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These soft apple pie filling cookies use just four ingredients: a spice cake mix, unsweetened applesauce, chopped apple pie filling, and a caramel drizzle. (No eggs or oil!) The cookies bake up more like the top of a luscious muffin than a crisp cookie, full of jammy apples and spice-cake flavor. Super easy and splendid with a hot tea or coffee.
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How to Make Apple Pie Filling Cookies
Step 1: Preheat + prep
Preheat the oven to 350°F; then line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Get out the cutting board and knife.
Step 2: Make the dough
Chop the apple pie filling into small pieces, then add it to a large bowl with the spice cake mix and applesauce. Stir until it combines into a thick, sticky dough.
Step 3: Scoop
Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. A cookie scoop works wonders, but you can also use two teaspoons to add dough to the prepared pan.
Step 4: Bake
Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until the tops are set and no longer look wet. These do not brown much. A light touch with your fingertip should tell you if they are set, but if you want to use a toothpick in the center of one, that would be a good indicator too.
Step 5: Cool
Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then move them to a wire rack or plate. They are fragile straight out of the oven and firm up as they rest and cool.
Step 6: Drizzle with caramel
After these cool for about 10 minutes: Spoon the caramel sauce over each cookie off the tip of a spoon. You can use a piping bag for cleaner lines, but it’s not necessary.
Tools and Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Silicone spatula
- Cookie scoop
- Cookie sheet
- Parchment paper
- Cooling rack
- Piping bag, baggie, or teaspoon (for drizzling caramel)
- Measuring cups and spoons
Tips for Success
- Setting expectations: These are soft, cakey cookies not crisp or chewy cookies.
- Chop the pie filling small. This will help the dough distribute apple filling and cook evenly.
- The unsweetened applesauce may seem like overkill but it’s helping bind the dough, while the apple pie filling adds the sweetness.
- Yellow or white cake mix works if spice is sold out. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg to make up for it, or use an apple-pie spice or pumpkin-pie spice that you have in the pantry. (Here’s our recipe to make your own pumpkin spice mix)
- Store in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Layer parchment between them or the caramel glues the layers together.
- If you want to freeze these, freeze before adding the caramel. Thaw first, then drizzle.
The bottom line
These easy apple pie filling cookies turn a box of spice cake mix and a can of apple pie filling into three dozen soft, caramel-drizzled cookies with zero creaming, chilling, or fuss. They are the fastest thing you can bring to a fall bake sale that still tastes like you tried, and the dough comes together faster than the oven preheats.
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Apple Pie Filling Cookies
Ingredients
- 13.25 oz spice cake mix 1 box
- 2/3 c unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 c apple pie filling chopped
- 3 T caramel sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- You can scissor the apple pie filling in a bowl, cutting the large pieces of apple about 1/2-in. Or cut them up using a paring knife then scoop them into a large bowl.
- Add the cake mix and applesauce. Stir to combine until you have a thick dough.
- Use a 1-inch cookie scoop to gather dough and drop a dough ball onto the prepared baking sheet. Note: If you don't have a cookie scoop,yYou can use the tips of two teaspoons to gather and drop a 1-inch blob of dough onto the prepared pan, about an inch apart.
- Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until set. Check doneness with a light fingertip touch or a toothpick in the middle of one cookie.
- These will be fragile hot from the oven and need to set as they cool. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
- Add caramel sauce to a piping bag or zip-top baggie, snip a tiny hole off at the end, then drizzle over the cookies. Or warm the caramel in a small bowl and spoon the caramel over the tops of the cooled cookies.
