Easy gluten-free apple pie cookie cups are not only adorable to serve but they taste fantastic! Sweet cinnamon apple pie filling sits inside buttery cookie cups for the perfectly crunchy and soft bite. Plus, they are served right up as is...no need for a plate and fork. With only 20 minutes of hands on time, they are also easy to make.
What's to love about this recipe...
Less intimidating than pie - The homeyness of apple pie is something everyone should enjoy, even if you don't want make it in a traditional gluten free apple pie. Our filling for these cups is easy to whip up and has all the warm flavors of stewed apples, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Great for on the go eating at gatherings - Making gluten-free cookies into cups is so fun! You can take any GF cookie mix that you like and prepare it into cups. Then you don't need a plate and fork making it the perfect party finger food.
Milks favorite friend - We love dipping these little beauties in milk for the ultimate cookies and milk, with a touch of pie experience! I also love sipping on this spiced crockpot apple cider while eating them.
Quick, grab those apples!
Any variety of apple will do to make our apple pie filling. Traditionally, firm tart apples are what people use but any of them will work. It really depends on how sweet you like your filling.
Here are some of the most common apples used in apple pie filling...
- Granny Smith
- Golden Delicious
- Jazz
- Jona Gold
- Pink Lady
Other than that, you really just need a good gluten free cookie mix and a few other ingredients. I like chocolate chip here as I think it makes the flavor stand out.
A few things I want you to know before you make these:
-
- A silicone muffin pan makes all the difference here. The cookie cups are much easier to remove once chilled, and you can gently peel the pan away instead of trying to lift them out.
- Lightly grease your hands before pressing the dough into the wells. The dough is soft, so this keeps it from sticking and helps you shape an even bottom and sides.
- Don’t overbake the cookie cups. You’re looking for set edges, but the centers should still be soft so they stay chewy instead of turning crisp.
- The centers may puff up in the oven, and that’s completely normal. Just gently press them back down while the cups are still warm to recreate the well.
- Make sure the cornstarch mixture is smooth before heating the apple filling. This is the easiest way to avoid little lumps.
- Let the apples cook until tender but not mushy. You still want some texture in the filling.
- The freezer step is important. Once the cups are fully chilled, they’ll hold their shape and pop out of the silicone pan much more cleanly.
- Fill them close to serving so the cookie cups stay sturdy. I love finishing them with flaky salt or freshly grated nutmeg.
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Easy Gluten-Free Apple Pie Cookie Cups
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Gluten-Free Cookie Mix
- ½ C cashew butter (or other nut butter works too)
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoon salted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 5 C diced apples of your choosing (about 4 medium apples)
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¾ C brown sugar
- ¼ C cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- dash of salt
- 1 ½ C water or apple juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12 cup silicone muffin pan
- In a large bowl, mix egg, nut butter and butter
- Add Meli's Cashewlicious Gluten-Free Cookie Mix, cinnamon and nutmeg
- Take 2 ½ T rounds of cookie dough at a time and place them in each muffin well
- With greased hands, press up sides so that bottom and sides are the same thickness forming a cookie cup
- Bake 7-9 minutes until edges are set, meanwhile, make the apple pie filling by tossing the diced apples with lemon juice in a bowl and set aside
- In a medium saute pan, make a slurry with the cornstarch, spices, brown sugar and water or apple juice
- Bring to a boil whisking oftenAdd the apples and bring to a boil
- Simmer until tender about 10-12 minutes
- When cookie cups are done, remove them from oven and push down center of the cookie cup with your hands if it popped up a bit to create that cookie cup well again
- Place them in the freezer for an hour then gently remove them by folding back the silicone pan around each and pushing up the bottom until they pop out
- Place cookie cups on your serving platter and spoon 1-2 T of warm apple pie filling into each well
- Serve with a sprinkling of course salt or fresh ground nutmeg
Shayna Brookman says
I love that recipe is Gluten free and that the pies are bite size 😃
Stephanie Ann says
Apple pie is one of my favorite desserts, so these look amazing to me!
Tina W says
I LOVE that it uses a cookie mix for the crust! I do 99% of the desserts for family functions and I always try to have an option for the GF people, but trying to stock the various GF flours needed can be a real pain at times. These would be MUCH MORE welcome than a simple boxed GF brownie!
Jessica Ness says
These look sooooo good!
sandra says
I like how cute the recipes is.
Ally says
This is so creative! I think apple-pie related desserts are highly underrated, especially in autumn!
April says
I like that these are small desserts. They would be great for a party or just for a little treat at home without having a whole pie hanging around.
linda says
I like the small portion but big flavor.
Carolyn says
I love that it is mini size
Sydney Wynne says
I love Meli's products! This is a great idea to make apple cups! YUM
Kate says
I cannot wait to try this!
Rachel says
Love how these are small and so cute
Rosa says
I love easy cookie recipes!
Sarah says
I love this brand of cookie mixes. They are so easy to make and tasty! I never thought of using it for mini Apple pies.
Jackie Angers says
These apple pie cookie cups look great, I would love to try them.
Paula Decaria says
What a fun and easy way to make individual pies!
Brittany says
I like that it is something gluten free and it has apples. I love apple stuff.
Chandice says
Thanks Mara, you are going to love them!
Laurajj says
Oh what I really love about this recipe, is that it is also high in protein!
Lindsay A. says
I love cookie cup anything, and one with apple pie filling sounds luscious!