• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Hungry Happenings
  • RECIPES
    • All Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Decorated Cookies
    • Decorated Cakes
    • Cheesecake Recipes
    • Everyday Desserts
    • Homemade Candy
    • Everyday Meals
    • Readers’ Gallery
    • Hungry Happenings Blog Posts
  • HOW TO
    • Chocolate Making Tips
    • Chocolate Making Course (video lessons)
    • Make Modeling Chocolate
      • Modeling Chocolate Recipe and Tutorial
      • How to Color Modeling Chocolate
      • How to Store and Work with Modeling Chocolate
      • How to Fix Greasy Modeling Chocolate
      • How to Fix Dry Modeling Chocolate
      • Use Colored Candy Melts to Make Candy Clay
    • Candy Clay Creations
    • How To Color White Chocolate and Candy Melts and Paint Candy Molds
    • How to Use Food Coloring Markers
  • HOLIDAYS
    • ALL HOLIDAY RECIPES
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • 4th of July
    • Halloween
      • Hungry Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • New Year’s Eve
    • MORE HOLIDAYS
      • Mother’s Day
      • Father’s Day
      • April Fools
      • Chinese New Year
      • Cinco de Mayo
      • Day of the Dead
      • Earth Day
      • Hanukkah
      • Mardi Gras
  • PARTY FOOD
    • Super Bowl
    • Graduation
    • Birthday Party
    • March Madness
    • Summer Fun
    • Baby Shower
    • Wedding Shower
    • School/Teacher
    • Movie and T.V. Characters
    • Kid’s Treats
    • Fun Party Recipes
  • BUY MY COOKBOOKS
  • ABOUT/CONTACT

Apple Piñata Cookies with Candy Apple M&M’s & more Apple Recipes

September 12, 2014 This post may contain affiliate links.

Apple Piñata Cookies

I hosted an apple harvest party and served Apple Piñata Cookies, a 3-D Rice Crispy Treat Apple Tree filled with Candy Apple M&M’s®, Berry Apple Fruit Snacks and more! You have to try these fun treats!

Compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and it’s advertiser. #FlavorofFall #CollectiveBias

|Apple Piñata Cookies filled with Candy Apple M&M's

Fall is the perfect time to throw a party and serve up lots of apple recipes. A few days ago I hosted a group of my friends for a festive fall luncheon. We dined on Honey Mustard Chicken and Apple Tortellini Salad, Mott’s Apple Sauce served in hollowed out apples, some cheeses I brought back from Amsterdam, and so many amazing desserts.

My friends flipped over my Apple Piñata Cookies which were filled with M&M’s new Candy Apple flavored candies. I found them at Walmart, which is the only place you can buy them, and knew immediately the little red candies would find their way inside apple shaped cookies.

My piñata style cookies not only looked like apples, where filled with candy apples, but they also had apple flavored icing on top, made with Mott’s® Apple Juice.

Apple Harvest Party Dessert Ideas

Another dessert that blew my guests away was a 3-D cereal treat tree filled with the Candy Apple M&Ms. The tree sat in the center of the dining table and after we finished our lunch my guests were able to pull branches, cereal treat leaves, and M&M apples off the tree and eat it for dessert.

I also tried out a recipe for Berry Apple Fruit Snacks. I wanted them shaped like apples so I ordered an Apple silicone mold which didn’t arrive before the party. So I used a pumpkin shaped mold instead. I think they turned out pretty well and they were a nice healthy alternative to the deserts.

To balance out all the sweet treats, I also hollowed out some fresh apples and filled them with Mott’s Apple Sauce then I added an edible leaf and stem. Everyone thought they were really cute. I even served some Mott’s Apple Juice in hollowed out apples too.

apple themed party desserts

I was really excited to see my friends having such a good time and it was wonderful to watch them enjoy my food. It’d been a very long time since I gathered a group of ladies for lunch in my house. I will have to be sure to do it again soon.

apple flavored desserts

I borrowed lots of festive apple decor from my mom including some of her amazing paintings which really dressed up my kitchen island and dining room table. The house looked like fall had arrived even though it was still mighty hot outside.

I prepared quite a lot for this party and don’t want to overwhelm you (an me, for that matter) by showing all the recipes in one post, so today I’ll share the recipes for the Apple Piñata Cookies and Berry Apple Fruit Snacks, then later I’ll show you how I created the 3-D Rice Crispy Treat Tree.

I hosted an apple harvest party and served Apple Piñata Cookies, a 3-D Rice Crispy Treat Apple Tree filled with Candy Apple M&M's®, Berry Apple Fruit Snacks and more! You have to try these fun treats!

Print
Apple Cookies Filled With Candies
Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
14 mins
Total Time
1 hr 14 mins
 

Candy filled apple shaped cookies frosted with an apple juice royal icing are great for summer parties, back to school, teacher appreciation, and much more.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: apple cookies, pinata cookies
Servings: 8
Author: Beth
Ingredients
Apple Cookies
  • 4 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup butter softened slightly
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • red food coloring the amount you'll need with depend on what type you use
Apple Flavored Royal Icing
  • 7 tablespoons Apple Juice plus more to thin icing
  • 1 pound 4 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 3 tablespoons meringue powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • red coloring
Other
  • Candy Apple M&M's
  • stem - Pocky cookie sticks or pretzel sticks
  • leaves - edible leaves
Instructions
Apple cookies
  1. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.
  2. cream butter and sugar
  3. add eggs, vanilla, and almond extract and beat until combined
  4. add dry ingredients and stir to combine
  5. roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness
  6. cut 16 apple shaped cookies
  7. roll dough out to 3/8 inch thickness
  8. cut eight apple shaped cookies
  9. cut circle out of center of these 8 cookies
  10. refrigerate cookies for 30 min.
  11. bake at 375 for 12 to 14 min.
  12. cool completely
Apple icing
  1. heat apple juice in microwave until warm
  2. beat confectioners' sugar, meringue powder, apple juice and red coloring until light and fluffy, 7 to 10 min.
  3. Use icing to glue together one Apple cookie and one cookie with a hole in it. Fill hole with candies. Glue a solid Apple cookie on top.
  4. Ice the top of the cookies. While the icing is wet attach a stem and leaf.

How to Make Apple Piñata Cookies filled with Candy Apple M&M’s

 

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs, vanilla, almond extract, and some drops of red food coloring. Add more coloring until you get a really bright shade of red and mix until well combined. Add dry ingredients and stir just until it’s mixed in. Once you add the flour the color will tone down.

Apple Cookies

  • Roll your cookie dough out to 1/4 inch thickness either on a flour dusted cutting board or between two non-stick silicone mats.
  • Cut out 16 apple shaped cookies that are 1/4 inch thick.
  • Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 min.
  • Note: I used a 4 inch round cookie cutter and simply shaped in into an apple. I didn’t want to use an actual apple cutter as I didn’t want the stem or leave cut out, but you could if you prefer to ice the stem and leaf.

How to decorate Apple Pinata Cookies

  • Roll the remaining cookie dough out to 3/8 inch thickness.
  • Cut out some apples, set them on a parchment lined baking sheet, then cut a circle out of the center of each cookie.
  • Re-roll dough and repeat making a total of 8 cookies with holes it the middle. Refrigerate for 30 min.

Note: It has to be thick enough for a Candy Apple M&M to fit inside so it’s important for the dough to be at least 3/8 inch thick.

  • Preheat oven to 375°.
  • Bake cookies for 12 to 14 min. allow them to cool completely.

Apple flavored royal icing recipe

  • Heat the Mott’s apple juice in the microwave for 15-25 seconds, just until warm.
  • Make the royal icing by beating the confectioners sugar, meringue powder, apple juice, almond extract, and red gel or paste food coloring until light and fluffy (about 7 to 10 min.) I highly recommend using a stand mixer for this job.

How to make Apple Pinata Cookies

  • Stack your cookies with one solid cookie on the bottom, one with a hole in it in the middle, and another solid one on top. Try to find the cookies that match up the best.
  • Pipe a bead of icing on the backside of one of the holey cookies and stick it to a whole cookie.
  • Fill the hole with Candy Apple M&M’s then pipe a bead of icing around the edge of the cookie and stack another whole cookie on top.

Candy Apple M&M's at Walmart

The only place you will be able to find the Candy Apple M&M’s is at Walmart, so you’ll definitely want to go grab some bags this fall. I found them in the candy section of my store alongside the Candy Corn M&M’s.

How to make Apple Pinata Cookies

  • Pipe a border of icing around the edge of the Apple cookies.
  • Then thin out the remaining icing with a little bit more apple juice. Stir in 1 teaspoon at a time until you can drop a spoonful of icing into the bowl and it should completely flatten out.
  • Pipe the thin icing inside the border of the Apple cookies flooding the entire area.
  • While the icing is still wet, add a chocolate cookie stick stem and wafer paper leaf.

Apple Cookies with candy inside

  • Allow the icing to dry completely overnight.

This cookie recipe is so good that these cookies can sit on your counter for days and still taste fresh. The apple flavored icing has just a nice hint of apple flavor. I might use this recipe whenever I’m making decorated cookies.

Decorated Apple Pinata Cookies

It was so much fun to see how my party guests reacted to these cookies. At first I didn’t tell anyone what was hiding inside, they just assumed they were individual cookies. Then they picked them up and realized there were three cookies stuck together and could hear the candy rattling around inside.I love the element of surprise especially with my desserts.

 

Flavor of Fall Apple Recipes

 

Print
Berry Apple Fruit Snacks
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 

Make these fruit snacks with real apple juice and berry juice. They're great for teacher appreciation, back to school, and any party.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: apple fruit snacks, fruit snacks
Servings: 24
Author: Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Ingredients
  • 2 packages unflavored gelatin
  • 1/2 cup apple juice
  • 1 1/4 cups pureed fruit strawberries, raspberries, and cherries from about 14 ounces of fruit
  • 1/2 cup apple sauce
Instructions
  1. Sprinkle gelatin over apple juice and allow it to sit for 5 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile bring fruit puree and apple sauce to a boil.
  3. Add the juice/gelatin into the hot puree and stir to combine.
  4. Pour into silicone molds.
  5. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
  6. Freeze for 30 minutes.
  7. Pop out of molds.
  8. Store in the refrigerator.

