Apple Crumble Custard Cookies Recipe

There’s a definite change in the air! The days are getting shorter, the mornings feel crisp and cool, and there’s that first little hint that summer is slipping away and autumn is on its way. It feels like the perfect time to turn towards warming spices, buttery bakes and all the lovely things we can make with the apples coming into season.

These apple crumble custard cookies are my answer to that feeling. They’re thick, soft oat cookies spiced with cinnamon and ginger, filled with a jammy apple conserve, covered in golden little nuggets of crumble and finished with a generous dollop of silky vanilla custard. They’re essentially apple crumble and custard, transformed into a chunky, cosy cookie.

I particularly love making them at this time of year, when there are apples everywhere - from the garden, the market, or perhaps a few windfalls gathered while you're out walking.

One little piece of advice before you start: taste as you go. Apples can vary enormously, particularly if you’re using fruit from your own garden or a neighbour’s tree. Some will be wonderfully sharp, while others are much sweeter and more mellow. Taste the apple conserve once it has cooked down and adjust it to suit your fruit - perhaps with a little extra lemon juice, a touch more cinnamon or a little sugar. The apple filling should be delicious enough to eat straight from the spoon before it ever makes its way into a cookie.

So put the kettle on, warm up the oven and embrace that first taste of autumn!

Soft, spiced cookies with jammy apple, crumble and custard are made for apple season.

Recipe for apple crumble custard cookies

Ingredients

Apple conserve

• 250g peeled, cored apple, finely diced

• 40g light brown sugar

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tbsp water, only if needed

  
  

Crumble topping

• 45g plain flour

• 35g rolled oats

• 35g light brown sugar

• 30g cold unsalted butter

• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

• Pinch of salt

  
  

Cookie dough

• 130g cold unsalted butter, cubed

• 150g light brown sugar

• 50g caster sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 large egg yolk

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 230g plain flour

• 40g rolled oats

• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

• ½ tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp fine salt

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• ¼ tsp ground ginger

• Very small pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, optional

  
  

Custard

• 250ml double cream

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 egg yolks

• 35g caster sugar

  
  

Method

1. Make the apple conserve by cooking the apple, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and vanilla over a medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Add a splash of water if needed. Cook until thick and jammy, then cool completely.

   
   

2. Heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan. Make the crumble by rubbing the butter into the flour, then stirring in the oats, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden. Cool completely.

   
   

3. Make the custard by warming the cream and vanilla. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl, then slowly whisk in the warm cream. Return to the pan and cook gently until thickened. Cool and chill.

   
   

4. Make the cookie dough by beating the cold butter with both sugars. Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Mix the flour, oats, raising agents, salt and spices in another bowl, then add to the wet mixture. Mix until just combined. Then blob the apple conserve (reserve about 1/4 cup for later) so it's fairly evenly spread in the batter and fold in very gently (so it stays in 'blobs' rather than gets mixed in).

   
   

5. Divide into 12 large dough balls and spread across two lined baking trays.

   
   

6. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden at the edges and still slightly soft in the centre.

   
   

7. Cool on the tray then spoon custard into the centre of each cookie. Sprinkle over a little more crumble and and an extra tsp spoon of conserve.

   
   

These apple custard cookies have quite a few steps but are well worth making! The conserve brings the jammy fruit, the crumble brings the crunch, the custard brings the comfort, and the cookie holds it all together.

So grab those seasonal apples while they are at their best, keep tasting as you cook, and enjoy a bake that feels like autumn wrapped in a cookie!

How to get the best texture

The apple conserve and crumble should be fully cool before they touch the dough. Warm toppings can melt the butter too early.

If the conserve is watery, cook it for another minute or two. Loose filling can make the cookies soggy.

These are large cookies. Give them room so the edges can bake properly.

Sharp Bramleys may need the full amount of sugar. Sweeter apples may need less.

If the cookies spread more than expected, use a round cutter or mug to nudge them back into shape while still hot. Place the cutter around the cookie and gently swirl it in a circle. It is a simple trick, but it makes them look beautifully neat.

Storing and making ahead

These cookies are best on the day they are assembled, especially once the custard has been added. The crumble is crunchiest and the cookie edges have the best chew.

You can still prepare plenty ahead:

• Make the apple conserve up to 3 days ahead and store it in the fridge.

• Bake the crumble topping up to 3 days ahead and keep it in an airtight container.

• Make the custard 1 day ahead and keep it chilled.

• Shape the cookie dough balls and chill them overnight before baking.

  
  

Store baked cookies without custard in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Once topped with custard, store them in the fridge and eat within 24 hours.