APPLE PIE COOKIES

Another great cookie recipe from my good friend Marina. I actually wasn't surprised that these cookies would come out delicious. Marina is a cookbook author, Taste of Home Field editor and Blue Ribbon winner, of course they are ooohhh sooo good ..okay, addicting ha!ha!
Thank you, Marina for another winner recipe.


These cookies are crunchy on the outside and moist and chewy in the inside, my kind of cookie  I'm not a fan of those crisp, hard cookies. Each bite you get to taste layers of flavor. you get the nutmeg, cinnamon sugar flavor right away then you get to taste the apple, then the nuts and the hint of the lemon orange extract. These are perfect for the holidays.

Ingredients::
Yield : 4 dozens.

3 eggs
1 lb sweet butter, softened
1 lb brown sugar
1 1/2 C sugar

1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp.  fresh grated nutmeg
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 Tsp. fiori di sicilia extract***
6 C sifted flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 C chopped walnuts, toasted ****
2-3 Tbsp. butter
3 C finely chopped apples (5-6 small apples)
2-3 Tbsp sugar
2-3 Tsp cinnamon

1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
2 tsp fresh lemon zest
1 Tbsp fresh lemon

Cinnamon-Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper, set aside.In a large bowl beat eggs 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside.Cream butter until creamy.
Add brown sugar and mix until well incorporated.
Add spices and extracts. 
Mix thoroughly to combine well.

Add beaten eggs to sugar-butter mixture and mix until well incorporated.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, slat and baking soda.Add to batter and mix well, 

In medium to large saute' pan, melt the 2-3 Tbsp of butter.
In a medium bowl, toss chopped apples with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest.
Saute' apples in melted butter until soft.
Add lemon juice and stir well.
Remove apples onto a flat plate to cool down.
Add cooled apples and walnuts to batter and mix until well incorporated.
Careful not to break apart the apples.
Refrigerate batter for 10 minutes.
Drop cookie batter by using an ice cream scoop onto prepared pans.
Sprinkle tops of batter with 1 tsp cinnamon sugar.
Bake only six cookies at a time on each cookie sheet.
Bake 18 to 20 minutes.
Let cool 5 minutes before removing from pan and placing them on a cooling rack.

**I didn't have fiori di sicilia extract. According to Marina you can purchase this from The Bakers Catalog of King Arthur's Flour. But you can make your own:

FIORI DI SICILIA EXTRACT (MIX YOUR OWN) : Lemon extract, Orange extract and Vanilla extract.

** I used mixed nuts. I used almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts.