Turkish Apple Cookies (Elmali Kurabiye)

5 from 17 votes

Turkish Apple Cookies (Elmali Kurabiye)

Turkish Apple Cookies (Elmali Kurabiye) are delicious melt-in-the-mouth pastries made with crispy cookie dough filled with apple, cinnamon, and walnuts.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Turkish

Diet: Halal, Vegetarian

Servings: cookies

Calories: 111kcal

Author: Ayla Clulee

Equipment

1 kitchen scale
1 Citrus zester
1 large baking sheet
1 apple corer

Ingredients

For the Apple Filling

3 medium apples (any apples you like cooking with) (14 oz/400 grams)
¼ cup sugar (50 grams)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ cup finely chopped walnuts (80 grams)

For the Cookie Dough

8 ⅘ oz room temperature butter (250 grams)
1 tablespoon natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 ¼ cups plain white flour / all purpose flour (400 grams)
1 lemon zest
¼ cup icing sugar (plus extra for dusting) (30 grams)

US Customary - Metric

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 340° F (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 a nice soft dough.
Roll the dough into a log and cut it into 5 equal pieces (approximately 5 oz (140 grams) each) and turn them into balls.
Lightly flour the worktop, sprinkle some flour on a dough ball, and roll it out into an 8" (20 cm) dia circle (approximately ⅕" (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.

Video

Notes

To save some time, you can prepare the filling in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days until you need it.

Make sure the butter is at room temperature - not melted. Take it out of the fridge and leave it out on the kitchen top for a couple of hours until you need it.

This recipe gives you 40 pieces of small bite-sized cookies. If you think it is too many cookies, you can half the recipe. Alternatively, you can freeze the leftover for up to 5 months in a freezer bag.

Nutrition