Cinnamon Apple Toffee Oatmeal Cookies

Autumn means lots of apples, spice, and caramel flavors for me. These cookies capture all of that with some texture from oats. I’d like to think of these as breakfast cookies, starting your day off with a little treat.

In the notes at the bottom of the page, I provide instructions for freezing the dough. I generally like to do this with cookies since it gives them a better rise and less spread. Doubling the recipe and freezing some of the dough also gives you something to bake up real quick when you have a craving.

Makes ~18 cookies.

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1.5 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon (or to taste, I love cinnamon/spices)
• 1 3/4 cup old fashioned oats (not instant)
• 1.5 cups (~2 apples) diced, 1/4 inch cubes, honey crisp apples
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, for the apples
• 3 tablespoons water, for the apples
• 1 cup toffee baking bits (not butterscotch!)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cube/dice your apples into 1/4 inch pieces. Add to a skillet over medium heat with the 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 3 tablespoons of water. Stir every 30 seconds and cook until softened, but not mushy. This may take ~10 minutes depending on your stovetop, but be sure to test doneness with a fork or toothpick. There should be a little resistance while still being easy to push into the apples. Remove from the stove and let cool.* (If your water didn’t completely cook off, strain your apples in a fine mesh sieve.)
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon until well combined. No additional salt is needed in this recipe as salted butter is used.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter on medium low speed for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and cream on medium speed for 4 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of the every minute or so. The mixture should be fluffy and lightened in color.
4. Add the eggs and cream for 2 minutes on medium low speed. They should be fully incorporated into the butter mixture and still fluffy. If not, mix for another minute after scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl.
5. Add in your flour mixture and mix on medium low speed for 1-2 minutes, until fully combined. Then add your oats until fully incorporated. (If using a hand mixer, use a spatula to mix in the oats at this point.)
6. Using a spatula, fold in your cooled, diced apples and toffee bits, making sure to get all the way to the bottom of the bowl. We don’t want portions of the dough to lack apples and toffee!
7. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to chill the dough for 30-45 minutes. This ensures the cookies aren’t completely flat when baking.
8. Toward the last 10 minutes of the chill time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place parchment paper on your half sheet pans.
9. Using a medium cookie scoop, portion out your cookie dough on the sheet pans such that there is at least 2 inches in between every cookie. I prefer to add just 6 cookies to a sheet pan as I don’t like my cookies to run together. This takes additional time, but gives the cookies the space they need to bake.**
10. If baking straight away, bake for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown around the edges (or all over if you prefer a crunchier cookie). If baking from frozen, the cookies may need up to 15 minutes to bake, but be sure to start checking around 13 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and let cool on the sheet pans for 10 minutes. Once slightly cooled, place them on wire racks to finish cooling.
12. Consider pairing with a hot cup of autumnal herbal tea and enjoy!

*NOTE 1: The apples must be cooled to ensure the butter doesn’t melt in the cookie dough. For quicker cooling, I put them into a small, metal mixing bowl as I prepare the dough. And a pro tip: if you want to infuse your apples with extra apple flavor, replace 2 tablespoons of water with boiled cider. This can also be made at home by reducing apple cider by 3/4 (do not boil down too much since it becomes candied…I found out the hard way).

**NOTE 2: My preferred method is to scoop the dough onto parchment paper, place in freezer bags, and freeze overnight. This ensures a better rise with the cookies and less spread.