I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but the weather really has turned here in New York. Suddenly, it’s super comfortable to wear my favorite jeans all day and I even get to break out a jacket in the evenings. We have our annual trip to the apple orchard with friends in the books for the last weekend in September, and I can’t wait until my worst food problem is deciding which apple recipes to make, like, right away before the apples go bad (one bad one really does spoil the whole bunch). Okay who am I kidding my worst food problem is always what to make for dinner because I just.don’t.want.to.make.it (do they really have to eat dinner every single day??). But you know what I mean. In preparation for this apple bounty coming my way, I decided to make gluten free apple pie cookies. But they couldn’t be sugar cookies shaped like apple pies or mini actual apple pies. I wanted an easy drop cookie that still had all the taste of apple pie, without any of the fuss. Mission accomplished!
Like baking with pumpkin, baking with apples means loads of extra moisture. Extra moisture in cookies usually means something shaped like a cookie that actually tastes like a piece of cake. That’s what happens when you try to replace oil or butter with applesauce in a recipe. No thank you. If anything is going to taste like cake, it should be, well, cake. So instead of adding applesauce, I used a peeled and grated apple. And I’m happy to report that, after 4 separate tries and many dozens of cookie-shaped mini cakes, we have real thick-and-chewy apple cookies.
The cookies themselves aren’t loaded with tons and tons of sugar, and the whole batch only has 4 ounces of white chocolate chips, so the glaze really adds a nice touch of extra sweetness. But of course you could leave it off if you’re just not into that sort of thing. These also freeze incredibly well, and really do have all the aroma and flavor of apple pie. If there’s a person who doesn’t love fall, I’ve never met him!
Cookies
1 1/2 cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used Better Batter)
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
1/4 cup (36 g) cornstarch
4 ounces white chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice*
3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
1 medium-size apple, peeled and grated (80 g) (I used Granny Smith, but any firm apple will do)
10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg (60 g, weighed out of shell) at room temperature, beaten
*To make your own apple pie spice, combine 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom + 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg + 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger + 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice.
Glaze
3/4 cup (86 g) confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon milk (any kind), plus more by the 1/4 teaspoonful if necessary
Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum and cornstarch, and whisk to combine well. Transfer 1 teaspoon of the dry ingredients to a small bowl, add the chocolate chips and toss to combine. Set aside. To the large bowl of dry ingredients, add the baking soda, salt, apple pie spice and sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the grated apple, and mix to combine, working to separate the apple pieces from one another. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, vanilla and egg, mixing to combine after each addition. The dough will be thick and sticky. Add the chips and reserved dry ingredients and mix until the chips are evenly distributed throughout.
Divide the dough into 14 equal parts, each about 1 1/2 tablespoonful. With wet hands, roll each piece of dough into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet 2-inches apart from one another. With wet fingers, flatten and spread each ball into a disk about 1/2-inch thick. Place in the refrigerator to chill until firm (about 10 minutes). Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake until lightly golden brown on the edges (about 12 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet.
When the cookies are nearly cool, make the glaze. In a small bowl, place the confectioners’ sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk. Mix well, until a thick paste forms. Add more milk by the 1/4-teaspoon, mixing to combine well, until the glaze falls off the spoon slowly, in a thick but pourable glaze. Add milk very slowly, as it is much easier to thin, than to thicken, the glaze. If you do thin the glaze too much, add more confectioners’ sugar a teaspoon at a time to thicken it. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies and allow to set at room temperature.
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