This post is sponsored in conjunction with Christmas Cookies Week. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of unique and festive Christmas Cookies Week recipes. Our amazingly generous sponsor, Millican Pecan, recently gifted me with four bags of pecans to create a unique and flavorful Christmas cookie recipe. All thoughts, ideas, recipes, pictures, and general silliness contained within this post are solely my own and not necessarily that of the sponsor. Y’all, I hope you’re ready to bake some cookies.
Every holiday cookie platter needs a nutty cookie to make it complete. This apple and pecan cinnamon iced cookie is that cookie. If you like soft, sweet, crunchy, fruity, cinnamon packed Christmas cookies, this is one recipe you’re absolutely going to love.
Cooking with nuts in my kitchen is always an adventure. Why is it that any ingredient someone in your house is deathly allergic to is the one ingredient that will inevitably be flung all over the place before you’re finished baking with it? Yeah, nuts are kind of a pain. You’d be surprised where I sometimes find little bits of them hiding. So, pretty much, if I don’t want to kill poor B.O.B. Bob, I’m left with the task of disinfecting and vacuuming the entire kitchen, and sometimes even the entire house, after baking with any type of tree nut. But you know what? It’s totally worth all of the cleanup effort. Especially for a cookie like this one. It’s sweet, soft, fruity, perfectly spiced, and absolutely overflowing with delicious pecans. Thank goodness I find cleaning therapeutic.
Ingredients:
Cookie Dough:
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2/3 Cup Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 2 Cups Quick Cooking Oats
- 1 1/2 Granny Smith Apples, Peeled, Cored, & Finely Diced
- 1 Cup Pecan Pieces
Cinnamon Icing & Garnish:
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 4 Tablespoons Milk
- 1/3 Cup Pecan Pieces, Finely Chopped
Directions:
Cookie Dough:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together for 3 minutes on medium speed.
- Add each egg, one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds, on medium speed, after the addition of each egg.
- Add the vanilla and mix for 30 seconds on medium speed.
- Whisk the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Repeat two more times.
- Fold the oats, finely diced apples, and pecans into the cookie dough.
- Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the dough. Evenly place 9 scoops of dough onto a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Use the palm of your hand to gently flatten the top of each cookie.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies are cooked through and slightly browned.
- Allow the cookies to rest for 3 minutes before removing them to a baking rack to finish cooling completely. Repeat steps 7 through 9 until all of the cookie dough is gone.
Cinnamon Icing & Garnish:
- Whisk the powdered sugar, cinnamon, salt, and milk together in a small bowl until there are no longer any lumps.
- Fill a large plastic resealable bag with the icing. Snip a tiny corner off of the bag and then pipe the icing onto the top of each cookie.
- Immediately garnish with the finely chopped pecans.
- Allow the cookies to rest until the icing has become firm.
- Package the cookies in an airtight container between layers of wax or parchment paper.
Suggestions:
- I only used 1 1/2 granny smith apples in this recipe because they are usually rather large. If you add too many apples to the cookies, they will be too wet. Make sure to finely dice the apples for this recipe and that the apple pieces are evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
- Make sure to use an ice cream scoop for this recipe and not a cookie scoop.
- When piping the icing onto the cookies, I use a zig-zag back-and-forth pattern.
- I suggest storing these cookies in the refrigerator, due to their high moisture content and the milk in the cinnamon icing.
Improvements:
- Add 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg to the cookie dough.
- Replace the apples in this recipe with pears. Make sure that they are not overly ripe, or they will add too much liquid to the dough.
- Use maple extract in lieu of vanilla in this recipe.
- CLICK HERE to find a list of all of our past cookie recipes, as well as smaller lists of holiday-grouped or cookie-type-specific recipes. Remember, cookies aren’t just for Christmas. They’re an all-year-round treat.
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2/3 Cup Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 2 Cups Quick Cooking Oats
- 1 1/2 Granny Smith Apples, Peeled, Cored, & Finely Diced
- 1 Cup Pecan Pieces
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 4 Tablespoons Milk
- 1/3 Cup Pecan Pieces, Finely Chopped
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together for 3 minutes on medium speed.
- Add each egg, one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds, on medium speed, after the addition of each egg.
- Add the vanilla and mix for 30 seconds on medium speed.
- Whisk the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Repeat two more times.
- Fold the oats, finely diced apples, and pecans into the cookie dough.
- Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the dough. Evenly place 9 scoops of dough onto a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Use the palm of your hand to gently flatten the top of each cookie.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies are cooked through and slightly browned.
- Allow the cookies to rest for 3 minutes before removing them to a baking rack to finish cooling completely. Repeat steps 7 through 9 until all of the cookie dough is gone.
- Whisk the powdered sugar, cinnamon, salt, and milk together in a small bowl until there are no longer any lumps.
- Fill a large plastic resealable bag with the icing. Snip a tiny corner off of the bag and then pipe the icing onto the top of each cookie.
- Immediately garnish with the finely chopped pecans.
- Allow the cookies to rest until the icing has become firm.
- Package the cookies in an airtight container between layers of wax or parchment paper.
PIN THIS RECIPE
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MORE GREAT CHRISTMAS COOKIE RECIPES
Cinnamon Chip Holiday Spice Cake Mix Cookies
Sadie’s Double Pecan Butter Cookies
Christmas is a time for family, friends, and delicious holiday cookies. From classic butter cookies to iced gingerbread cookies, this list of ultimate Christmas cookie recipes has something for everyone. Whether you’re looking for festive colors, unique seasonal ingredients, or just a cookie that’s super easy to make, these Christmas cookie recipes will help you find the perfect cookie for the season. CLICK HERE for the recipes.
Thank you to Ellen of Family Around the Table and Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures for hosting #ChristmasCookies Week. And a huge thank you to our sponsors Adams Extract and Millican Pecan for supporting the bloggers and events like Christmas Cookies Week.
Check out today’s cookie recipes:
- Christmas Funfetti Pecan Shortbread Bites by Family Around the Table
- Grinch Shortbread Cookies by Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Melody Cookies by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookies by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Pecan Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies by Sweet Beginnings
- Pecan Whiskey Cookies by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Soft Cinnamon Apple Pecan Cookies by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
