Apple Oatmeal Cookies with Maple Cream Cheese Drizzle
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Soft and chewy Apple Oatmeal Cookies drizzled with apple cream cheese frosting!
Want more apple desserts to enjoy this fall? I’ve got you covered with my Baked Apples Recipe, Classic Apple Crumble Pie, Caramel Apple Dump Cake, and Apple Crisp with Salted Caramel Sauce.
Why This Recipe Works
So soft and chewy — These apple oatmeal cookies are so soft and chewy (thanks to the butter and oats), that you just may never want to make another cookie again.
Perfect for breakfast — I admit it, when I took a bite of one of these cinnamon oatmeal cookies with apples fresh out of the oven, all warm and soft, at 9:30 in the morning – all I could think was oh my gosh I need this for breakfast every day for the rest of my life. It was like hot apple pie oatmeal — but better. No one would blame you if you made a batch of these for an on-the-go-breakfast this week.
Maple cream cheese frosting — What goes great with apple cookies? Why, maple cream cheese frosting of course. So sweet and just a little bit tangy and the perfect topping for these delicious cookies.
Easy to double — Having family or friends over soon? Have a bake sale? Just love cookies? This easy apple cookies recipe is so easy to double. (Hint: and easy to freeze for later, too.)
Ingredients
Apples — For this recipe you’ll need two small or one large apple(s). I prefer to use a sweeter apple like honeycrisp but if you want a bit of a tart taste in this autumn cookies recipe, use granny smith.
Cinnamon and Apple Pie Spice — Two necessary ingredients in these cookies for fall-time. If you don’t have apple pie spice you can use a blend of nutmeg and allspice or substitute pumpkin pie spice.
Baking Soda — Baking soda in this apple oatmeal cookies recipe helps the cookies rise and spread.
Butter, Softened — Gotta have that butter softened. For tricks on quickly softening butter, read on.
Brown Sugar and white sugar — Both sugars are necessary in this recipe because the brown sugar adds a chewy texture (and that slight molasses flavor), while white sugar has a neutral flavor that adds sweetness while letting the other ingredients shine.
Pure Maple Syrup — Pure maple syrup is more about the maple flavor and less about the sweetness, which is key in this simple apple cookies recipe.
Cream Cheese, Softened — Softened cream cheese works way better in the icing for these cookies…leave it out at room temperature for about an hour before you’re ready to make the icing to let it soften.
Maple Extract — I add the concentrated maple extract to this recipe for apple oatmeal cookies but you can also substitute almond or vanilla extract if that’s what you have or prefer not to double up on the maple flavor.
Here’s How You Make It
- First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and preheat a baking sheet. Prep the apples by peeling and dicing.
- Toss the diced apple pieces with 2 tablespoons of flour and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the remaining cup of flour, oats salt, spices, and baking soda.
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter and both sugars.
- Add the syrup, egg, and vanilla and mix in.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix till combined. Then stir in the flour-coated apples with a wooden spoon.
- Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough onto the baking sheet, and pop in the oven for about 10-14 minutes or until they’re golden brown.
- Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
Making the icing
- Cream together the butter and cream cheese.
- Add the powdered sugar, maple extract, and milk and mix well.
- Drizzle the icing over the cookies with a spoon.
FAQs
Oatmeal cookies have been around since the 1800s, but became more widespread when the Quaker Oats company printed an oatmeal cookie recipe on their containers around 1910.
There are a few ways to soften butter. One is to use a box grater to grate the butter into smaller slivers that will soften quickly.
Another is to add boiling water to a drinking glass, allow the glass to heat for a minute or two, then dump the water out and turn the glass over on top of the stick of butter.
You can also roll the butter flat with a rolling pin. Put the butter in between two pieces of wax paper and roll thin to allow it to soften quickly.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- For a warm cookie, reheat the cookies in the microwave for only 10-15 seconds. If you prefer crispier edges, you can put the cookies in the toaster or toaster oven for a couple minutes.
- These apple oatmeal cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days. You can also refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to 5 months.
- For a slightly sweet/slightly tart flavor, use one of each kind of apple.
- If you don’t have pure maple syrup, you can substitute artificial syrup.
More Recipes to Try
- Iced Oatmeal Cookies – a cozy classic!
- Thumbprint Cookies – magic in every bite.
- Frosted Zucchini Oatmeal Cookies – the sweet treat you can feel good about!
When you make this recipe, snap a photo and tag me on social – I love connecting with you and seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Apple Oatmeal Cookies with Maple Cream Cheese Drizzle
Ingredients
- 2 small apples, (or one large)
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup butter, softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Frosting
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 4-5 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon maple extract , (may sub almond or vanilla)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel the apple(s). Dice the remaining apple and discard the seeds and core. Toss the diced apple pieces with 2 tablespoons flour and set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together remaining 1 cup flour, oats, salt, cinnamon, apple pie spice, and baking soda.
- In a large bowl cream together butter and sugars. Mix in maple syrup, egg, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in flour-coated apple pieces. Drop spoonfuls of the cookie dough onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-14 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
- For the frosting, cream together butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar, maple extract, and milk and mix well. Drizzle over cookies.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you use zuchinni instead of apple?
I haven’t done this but probably?! It is going to alter the sweetness/flavor a bit tho!
Do you think you could sub honey for the maple syrup? I’m not a huge maple syrup fan, but these sound so good!
Hi Leah! I haven’t tried it with honey but I’m pretty sure that would be an okay substitute!
I love a good oatmeal cookie.. especially this time of year! Nice addition of apple too – so perfect for Fall.
uh YUM! Apple + spices + oats + cream cheese frosting, in cookie form?! Sounds amazing, and qualifies as breakfast food for sure (or anytime of day food, really!)
I’m there with you – any time of day!!!
Oh my gosh, these look like the perfect beginning-of-fall cookie! Love the flavors, and they are so beautiful. Pinned!
Thanks so much for pinning! These really are the perfect celebration for the start of fall!!
These look amazing!
If it has oatmeal in it, I think it qualifies as breakfast food! These cookies look scrumptious. I’d have a hard time not eating a ton of them!
Agreed, oatmeal = breakfast!!! I seriously had the hardest time not devouring the ENTIRE batch! I just half instead 😉
Mmm! Absolutely delicious and easy to prepare! They can make a fresh and tasty dessert!