(This recipe contains nuts, dairy, wheat, and other products that could be harmful to sensitive groups.)

It’s that time of year again, fall. Who doesn’t love it? When the green leaves change to a fiery red, the bright sunny air turns to crisp, cold mornings and the  cloudy days that make you want to stay home come back. Like anyone who has an abundance of free time on their hands, I decide to bake. As fall is my favorite season and cookies are my favorite dessert. The two went hand in hand together. I rushed over to my nearest Raley’s and picked up all of the necessary ingredients, there being a lot, for apple pie cheesecake cookies. After the journey to the store, I layed out the laundry list of ingredients on my counter and began.

Now these are no ordinary cookies, they consist of some ingredients I don’t usually see in a generic cookie. After first finding the recipe 

I was intrigued, the idea of cheesecake and cookies being together was a stretch to me. Even so, as I started the batter, consisting of 8oz cream cheese and softened butter, it seemed normal and I continued as the recipe said, putting the mixture aside to set for ten minutes.While the batter rested, the next step was to create the apple pie filling. This required two medium apples diced into cubes, thankfully my sister was willing to do this part for me. After the apples were fully diced. I placed them in the pan alongside the brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, cornstarch and water. 

Next was combining everything together on low heat in a saucepan. After heating on low for around five minutes, the filling was finished. As the recipe called for, I set this aside in a separate container to let it cool down. now 

It was time to prep the crumb coat. For this recipe it

required biscoff cookies, however that alone seemed a little boring to me. So I added in a few spices as well, including cinnamon, pumpkin spice and allspice seasoning. Cut to One hour later the dough was chilled and ready to be baked. I balled up semi large balls of dough and coated them in the biscoff cookie bits. I placed them on the pan and indented them with my thumb, placing two tablespoons of the apple pie filling. 

Eventually this fun, yet also treacherous experience was over. The oven dinged upon reaching 350 degrees, and I placed them on the top rack. After letting them bake for around ten minutes, the aroma of cinnamon and tart apples drifted to my room. Upon opening the oven door, the smell took over the entire kitchen. The puffed up pastries looked gorgeous with the orange light cast down upon them. After letting them cool, it was time to drizzle the carmel over them as the final garnish. 

Even after, this looked a little boring to me. I decided to really go above and beyond for these beauties, sprinkling some powdered sugar and leftover biscoff bits. Finally, the cookies were complete and  it was time to try them.The initial taste was underwhelming however. The cookie base was a little boring and tasted like a shortbread cookie.

However, after the second bite I discovered the apple pie filling alongside the added toppings, and wow. This was a game changer. The soft inside of the cookies mixed alongside the warm brown sugar apples was amazing to say the least. The caramel added a classic taste and warmth to the overall mood of this cookie. Although it made for the perfect final garnish, the powdered sugar was not as resonant as I thought, almost tasteless in comparison to the cookie. 

I thought it was delicious, the apples were sour alongside the lemon added in making it tart, the brown sugar combated this with a sweet cinnamon flavor. The cloves and allspice I added in incorporated a light nutty flavor that ties everything together. Perfect for sitting inside during a rainy day, or enjoying with a cup of coffee, these cookies were definitely worth the immense amount of work and patience stuffed into them.