Delicious, buttery shortbread cookie cups topped with sweet, spiced apple pie filling, a new fall favorite.
apple pie cookie cups
Apple pie cookie cups top buttery shortbread bites with perfectly sweet and spiced apples. Serve at fall gatherings, as a Thanksgiving dessert, or just for fun.
You may use canned apple pie filling for these apple pie bites, but homemade is SO easy to make and much yummier than store-bought.
Here, we start with the same shortbread cookie cups we topped with lemon curd, but swapped out summer's flavor for autumn's.
Once you see how easy it is to bake cookie cups, you might not be able to stop. If so, be sure to check out all of our cookie cups recipes.
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tools and ingredients to make cookie cups filled with apple pie
The cookie base is shortbread, so you'll need butter, powdered sugar (also known as icing sugar or confectioner's sugar), all-purpose flour, and a pinch of salt.
You'll mix with a large bowl, whisk, and spoon or spatula. No standing mixer or electric hand mixer needed, unless desired.
To make the apple pie filling, you'll need Granny Smith apples, cinnamon and nutmeg, a bit of butter, corn starch, and both granulated and light brown sugar. You'll need a saucepan for heating the apple mixture.
I highly recommend baking your cookie cups in SILICONE MINI MUFFIN pans. I own two of the linked pans. The cookie cups come out of the pan flawlessly. Metal pans, no matter how well-greased, are much riskier.
To ensure perfect cookie cups without breakage, I grease the silicone pans with non-stick cooking spray.
Scooping the cookie dough into the cups is so much easier with a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop. You'll also need a teaspoon for making indentations in the dough.
uses for leftover apple pie filling
Depending on the size of your apples and how generously your scoops in the cookie cups are, you may have some filling leftover. Here are some ideas for using apple pie filling:
- Top vanilla ice cream with warm filling.
- Fill refrigerated crescent rolls with filling and bake.
- Use as a topping for pancakes, waffles, or French toast.
- Blend with vanilla ice cream to make milkshakes.
- Mix with yogurt for a snack.
- Spread on toast for breakfast.
printable recipe
apple pie cookie cups
These apple pie cookie cups are delicious, buttery shortbread topped with sweet, spiced apple pie filling, a new fall favorite.
Ingredients
- COOKIE CUPS
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar (36 grams)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ butter, melted (113.5 grams)
- APPLE PIE FILLING
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 medium-size Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped in small pieces (about 250 to 280 grams)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- Pinch salt
- TOPPING
- Whipped cream (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray 15 cups of a silicone mini muffin baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- First, make the cookie cups. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt.
- Stir in the butter until a ball of dough forms.
- Use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop to generously scoop balls of dough into the greased muffin cavities.
- Use the back of a teaspoon to make indentations in each of the balls of dough.
- Bake until edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes.
- If necessary, immediately after removing from the oven, press the teaspoon in the indentations again. Let cookies cool in the pan at least 30 minutes.
- Remove the cookie cups and place on a baking tray.
- To make the apple pie filling, melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Add the apples and stir to just soften, about 2 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients and let cook, stirring frequently, until soft, but not mushy, about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Let cool until warm.
- Scoop generous portions in the cookie cups.
- If desired, top with a dollop of whipped cream.
Notes
Usually in baking, unsalted recipe is used. (My personal preference is to use salted.)
We recommend weighing ingredients with a digital scale.
An oven thermometer will ensure your oven's temperature is accurate.
These cookies do hold their shape when baking, so I create the indentations before baking.
There is enough sugar in the cookies that the apple pie filling will be fine at room temperature for up to two days. However, you may also keep the cookie cups in the refrigerator.
MAKE AHEAD TIP: Prepare the cookies and apple pie filling ahead of time. Keep the cookies at room temperature and the filling in the refrigerator. Heat the filling in the microwave until warm, and scoop into the cookie cups right before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
15Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 162Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 89mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 12gProtein: 2g
HowToMakeEasyCookies.com offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you use to create this recipe.
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Denny says
Can these cookies be frozen?
Meaghan Mountford says
Hi Denny, I haven't tried to freeze them, but I would be worried about the apple pie filling and moisture. One option would be to freeze the cookie cups, let them thaw and then fill with the apple filling.