Turkish Apple Cookies (Elmali Kurabiye)

Turkish Apple Cookies (Elmali Kurabiye) are delicious melt-in-the-mouth pastries made with crispy cookie dough filled with apple, cinnamon, and walnuts.

Just like Walnut Cookies, these are the perfect autumn cookies that can also be enjoyed any time of the year along with a cup of Salep - Turkish Hot Milk Drink (Sahlab).

If you love the comforting and warm apple cinnamon flavor, you'll love these scrumptious cookies!

This is the perfect time for apples and I love the smell of these Turkish Apple Cookies cooked with cinnamon and sugar.

It is a great reminder of my childhood memories as my mom used to make these delicious Turkish cookies quite often!

This simple recipe was given to me by my mom years ago and it never let me down.

The delicious and crispy pastry is very similar to my Apple and Blackberry Pie but much easier to shape.

Lemon zest is optional and you can replace it with vanilla paste or orange zest if you prefer.

Why This Recipe Works?

• This apple cookie recipe is very easy to follow with step-by-step instructions and a video tutorial.

• They are incredibly soft and full of apple cinnamon flavor.

• You only need a few pantry ingredients that you might already have in hand.

• Same as Gluten-free Pumpkin Cookies, Key Lime Cookies with Glaze, and Chocolate Chip Cookies without Brown Sugar, these apple cinnamon cookies freeze beautifully!

• Just like Easy Puff Pastry Apple Pie, the best part about this "Elmali Kurabiye" recipe is you can use any apple you’d like - it’s a fantastic way to make the most of apple-picking season.

Ingredients You'll Need

Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.

• Apples - You can use any sweet cooking apples such as Braeburn, Honeycrisp, Bramley, and Cox's. Peel or keep the skin on and grate them before cooking.

• Sugar - I use caster sugar for the apple filling but granulated or brown sugar would work perfectly too. Adjust the amount of sugar to your taste and the apples you use.

• Cinnamon - I love adding a spoonful of cinnamon powder to the apple filling for intense flavor. You can omit it if you find it too strong or use it just a little.

• Walnuts - Baking with nuts is a great way to add flavor and texture to your cookies. Use pecan or hazelnuts if you prefer. Lightly toast them for a more intense flavor before adding them to your baked goods.

• Butter - This recipe recalls softened butter. Keep your butter at room temperature for a couple of hours (depending on the room temperature) until it is soft.

• Yogurt - Use plain or natural yogurt with no sugar & flavor added. Yogurt gives the pastry a fluffy and light texture.

• Icing Sugar - It has a tiny bit of cornstarch and a powdery consistency which gives a more crumbly texture to the pastry.

• Lemon zest - It is the yellow outside of its peel without going to the white part which is bitter and unpleasant. It adds a tangy flavor and a citrusy smell to the cookies. You can replace it with vanilla paste or orange zest.

Step-by-Step Instructions

This is a very simple recipe and to achieve the best results, you need to follow a few simple steps:

Prepare the Apple Filling

Peel and grate the apples.

Place a pan on medium heat and add the grated apples, cinnamon, and sugar to the pan and cook them until soft, for about 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and let the filling cool down while preparing the cookie dough.

Add the walnuts when the filling is cooled down and mix well.

Prepare the Cookie Dough

Preheat the fan oven to 170° C (340° F).

Place the flour in a large mixing bowl and add the softened butter, baking powder, icing sugar, yogurt, and lemon zest.

Mix them with your fingertips gently until combined.

Return the mixture to a worktop and form a nice soft dough. 

Shape the Cookies and Bake

Roll the dough into a log and then cut it into 5 equal pieces (approximately 140 grams each) and turn them into balls.

Lightly flour the worktop, sprinkle some flour on a dough ball, and roll it out into a 20 cm (8") dia circle (approximately ½ cm thick).

Cut the circle into 8 equal triangles and place a teaspoon of apple filling on the wide side of each triangle.

Roll them up into a cylinder and place them on a baking paper-lined tray.

Bake for 20 minutes, until lightly browned.

Sprinkle some icing sugar on top when they are still warm.

Top Tips From the Chef

• To save some time, you can prepare the filling in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days until you need it.

• Make sure the butter is at room temperature - not melted. Take it out of the fridge and leave it out on the kitchen top for a couple of hours until you need it.

• This recipe gives you 40 pieces of small bite-sized cookies. If you think it is too many cookies, you can half the recipe. Alternatively, you can freeze the leftover for up to 5 months in a freezer bag.

Recipe FAQs

Related Recipes

For more scrumptious autumn recipes why not try:

Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.

I hope you enjoy the process of making these apple and cinnamon-filled cookies as much as you enjoy eating them! 🙂 

Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!

This recipe features in Our Top Ten Ideas for Celebrating National Biscuit Day by Twinkl.

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