 

How to Make Berry Apple Fruit Snacks

recipe adapted from All Day I Dream About Food

 

How to make homemade fruit snacks

  • Sprinkle gelatin over apple juice and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile bring fruit puree and apple sauce to a boil.
  • To make my fruit puree, I put frozen strawberries, cherries and raspberries in a pot, brought them to a boil, pureed them, put them through a sieve to remove the seeds, then measured out 1 1/4 cups and poured the puree back in the pot. You can leave the seeds if you don’t mind them.
  • Add the juice/gelatin into the hot puree and stir to combine.

Homemade apple fruit snack recipe

  • Pour into silicone molds.
    • If you have apple molds, use them, if not a pumpkin mold works in a pinch. Refrigerate for 1 hour then freeze for 30 minutes. Pop out of molds. Store in the refrigerator.

Note: It is very important to freeze these for a while so they pop right out of the mold. Allow them to thaw a bit before serving.

I have to admit these weren’t sweet enough for my tastes, but many of my guests really loved them. If I made them again, I’d add a bit of honey.

Harvest Apple Party Desserts

I was compensated by #CollectiveBias for this #FlavorofFall campaign, but all opinions expressed here are my own.

More Apple Desserts and 

Candy Filled Cookie Recipes

from Hungry Happenings

 

Apple Recipes

Toffee Apple Dip served with Cinnamon Pita Chip Apples

Apple Recipes

 

 Inside Out Chocolate Caramel Apples

Sombrero Pinata Cookies

Sombrero Pinata Cookies 

Pinata Cookies

3D Candy Filled Graduation Cap Cookies

Pinata Cookies

Christmas Present Cookies filled with candy

Embrace the beautiful weather that we are having and make some of these gorgeous and scrumptious Summer Fun Recipes.

This summer beat the heat by spending time in the kitchen creating cute food for a party or an afternoon snack. See over 100 Summer Fun Recipes that will make any pool party, summer picnic, or lazy afternoon more exciting. 

Filed Under: Decorated Cookies, Parties, Summer Fun Recipes Tagged With: Candy, Cookies, dessert, Fall

The Sugar Academy Chocolate Making Courses
Previous Post: « 3-D Game Day Football Cake filled with Chocolate Footballs
Next Post: Rice Krispie Treat Apple Tree »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. plasterer bristol

    December 1, 2014 at 7:00 am

    Yum yum, these sound lovely, thanks for uploading this recipe.

    Simon

    Reply
  2. Karen @ Sugartown Sweets

    September 17, 2014 at 3:26 am

    Look at all the awesome sweets you are creating! This cookie I love! I was so excited today to find the brand new candy apple M&Ms and you have utilized them in the cutest way. Looks like everybody had a great time at the party. :o)

    Reply
  3. The Bearfoot Baker

    September 12, 2014 at 9:32 pm

    Everything about this post is amazing! I love the apple cookies!

    Reply
  4. The Partiologist

    September 12, 2014 at 8:56 pm

    What a wonderful party – and how I wish I could have attended, it looks like such fun. You did a terrific job on the apple cookies with the m & m's inside. Also, your mom's paintings are gorgeous!

    Reply
  5. Sue

    September 12, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    What a fun party! Your treat table is amazing! Your apple pinata cookies are fantastic and have definitely inspired me. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Cindyzs (cindy zemble stewart/freespiritczs)

    September 12, 2014 at 1:50 pm

    would love to see how you made the tree!! great job as always 🙂 !

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

WELCOME!

See all recipe categories

The Sugar Academy Chocolate Making Courses

Footer

Popular Kid Friendly Recipes

Cookie Monster Rice Krispie Treats with candy eyes, Tootsie Roll mouths, and mini Nutter Butter Cookies
Halloween Mickey Mouse Oreo Cookies decorated using candy clay are fun to make for your Halloween parties.
Turn Reese's Cups into sweet little otters then use them to create some adorable Sea Otter Cupcakes. These treat will be perfect for you Finding Dory Party.
Mickey Mouse Galaxy Cookies - chocolate cookies topped with chocolate ganache and galaxy sprinkles.
Decorate this cute Olaf Mickey Cake for your Disney Frozen party. It's easy to create using a simple cake decorating technique.
This Winter Wonderland White Chocolate Popcorn speckled with candy snowflakes and blue sprinkles would make a great treat for a Frozen party, a nice gift for Christmas, or a wintertime snack.

Hungry Happenings is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and occasionally writes sponsored posts which will be disclosed within the post. We value your privacy. Please read our Privacy Policy, Disclosure, and Terms of Service.

Copyright © 2022 Hungry Happenings