If You Have Apples And Cookie Dough, You Have The Start Of A Cozy Fall Dessert

Apples, from Honeycrisp to McIntosh, are the quintessential fruit of fall with their burst of juicy sweetness and crisp texture. If you're feeling inspired by these fall dessert recipes to make your day sweeter but are a bit pressed for time, there are thankfully some easy-to-make treats that embrace the season's best produce without taking a huge amount of effort. If that's sounding up your baking alley, meet the upside-down apple cookie. The equation is simple here: apples plus cookie dough equals cozy fall dessert.

The concept is pretty straightforward. On a lightly greased baking sheet, place three to four thin apple slices together, slightly overlapping. Top each apple mound with a scoop of cookie dough, gently press the dough into the apples so they join together in the baking process, and bake as usual. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the tray before sliding the apple-and-cookie medley off using a spatula, and voilà, cookies have gone from basic to a cozy fall dessert that celebrates the taste of the season.

If this cozy fall dessert has your taste buds humming, consider how you can customize it to amplify the autumnal celebration in your mouth. For starters, consider your main ingredients. When it comes to apples, use one of the absolute best apple varieties for pie, which provide both the right texture and taste for this project — think Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, and Braeburn. And for cookie dough? That's up to you. This might be one of the clever ways to use store-bought cookie dough, or you might whip up a batch from scratch. Oatmeal raisin is a natural pairing to mimic the flavors of an apple crisp. A sugar cookie dough is also a no-brainer to create apple pie vibes. Or use the spiced dough from this Molasses Gingersnap Cookies recipe to create an all-out festive fall treat.

Consider a few extra sprinkles as well. A sprinkle of brown sugar on the baking tray before you layer on the apples helps bring out the caramelized goodness in the cookies; and a pinch of salt on top of the dough right after it comes out of the oven helps to enhance and balance sweetness. You can even pair the baked upside-down cookies with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream to finish things off.