* If you follow me on social media, you know that all of November I will be posting cookie recipes in a series called, 30 Days of Cookies. That’s 30 recipes to develop, make, photograph, edit, and write in 30 days. For a roundup of all posts, you can visit the 30 Days of Cookies Archive page. Today is Day 15 of 30 with these Sugared Apple Pie Cookie Tarts. Feel free to participate in the cookie making madness. Just include the hashtag #30daysofcookies in your posts to link up.
I think I’ve said it before, but I’m not a big apple pie fan. Or any pie for that matter. I’m getting better at liking apple baked goods, but that still doesn’t mean I’d turn down chocolate if I was given the choice between the two. I want to like pie, I really do. But it’s been a long process and I’m still not 100% to the point of true friendship.
I feel like I made progress last month after making apple chips (and actually liking them). Then I went and visited a apple orchard, wound up with 5 lbs. of apples, and forced myself to experiment more with them. And that’s when these cookies were born. I planned to post these a few weeks ago, but kind of forgot about them until I came across the images today. And I don’t know how I forgot about them, because they are shockingly probably one of my top 10 cookie recipes that I’ve made.
These photos honestly don’t do them justice. They look like they may be a little hard, but they are one of the softest sugar cookies ever. So what makes them so soft? Instead of butter (yes, no butter in this recipe!) I used light sour cream. If done correctly, sour cream is a great substitute for butter in cookies. The dough is also made up of apple cider, lemon juice, and milk, giving the cookies lots of liquids to keep it moist.
Although they take a little extra work to make pretty, the taste is totally worth it. I’ve contemplated making these again just for fun, but I’m going to have to wait until 30 Days of Cookies is over. Because ain’t nobody got time for duplicate recipes right about now.
Sugared Apple Pie Cookie Tarts
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup apple cider
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/8 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Cinnamon/Sugar Apple Filling (to roll apples into)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1-2 apples depending on size, chopped into chunks
Before you begin! If you make this, will you do me a huge favor and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Instructions
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In a large bowl, cream together sour cream, sugar, apple cider, lemon juice, milk, and honey with an electric mixer for 1 minute.
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Add in vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and egg and stir on low speed until incorporated. Add in baking powder and continue to stir on low for 10 seconds.
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Half a cup at a time, slowly add in the flour and mix on low speed until flour is incorporated.
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Form dough into a large ball and place on flour covered surface. Knead dough for 1 minute until dough is no longer sticky. You may need to sprinkle more flour onto the dough and continue to knead if dough is sticky.
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Before rolling, reserve a small amount (1/8 cup) of the dough and set aside (this will be what you use for the lattice top of each cookie).
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Using a rolling pin, roll dough between 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Using a 3-3.5 inch diameter circle cookie cutter, carefully cut out circles and place on ungreased, parchment covered cookie sheet.
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In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Toss apple chunks into mixture and scoop 1 tablespoon of the apple mixture on the center of each cookie. To create the lattice top, roll small balls of dough into long pieces ("snakes") and carefully place on top of the apple mixture. Press the ends of the long pieces into the bottom cookie dough so the ends stay down.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until edges are slightly brown and cookies are no longer doughy.
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If you don't plan to serve these immediately, store in an airtight container for 1-2 days.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Nutrition
Have you ever tried something thinking you wouldn’t like it, and it wound up being one of your favorite things? I didn’t think I’d like these cookies as much as I did, but it’s just more proof that I need to branch out a bit more & be more open to different ideas. I sound like a picky 5 year old, but I swear I’m not.
Alissa says
I just woke up Andrew with how excited I am about these cookies! They are adorable AND look delicious!
Megan - The Emotional Baker says
This is so clever! I love that you turned a pie into a cookie. I like pies, but they aren’t my favorite treat either.