chills faster.
Place about a heaping teaspoon or so of the apple filling in the center of the circle. Add a dollop of salted caramel on top (don't add too much or it will leak out during baking). Layer a second round of dough on top and press the edges to seal. Repeat this process with the remaining circles and the filling. Refrigerate the cookies for about 30 minutes or until ready to bake.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
When all mini pies are chilled, crimp the edges of each pie with a fork. Lightly brush the tops of the cookies with the egg wash, then sprinkle them with the sugar. Use a paring knife to cut slits in the top of each pie.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and golden brown (watch carefully as they can burn quickly). Remove from the oven and let sit for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle more caramel on top of each cookie. Enjoy!
1. The caramel sauce adapted from Downshiftology.
2. This recipe can be made entirely with all-purpose flour (that’s how I first made it a few years ago). Just substitute 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour with the same amount of plain flour (so it will be 3 cups of flour in total for this recipe). You can check out the image of how the all-purpose version of these apple pie cookies looks like at the beginning of the post.
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 198kcal | Carbohydrates: 20.4g | Protein: 3.1g | Fat: 12.2g | Cholesterol: 43.6mg | Sodium: 89.2mg | Sugar: 7.9g