Turkish Cookies (Elmali Kurabiye) are delicious melt-in-the-mouth pastries made with crispy cookie dough filled with apple, cinnamon, and walnuts. These traditional cookies are commonly sold in almost every pastry shop in Turkey.
This is the perfect time for apples and I love the smell of them when cooked with cinnamon and sugar. It is a great reminder of my childhood memories as my mom used to make these delicious cookies quite often! What makes my Apple Crumble recipe so special and delicious is probably the same reason: Cooking the apples with cinnamon and sugar!
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 a pie pastry but much easier to shape. Lemon zest is optional and you can replace it with vanilla paste or orange zest if you prefer. I chopped the walnuts very finely but you can chop them in chunky bites if you want to achieve a crunchier texture.
How to Make Turkish Cookies (Elmali Kurabiye)?
This is a very simple recipe and to achieve the best results, you need to follow 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. Place the flour in a large mixing bowl and add the softened butter, baking powder, icing sugar, yoghurt 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 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.
Video Tutorial
I hope you enjoy the process of making these delightful Turkish apple rolls as much as you enjoy eating them!🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet Olsun!
Turkish Cookies (Elmali Kurabiye)
Ingredients
For the Apple Filling
- 3 medium apples (any apples you like cooking with) (400 grams)
- ¼ cup sugar (50 grams)
- 1 TSP cinnamon
- 80 grams walnuts (finely chopped)
For the Cookie Dough
- 250 grams butter (room temperature)
- 1 tbsp natural yoghurt
- 1 TSP baking powder
- 400 g plain white flour / all purpose flour
- 1 lemon zest
- 30 g icing sugar (plus extra for dusting)
Instructions
Preparing the Apple Filling
- Peel and grate the apples.
- Place a pan on medium heat and add the apples, cinnamon, and sugar to the pan.
- Cook the apples 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.
Preparing the cookie Dough
- Preheat the fan oven to 170 °C.
- 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 to a nice soft dough.
- Roll the dough into a log and cut 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 log shape 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.
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
Great Recipe
Thank you Oliver 🙂