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These soft apple spice cookies are fruity, nutty, and perfectly spiced. They’re like little bites of apple crisp in cookie form. Thanks to an oat base, they are also naturally gluten free!
Apple crisp is one of the best fall desserts. I don’t make the rules, I just state the facts! Tart apples, oats, brown sugar, warm spices…it’s the perfect combination of fall flavors.
This means that any dessert that reminds me of apple crisp is also at the top of my fall dessert list. I’m talking apple crisp bars, apple pear crisp, and these apple spice cookies.
This recipe for apple spice cookies comes from my friend Erin over at Texanerin Baking. She shared the recipe with us several years ago and I thought it was time to remind you about these delicious little cookies.
They’re soft, a little bit chewy, and totally remind me of little bites of apple crisp in cookie form.
Oat-filled apple spice cookies
Every once in a while, it’s nice to change up the normal cookie routine with something a little different.
There’s nothing wrong with our favorite chocolate chip cookies or classic snickerdoodles, ok? But sometimes it’s fun to make something like potato chip cookies or salted caramel pretzel cookies to change things up.
This time of year, these apple spice cookies are the perfect option.
This recipe uses a combination of rolled oats and oat flour, so these apple cookies are 100% whole grain in addition to being gluten free. While oats are naturally gluten free, they’re often contaminated in the field or during production, so it’s necessary to buy certified gluten-free oats if you are feeding these to someone with a gluten allergy or sensitivity.
The batter also includes nut butter for a bit of a nutty flavor. I love using almond butter, but peanut butter is also delicious, especially if you already love apple peanut butter cookies.
While these apple spice cookies aren’t quite as chewy as oatmeal raisin cookies, they’re wonderfully soft and just a little chewy. I found also that rolling the cookie dough in sugar adds a thin, crisp sugary crust that makes these cookies all the more irresistible.
How to make my apple spice cookies
Ingredients you’ll need
To make these apple spice cookies, you will need:
- 1 1/2 cups oat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon apple pie spice
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup melted coconut oil
- ½ cup almond butter or creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/4 cups lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large room-temperature eggs
- 2 3/4 cups rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups diced granny smith apple (about 1/4″ in size)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (for rolling)
Oat flour is simply ground up oats, but it can sometimes be a bit expensive or hard to find depending on where you live. Luckily, you can make your own by finely grinding quick or rolled oats in a food processor or coffee grinder.
Coconut oil helps give these cookies a chewier texture. I like to use refined coconut oil, which does not have any coconut flavor, but unrefined works great if you don’t mind a slight coconut flavor to the cookies.
If you are allergic to coconut, you can easily use melted butter instead. Just keep in mind that the cookies will have a slightly cakier texture.
The nut butter in this recipe serves as a binder, since we don’t have any gluten. Feel free to use creamy almond butter or peanut butter, depending on what you like best.
I suggest using room-temperature eggs for the best result. If you forget to set yours out ahead of time, check out my tips on how to bring eggs to room temperature.
Tart granny smith apples are my favorite in this recipe. Other tart, crisp baking apples such as honeycrisp, golden delicious, and pink lady apples will also work.
Making these cookies
Start by whisking the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl: oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, apple pie spice, and salt.
In a separate large bowl, stir together the melted coconut oil, almond butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. You can do this by hand with a whisk or spatula or use an electric mixer.
Beat in the eggs until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined.
Add the oats. Stir until they are almost completely combined, then stir in the apples. The dough will be sticky—that’s ok!
Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until the dough is firm enough to roll into balls.
Place the granulated sugar in a small bowl for rolling the dough balls.
Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and roll each one in the sugar. Place 3 inches apart on lined baking sheets, then use the bottom of a glass to gently press the balls down, flattening them slightly.
Bake at 350°F for 13-15 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies no longer appear wet on the surface.
Let the apple spice cookies cool on the baking sheets before removing them to a cooling rack.
Storage
Store apple spice cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. By day 4 they may start to fall apart a bit, especially if the tops of the cookies weren’t fully dry when you pulled them out of the oven, but they still taste great.
Frequently asked questions
Quick oats will work great in this recipe. Use the same amount of quick oats as rolled oats. Do not use instant oats.
Depending on your grocery store, oat flour will either be in the baking aisle or with the specialty/gluten-free baking ingredients.
If you can’t find any or it is a bit pricey, you can make your own by finely grinding rolled or quick oats in a food processor or coffee grinder.
Apple spice is a blend of warm spices that perfectly complements the fresh, tart apple in these cookies. If you are out, you can use ground cinnamon with a pinch of nutmeg and ground ginger. Pumpkin pie spice will also work.
Unfortunately this recipe won’t work without the nut butter, since it helps to hold together the batter. For gluten-free and nut-free cookies full of fall flavors, check out pumpkin pie cookies.
