½cdairy free butterroom temperature for 20 minutes only
1¼cbrown sugar, packed
1teaspoonbaking soda
1teaspoonapple pie spicesee note below
¼teaspoonkosher salt
⅓capple juice
1eggroom temperature
2½cgluten free all-purpose flour
1teaspoonxanthan gumomit if gf flour blend contains this or guar gum
1applelarge, peeled, shredded, any kind
Frosting
½cbrown sugarpacked
3tablespoondairy free butter
3tablespoonapple cider or apple juice
2⅔cpowdered sugar
½coptional--finely chopped pecans, toasted
Instructions
Apple Cookie Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F. Place baking mat or parchment paper on cookie trays; set aside.
In a stand-up electric mixer or in a large bowl with handheld mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
Add the brown sugar, baking soda, apple pie spice and salt. Beat until well combined on medium speed.
Then beat in the apple juice and egg until just combined.
Next add in the flour and xanthan gum if needed.
Lastly fold in the shredded apple until just combined.
Drop by round tablespoon on lined cookie trays. We like to use a small cookie scoop so the cookies are small and all have the same round shape. Place 12 small cookies on each cookie tray.
Bake for 8-11 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. The middle of the cookies will look slightly under baked; however, they will continue baking on the cookie tray after you remove them from the oven.
Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting.
Caramel Apple Frosting
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the brown sugar and butter with the apple juice until the sugar is dissolved and sugar is melted.
Remove from heat. Whisk in the powdered sugar, working very quickly.
Use the frosting immediately by frosting cookies with an angled spatula. Note-- this frosting sets up extremely fast. Add toasted pecans to cookies as you frost them; otherwise the frosting will harden and won't hold the pecans.
If the frosting hardens before you've frosted all the cookies, add 1 teaspoon of hot water at a time until the frosting softens and you can frost again.
Store cookies in an airtight container on the countertop.
Roasted Pecans-- add finely chopped pecans to a cookie tray. Bake in a preheated oven at 300°F for 15 minutes, remove and cool.
Notes
This frosting is mouthwatering! It also sets up very quickly and can become difficult to spread across the soft cookies. If this happens simply add few drops of water until it becomes spreadable again.You can make your own apple pie spice blend at home by combining ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and a ¼th teaspoon ground nutmeg and ⅛th teaspoon allspice and a dash of either ground ginger or ground cloves to replace the 1 teaspoon apple pie spice.