Apple Walnut Spice Cookies

After bringing in cookies a few times to group meeting and seeing how much my group members enjoyed my baking, I decided that it would be fun to bring in a treat each time we had a birthday. For my boss's birthday in January, I brought in chocolate chip cookies. Recently, I decided that it would be an even better idea to have the birthday person choose their favorite cookie, brownie, bar, muffin, etc, and I would bring it in for their birthday. Shufeng's birthday was the first one on the list and he wasn't sure what kind of cookies he liked. Luckily his wife helped him find some recipes online and he sent me a few. I chose cookies called "apple hermits," a cookie that I probably wouldn't have tried otherwise. They turned out really well- spicy from the cloves and nutmeg, soft from the apples, and they were a huge hit at group meeting. I sent a dozen home with Shufeng, and he said that his wife and son loved them too. I can't wait to make the next birthday treat!

Apple Walnut Spice Cookies

2 C all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C (1 stick) butter, softened

1 1/2 C packed brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup peeled, chopped granny smith apples

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt.

3. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat to combine.

4. Gradually add dry ingredients to butter mixture until fully incorporated.

5. Fold in apples and walnuts by hand.

6. Form dough into 1 tbsp balls by hand (dough was fairly crumbly, so press the balls together)

7. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

8. Enjoy! (Note: Best to eat within 1-3 days as the apples start letting out moisture)

Difficulty: Medium

Debbie's Rating: 9

Shufeng's Rating: "It just tastes far beyond what I can imagine"