Apple Spice Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups oat flour certified gluten-free
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon apple pie spice
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup coconut oil melted (see notes)
- ½ cup almond butter or creamy peanut butter (see notes)
- 1 ¼ cups lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 ¾ cups rolled oats certified gluten-free
- 1 ½ cup diced granny smith apple about 1/4" in size
- ¼ cup granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, apple pie spice, and salt. Set aside.1 ½ cups oat flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 tablespoon apple pie spice
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the melted coconut oil, almond butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat in the eggs.¾ cup coconut oil, ½ cup almond butter or creamy peanut butter, 1 ¼ cups lightly packed light brown sugar, 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract, 2 large eggs
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until just combined.
- Stir in the oats until almost combined and then stir in the apples. The dough will be quite sticky.2 ¾ cups rolled oats, 1 ½ cup diced granny smith apple
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or until the dough is firm enough to be rolled into balls.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the granulated sugar in a small bowl.¼ cup granulated sugar
- Roll the dough into 1″ balls and roll in the sugar. Place the dough balls 3″ apart on the prepared baking sheet. Use the bottom of a glass to gently press the dough balls down, slightly flattening them. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the tops of the cookies no longer appear wet on the surface. They will be quite soft but will set as they cool.
- Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Melted unsalted butter will also work in this recipe, but the cookies are chewier with coconut oil. If using coconut oil, I prefer refined coconut oil, which has no coconut taste. If you don’t mind a slight to mild coconut taste, unrefined coconut oil also works.
- My favorite version of these cookies uses almond butter. If you love the combination of apples and peanut butter, however, feel free to use creamy peanut butter in place of the almond butter.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hello! I’d love to try these, but I can’t use almond butter or sun butter. Do you think using peanut butter would be okay, or would it significantly alter the flavor or texture?
Hello! I haven’t attempted this recipe with this substitution, so I am not sure of the result. If you happen to give it a try, I’d love to know how they turned out. Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
I had some apples that were nearing the end and I needed a quick way out. Apples are getting expensive!!! So when I found this recipe and shared it with my mother, she was less than enthusiastic about putting apples in cookies. Determined not to let the fruit turn and simultaneously show her that apple cookies would not fail like my previous attempt at an apple smoothie, I prepped the recipe.
I did need to add some water, but probably because I was using egg replacer and not real eggs due to allergies. Other than that, they turned out great, tasted positively delectable, and gave me the satisfaction of rubbing it (playfully) in my mother’s face. Yum!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the cookies, Molly! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
How large should the chunks be?
Hello! You will want them to be fairly small – I’d recommend around 1/4 inch or so. Hope this helps! Happy baking.
Jamie
These look divine! My son has a lot of allergies including dairy, nuts, coconut, and legumes. Can I make these with any other oil like olive or canola?
Hello! If you are able, a vegan butter or butter-flavored shortening might work better. You can try canola or vegetable oil, but I don’t know the exact result. If you give them a try, I’d love to know how they turned out. Happy baking!
Jamie
If substituting butter for the coconut oil, does the butter need to be melted? Thank you.
Hi Deanna – Yes, you’ll want to use melted butter if substituting butter for coconut oil. Happy baking!
Can I freeze the dough? I went apple picking and am making a ton of these cookies but wanted to do it in batches to last for a couple of months. How long can I freeze it?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried it but I’m assuming it’d work to freeze the dough for up to 3 months. I hope you’re enjoying the cookies!
I tried your apple oatmeal cookies last night. They tasted great but they di?????d not form well. The first batch crumbled apart and then i added another egg and they just spreaded out on the pan. I made my own oatmeal flour and came out great. Used coconut oil and regular butter. What went wrong???? Help
I’m sorry to hear that! Did you make any subs? And what kind of almond butter did you use? The dough is quite sticky but after refrigerating, it should be easy to form. When you take them out of the oven, they’ll be quite soft but firm up as they cool. Did they not do that? And adding an extra egg is what caused them to spread out on the pan so I wouldn’t do that. I’m happy that they were at least tasty!
That’s nice, but oats are not necessarily gluten free. They have to be guaranteed gluten free oats (grown no where near wheat, rye or barley), processed on gluten free machinery, and then there is still a protein in oats that can cause the same reaction as gluten does in coeliacs. So any coeliacs be careful with this recipe.
Thanks to Erin for her GF Baking efforts tho!
Thanks for your comment, Shari! I pointed out in the post and in the recipe that certified gluten-free oats must be used for these to be considered gluten-free. Concerning people who react to avenin – according to this, “perhaps less than 1% of celiac patients show a reaction to a large amount of oats in their diets.” I think because it’s such a small percentage, certified gluten-free oats are widely used in the gluten-free community. Thanks for the reminder, though! :)
Hi! I just found your recipe and it looks AMAZING however I need it to be but free in addition to gluten and dairy free.. Any suggestions for replacement for the almond butter? thanks so much!
Thanks, Kayla! I’ve made these without the almond butter but they’re extremely delicate that way. Delicious, but they fall apart easily! I’ve never tried SunButter but I hear it’s a good sub for almond butter. Whether or not that’d actually taste good here – I’m not sure. I do very little with xanthan gum but maybe you could try adding a little of that? I hope that helps! :)