This morning, there’s a sparkling layer of frost over everything. To avoid losing our remaining produce in the garden, last night John harvested all of our heirloom tomatoes (still mostly green) and pulled our basil and thyme plants. The heater is on but I still need my slippers. Autumn decor is creeping into the household. I spy a light sprinkling of snow on the peaks across the valley. It’s the perfect day to share this fall-friendly recipe: Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies.

It’s my favorite time of the year at the farmers market; everything is in season and the produce options are endless. Juicy tomatoes in every size and shape. Hot peppers in a rainbow of colors. Beautiful greens and my beloved gourds. And bushel upon bushel of apples. I have a weakness for the beauties and will bring home a bagful, but often find myself looking for ways to use them up before they’ve gone bad. This decadent cookie recipe helped. I basically tweaked a tried-and-true oatmeal cookie recipe and added big chunks of apple and soft nuggets of caramel. It doesn’t get any more FALL than a caramel apple!

To begin, I blended the wet ingredients with a hand mixer. In stages, I added the oats, flour, spices, baking soda, and salt. Last, I stirred in sweet chunks of apple and caramel, both chopped into chunks about the size of a chocolate chip.

Before baking, I chilled the dough for a half an hour in the fridge. I’ve learned that this helps the cookies spread less while baking. I used a silicone mat under the cookies to help with clean-up. The aroma in the kitchen was a heavenly blend of warm cinnamon and apple pie!

As I expected, some of the caramel oozed out of the sides of some cookies. The trick is to let the cookies cool completely on the silicone baking mat. The caramel will firm up a little bit and it’s easier to remove them than trying to use a spatula while the cookies are still hot (trust me on this). Regardless, these are not tidy cookies. They’re gooey and sticky and a bit crumbly and delicious.

The chunks of apple add an extra flavor of fall to already-amazing, chewy oatmeal cookies, and the caramel ribbons are simply decadent. Fall baking at its best– just in time for the weekend!

Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

You’ll need:

• 1 large egg
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• A pinch of salt
• 1 large apple, peeled and chopped into small pieces
• ¾ cup caramel candies, chopped into small pieces

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, blend together the egg, butter, sugars, and vanilla. In stages, add the oats, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt until combined. Hand-stir the apples and caramel into the dough and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. Scoop 1 ½ inch balls of dough onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat, leaving generous space in between the cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are starting to brown. Allow to cool completely on the silicone mat before removing to a cooling tray. Don’t forget your napkin. Cheers to fall baking. YUM!

Hungry for more? Check out the collection of recipes on the FOOD BLISS page.

One year ago: Spicy Sweet Corn Chowder

Two years ago: Mozzarella-stuffed Meatballs.