Official Cosmic Crisp® Apple Cookie

Directions

Place the diced apple between a clean kitchen towel and press firmly to absorb some of the Cosmic Crisp® apple juice. Transfer to a small bowl. Add ¼ cup flour. Toss well to fully coat. Place in the refrigerator while you make the rest of the cookie dough.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining 3¾ cups flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and lemon zest.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugars on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the egg and beat another minute.

Remove the floured apple pieces from the refrigerator and add to the dry mixture. Shake the apple pieces with your fingers to break them up and evenly distribute in the dry ingredients.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the dry mix. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl when fully mixed.

Divide the dough in half. Place each in the center of a 24-inch sheet of parchment paper. Press out to 2 inches thick. Fully wrap with the parchment and refrigerate for 15 minutes. (Note: If you chill the dough longer than 15 minutes, the moisture from the apple will begin to separate from the dough and make the dough too wet and rolling out difficult.)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Place one disc of the dough onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Sprinkle the top with flour and roll out to ¼-inch thick. Cut out the cookies and place on heavy duty, rimmed baking sheets at least ½-inch apart. Quickly re-roll any scraps, place on the baking sheets and get the cookies in the oven.

Bake 12 minutes, or until the cookies are very lightly brown on the bottom. Test for doneness by lifting a cookie with a spatula

Roll out the second disc of dough, following the same instructions above.

Transfer the cookies to a wire rack. Let cool completely, at least 20 minutes, before decorating.

Decorating Instructions