These Caramel Apple Cookies are soft and moist, and are so reminiscent of  the flavors of fall. 

As a nutritional bonus, these caramel apple cookies are made with whole wheat flour. I also used demerara sugar, which adds a wonderful caramel flavor... perfect with the apples.

This cookie is filled with shredded fresh Granny Smith apple and little bits of caramel. They do look a bit "rustic," which I prefer to refer to as "artisan."

For the caramel, I used Kraft Caramel Bits, but you can use any caramel you like. If you don't want to deal with cutting the caramel into little bits, I think that butterscotch or cinnamon chips would be wonderful in these cookies.

When I make a cheese filled bread, some of the cheese leaks out and kind of spreads out over the baking sheet and gets a little crisp. I like to trim it off just to "neaten up" and somehow the trimmings end up in my mouth. Well, the same thing happens when you fill baked goods with caramel.... Someone has to make the sacrifice.

Mr. Kitchen and I loved these cookies. They aren't overly sweet, and are probably more nutritional than some breakfast cereal. At least that is what I tell myself when I have them for breakfast.

Some tips for making these cookies:

1. If you don't have Demerara sugar, light brown sugar will work. It's best to use a scale to measure the sugar, because the two sugars have different densities. 
2. If you don't have semolina flour, you can use coarse corn flour. 
3. Use aluminum free baking powder to avoid the apples turning blue or green in the cookies over time. I like Bob's Red Mill or Rumford. 
4. If you want a salted caramel flavor, sprinkle a tiny bit of sea salt on top of the cookies before baking. 
5. You can substitute butterscotch, cinnamon, or chocolate chips for the caramel for a different flavor. I also think that Asian pears would be a great substitute for the apple. 
6. These things are amazing with vanilla ice cream. 

Caramel Apple Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup / 2 ounces semolina flour
• 1 1/2 cups / 6 ounces whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 5 ounces unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cups / 3 1/2 ounces Demerara sugar (see note above)
• 2 1/2 ounces grated apple
• 2 ounces of caramel, cut into small pieces

Instructions

1. Whisk together the semolina, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and sugar.
3. Add the apple and caramel to the flour mixture and toss to coat.
4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in two stages, mixing briefly between additions. Finish mixing with a rubber spatula to fully incorporate the flour.
5. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
6. Line two half sheet pans with parchment or Silpat. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 30 equal pieces.
7. Roll each piece into a ball, place it on the parchment, and press down to create a 3/8 inch thick disk.
8. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 12 minutes. Cool for about 5 minutes on the pan, and then on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container. 

Yield: 30 cookies

This recipe was inspired by Good Tempered Food by Tamasin Day Lewis. 

One of the best things about fall--in addition to sweaters and football--is all of the delightful seasonal themes that come to mind for baking. Pumpkin, apples, late summer and early fall harvest, Halloween, Thanksgiving…. They are all fun and delicious to play around with, so check out what we have for you this month! You can also use us as a great resource for cookie recipes. Check out what all of the hosting bloggers have made:

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• Pumpkin Date Bars from What Smells So Good?
• Momofuku Corn Cookies from Food Lust People Love
• Apple Cider Cookies with Maple Frosting from 2 Cookin Mamas
• Maple Cookies from A Baker's House
• Caramel Apple Shortbread Cookies from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Apple and oat cookies from Flours and frostings
• Spiked Oatmeal Apple Cookies from The Spiced Life