Apple Cinnamon Snack Cookies with Greek Yogurt Glaze
Soft, warm, and healthy! These Apple Cinnamon Snack Cookies are great to have on hand for anyone in your family. They are full of flavor and naturally sweetened with maple syrup, making them free of refined sugars. They are also gluten free.
As you might have already guessed, I am always on the hunt for a good snack for the kids. I like anything that is easy to make but also delicious. A snack that is always a hit in our house is a soft baked bar. The kind that are a little healthier are so expensive and we go through them quickly with three little ones in the house.
I made these snack cookies the other day and the girls LOVED them! They were a really close duplicate to our favorite store bought brand and even had some extra texture from the apples and oats. They are tasty and they check all of my boxes as far as health benefits go. I naturally sweetened them with maple syrup making them free of refined sugars. They are also gluten free, using almond flour and oat flour for some added health benefits.
Details and Tips!
The process for making the cookies could not be easier. The batter comes together in one bowl. The first step is browning the butter, if you want! You don't have to do this step, you can just melt the butter. But browning it will give the cookies an extra depth of flavor. To brown the butter, you simple put it in a saucepan and let it melt and bubble for about 5 minutes. You know it is done when the bubbles slow down, the butter puts off a nutty aroma, and there are browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
Toss the browned butter into a medium sized bowl and add in the almond butter and maple syrup. Give that a stir to cool off the butter. Once the butter is cooled a little, add in the eggs and mix well!
After that, you will just gently add the dry ingredients, excluding the oats, on top of the wet ingredients. Once they are all added, I like to give them a quick stir, gradually working them into the wet ingredients as I mix. Then I fold in the oats and the chopped apples.
I use a 3 ounce scoop to measure out the cookies. They bake into a nice size and the girls can have one for snack and be satisfied and full until supper. Before baking the cookies, you will want to use the back of the scoop to flatten the cookies. They will not really spread when baking.
In my testing of the recipe, I found that these cookies taste better with a glaze. It really does help bring the whole thing together. The greek yogurt glaze only consists of plain greek yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla and salt. It dries into a glaze once drizzled on the cookies and really is so good. You can leave it off, but I recommend it! You do want the cookies to be completely cooled before adding the glaze so it sticks well to the top!
These store for a few days on the counter but I love to make up a big batch and throw them in the freezer for a quick snack! They thaw really quickly when sitting at room temperature and it makes them last for up to three months.
What you need!
- unsalted butter, browned
- pure maple syrup
- almond butter - or your favorite nut butter
- eggs
- oat flour - or gluten free flour, looking for one with no gums
- almond flour
- baking soda
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- salt
- oats - I like to use One Degree brand, they are organic and sprouted
- apple - I typically use honey crisp because that is what we have on hand but any sturdy apple is great!
- greek yogurt
- vanilla
Customize!
This recipe is very versatile. You could sub out the flours for whatever you have on hand, including all purpose flour instead of gluten free flour. I typically will use a blend of almond flour and oat flour but it truly doesn't make a big difference.
You could also add in chocolate chips, Unreal chocolate gems, or whatever your family wants! You truly cannot go wrong.
When it comes to the glaze, you could do a more traditional glaze with powdered sugar, but the goal here is for them to be naturally sweetened so I opted for this greek yogurt glaze.
Explore more!
Have fun with this recipe and make it your own! Let us know what you create in the comments or on social media! We love to hear from you!
Apple Cinnamon Snack Cookies with Greek Yogurt Glaze
These soft baked snack cookies are healthy, sweet, super soft, and gluten free! They are also free of refined sugars, sweetened with maple syrup!
for the cookies
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup almond butter (unsweetened, smooth)
- 2 eggs (room temperature)
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup gluten free flour (or oat flour)
- ¾ cup almond flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 apple (chopped finely, honey crisp or Granny Smith)
for the glaze
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- salt (just a pinch)
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
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In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and allow it to brown. You will know it is done when the spitting sound slows down and it has a nutty aroma, about 5 minutes. Set that aside to cool slightly
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In a large mixing bowl whisk the almond butter, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Make sure the eggs are incorporated well with everything.
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Slowly add in the butter while whisking continuously. Whisk everything together really well.
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Gently add the almond flour, gluten free flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda to the top of the wet ingredients. Give it a gently stir and gradually add it into the wet ingredients. Mix everything together well.
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Fold in the apples and oats until mixed in.
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Scoop 3 ounce balls of the cookie batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Gently press down the cookies, they will not spread much. I typically bake these in two batches of 7 cookies.
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Bake the cookies for 14 minutes or until the center is set.
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Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
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While the cookies are cooling, mix together the glaze. In a small mixing bowl, mix the yogurt, syrup, vanilla, and salt together.
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Once the cookies are completely cooled, drizzle the top of the cookies with the glaze. Let the glaze dry for 3 hours or so. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days at room temperature. They are also great to freeze and have on hand for a quick snack!