Like little apple crumbles you can eat with your hot drink, these apple oat cookies are the perfect mix of autumnal spice and seasonal apples.
Ensure that everything is at room temperature before you begin. So butter and eggs out of the fridge a good hour before you start.
Peel and core your apples. Chop into small pieces approx the size of a 5p - too small and they will turn to mush, too big and they fill a cookie.
In a stand mixer, or using a hand held mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, and the vanilla if you are using it. Scrape the bowl if needs be to ensure that everything is mixed in.
Add the flour, oats and spice in three or four lots and mix in slowly so that the dry ingredients don't fly out of the bowl.
Add the apple pieces and mix through gently. You don't want to break them down. Cover the mixture in a bowl and chill for at least an hour (I did mine overnight).
When ready to cook, preheat your oven to 200c (390f) and cover two baking trays with baking paper. Bring the cookie dough out of the fridge, and using a tablespoon, make small mounds of dough and roll them loosely in your hand (I find damp hands help!). This batch makes around 36.
Place 6-8 on each tray with space between them to grow as they cook, and place on the top and middle shelves in your oven. Cook for 6 minutes, and swap the trays around for another 6 minutes - or until the cookies have spread and turned golden.
When cooked, leave for a couple of minutes on the tray, then carefull move onto a cooling tray. Continue to cook in batches until all the dough is used.
Serve cool or warm, just give them about 5 minutes after cooking to firm up. Enjoy!
The moisture in the apples means that these will start to go soft after a couple of days, even stored in a cookie tin. So cool the batch and freeze what you can't eat straight away.
Chilling dough is very important. If you don't chill, you will get flat cookies as they spread more. I know it is tricky, but give it at least one hour in the fridge otherwise you will be crying over spilled cookies!
Cinnamon can be used in place of the spice mix for a more traditional flavour.
Copyright Claire Thomas / SHE-EATS.com