These caramel apple oatmeal cookies feature a soft and chewy oatmeal cookie base with lots of tender apples and a sweet and salty homemade caramel drizzled on top.
Calling all caramel apple lovers! Your new favorite cookie is staring ya right in the face.
We’ve got salty homemade caramel, soft apple chunks, and tender oats all wrapped into one glorious cookie so it’s really no wonder why.
I’m just gonna go ahead and make the proclamation that these cookies are the official spokesperson for fall. Sorry, pumpkin.
We’re keeping things SUPER easy in cookie land today! Simple baking ingredients with no dough chilling required and you can have these cookies in your face in only 35 minutes.
Which is both a good thing and a bad thing, trust me.
These Oatmeal Cookies feature…
- A soft and thick oatmeal cookie base
- Tender apple chunks and warming spices
- A sweet and salty homemade caramel glaze
Making the Oatmeal Cookies
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- Applesauce
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Old-fashioned oats
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Spices
- Kosher salt
- Granulated sugar
- Heavy whipping cream
Choosing Your Apples
These cookies work great with a variety of apple types! I typically use Gala apples as these tend to hold their structure during baking and have a sweet flavor, but honeycrisp, pink lady, braeburn, and jonathans all work great as well.
To prep the apples for these cookies, peel and core them and dice into uniform 1/4-inch cubes.
Tips for Perfect Oatmeal Cookies
- Measure flour correctly – I use the spoon-and-level technique for measuring flour as this will prevent over-measuring your flour. Use a spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife.
- Cream butter and sugar together – make sure your butter is softened to room-temperature and cream well with the sugar several minutes until completely smooth.
- Use room temperature egg – just like the butter, allow the egg to come to room temperature or submerge in hot water for about 2 minutes to quickly warm it. A room temperature egg will incorporate much easier into the dough.
- Use stand mixer or mix dough by hand – this recipe is both mixer-friendly and old-fashioned-bowl-and-spoon friendly.
- Flatten cookie balls before baking – use the palm of your hand to gently flatten cookies. These cookies don’t spread a lot while they bake, so this step is important for them baking evenly.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on these cookies.
- Skip the caramel – skip the caramel topping if you’re not a fan or use a different glaze.
- Use premade caramel – use 1/2 cup caramel sauce or melt down caramels and use in place of the homemade caramel.
- Add white chocolate – fold 1/2 cup white chocolate chips into the cookie dough.
- Add nuts – try adding 1/2 cup toasted pecans or walnuts to the dough.
Storing and Freezing Cookies
Allow the cookies to cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days.
If you plan to freeze the cookies, do not top them with caramel. Allow cookies to cool, wrap well, and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw cookies on countertop and top with caramel for serving.
To store the caramel by itself, allow to cool slightly and store in refrigerator up to 1 week. Reheat over low heat on the stovetop or in the microwave 30-60 seconds before glazing cookies.
Y’all, these cookies should probably be illegal with how good they are. Soft, thick, and literally bursting with soft apples and gooey caramel in every bite.
Just go ahead and preemptively make a double batch of these gems. You’re gonna need it.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
Watch these cookies made step-by-step on Google web stories.
More fall cookies to bake up next!
Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup apple, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
Caramel
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Additional kosher salt for garnish
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a large stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment OR in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. Mix on medium speed or by hand until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add applesauce, egg, and vanilla to bowl and mix until smooth.
- Combine oats, flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a separate medium bowl. Add to butter mixture and mix until a soft dough forms. Fold in apple chunks.
- Scoop dough out into 1-in balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets and gently flatten balls slightly.
- Bake cookies at 350F 10-12 minutes until cookies are a light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking sheet 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
Caramel
- Place sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat and allow to melt. Once melted, whisk in butter and bring to a boil. Slowly add cream (carefully, it will splatter) whisking constantly and allow caramel to cook until golden brown and bubbly, about 3-5 minutes. Remove caramel from heat and mix in salt.
- Drizzle cookies with warm caramel and top with a little extra salt. Allow caramel to set 10 minutes before serving cookies. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe tips and photos on 8/14/24.
Daviana says
Hi! I’m form Venezuela, what’s “baking apple”? haha, I don’t get it.
Sarah says
Hi, Daviana! Baking apples are basically any type of apple that you would use in baking. I used Cortland’s, but you could also use Jonathan’s or Granny Smiths.