Inspired by Janie’s Life Changing Baked Good’s pie crust cookies, these apple pie cookies are like little bites of apple pie. With flaky pie crust, spiced apples and a buttery streusel, these are a delight to eat!
As someone who formerly hated hot cooked fruit, there was a time when a pie crust cookie would not have appealed to me. However, after visiting Janie’s in NYC (specifically West Village) to try their pie crust cookies, my mind was officially changed. The creator, Janie, was after a cookie that delivered flaky crust, filling and streusel all in one bite. They’re absolutely delicious and this is my take on an apple pie cookie that you can make at home!
Why you’ll love these cookies
- No pie weights needed: My least favorite part about making pie is blind baking with pie weights to hold the shape of the crust. With these cookies, all you need to do is stamp out circles and bake them for the base of these pie crust cookies.
- Minimal ingredients: Using just 8 ingredients, you’ll be able to create pie dough from scratch, a cozy apple filling and a buttery streusel.
- Lots of textures: The flaky pie crust, tender apples and crumbly streusel make for a really satisfying bite!
Recipe ingredients
- Apples: I used a mix of Granny Smith and Gala. I love the tartness of Granny Smith apples for baking, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Around 2.5 cups of diced apples was perfect for filling 20 pie crust cookies.
- Light brown sugar: Feel free to sub dark brown sugar if that’s all you have!
- Cornstarch: Flour or arrowroot starch may also be substituted. The cornstarch is simply to thicken the apple mixture slightly.
How to make apple pie cookies
Step 1: (If using store-bought pie crust, skip steps 1 and 2.) Combine the flour, sugar, salt in a medium bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingers.
Step 2: Add cold water, 1-2 tbsp at a time until dough comes together in a shaggy ball. Form into a disc, wrap tightly and chill for at least one hour.
Step 3: Roll out the pie dough to 1/4″ thickness. Stamp out 20 rounds using a 2″ pie cutter.
Step 4: Bake the pie crust rounds at 400 degrees for 10-11 minutes.
Step 5: Add the butter, apples, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt to a medium saucepan.
Step 6: Cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until softened. Add water 1 tbsp at a time if needed to deglaze the pan.
Step 7: Combine the streusel ingredients in a bowl.
Step 8: Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a crumbly texture.
Step 9: On the cooled pie crust rounds, top with a tbsp of apple filling, then a generous pinch of streusel.
Step 10: Bake for 10 minutes, or until streusel is golden and fragrant. Finish with a dusting of powdered sugar.
Storage and make ahead
These are best eaten the day they’re made while the pie crust is still crisp and flaky. While you *can* store them overnight in a Tupperware, I don’t advise this for optimal eating as the moisture from the filling will seep into the streusel and soften the crust.
To prep these ahead of time, you can:
- Make the pie dough up to a week before and it keep it wrapped tightly in the fridge.
- Make the streusel up to 2 days before and keep it in the fridge.
- Make the apple filling up to 2 days before and store it in the fridge.
What to do with leftover pie dough
This amount of pie dough should yield the perfect amount to stamp out ~20 2″ pie crust rounds. With any leftover pie dough scraps, I like to stack them on top of each other (working the dough as little as possible to prevent overworking the gluten), form the scraps into a new round and refrigerate until cold once again.
You can use the leftover scraps to make jam-filled pop tarts, cinnamon sugar twists, mini quiches in a muffin tin, or any of these many uses for leftover pie dough!
Apple Pie Cookies
These cookies are like little bites of apple pie with a base of flaky pie crust, spiced apples and a buttery crumble topping!
Servings 20 cookies
Ingredients
For the pie crust
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar white vinegar will also work
- 1/2 cup ice
Apple filling
- 2 medium apples 2.5 cups
- 1.5 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup water, plus more as needed
Streusel topping
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
Instructions
Pie dough
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Whisk 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1.5 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp kosher salt together. Use your hands to rub in 1/2 cup butter chunks until the mixture is sandy with a few larger chunks the size of peas.
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Combine 1/2 cup water, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 1/2 cup ice. Drizzle the liquid into the flour mixture 1-2 tbsp at a time, using your hands to lightly disperse the liquid throughout the dry ingredients. I usually use between 6-8 tbsp of water to bring the dough together. Gently knead until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Apple filling
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Peel and dice the apples. Melt the butter in a medium nonstick skillet on medium heat. Once melted, add the apples, 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 2 tsp cornstarch, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/8 tsp kosher salt. Let the apples cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-10 minutes, or until tender. Add water 1-2 tbsp at a time to deglaze the pan if the mixture starts to look dry.
Streusel topping
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In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 6 tbsp light brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp kosher salt. Use your fingers to rub in 3 tbsp of unsalted butter into the dry ingredients until you have evenly moistened crumbs.
Assembly
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Preheat oven to 400 Farenheit. Roll out your chilled pie dough to about 1/4″ thickness. Use a 2″ cookie cutter or glass to stamp out 20 rounds of pie dough.
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Transfer pie dough rounds to an ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10-11 minutes, or until they look flaky and matte on top (but not yet starting to brown).
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Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Carefully top each pie dough round with around 1 tbsp of apple filling. Top each cookie with a generous sprinkle of streusel topping (I like to pinch the streusel together to plop on top of the apple filling, then add another pinch of loose crumbs to get into all the nooks and crannies).
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Bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until crumb looks golden brown. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet. Finish with a dusting of powdered sugar and enjoy!
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