My main question: where's the cinnamon?
The Pillsbury Doughboy appears on the front of the package holding an apple pie. Unfortunately, the flavor didn't quite deliver on that visual promise.
I found very little apple flavor and no cinnamon flavor at all. In fact no spices save a bit of paprika for coloring. After checking the ingredient list, I discovered cinnamon isn't included.
What Is In The Dough?
The packaging lists dried apples and whole grain oats along with the usual cookie ingredients.
The package promises 12 large cookies and, like several recent Pillsbury cookie dough products, the dough is made with heat-treated flour so it’s safe to eat raw.
Apple pie flavors can be tricky in cookie form. Apples add moisture, and it’s hard to capture the flavor of a slice of pie in a simple drop cookie.
In fairness to Pillsbury, they’re calling this Apple Pie Cookie Dough rather than Apple Pie Cookies.
Still, the packaging sets some expectations.
How They Baked
The cookies spread into soft, puffy cookies with visible oat pieces throughout. They looked fine although a bit bland coming out of the oven and baked exactly as expected.
They needed 15 minutes in my oven at 375. I let the cookies rest on the sheet pan for five minutes to set up.
The package screams Americana. Stars, firework style graphics and the aforementioned doughboy holding a pie.
If you're going to evoke apple pie that heavily, I'm going to expect something that tastes like apple pie.
How They Taste
Here’s the problem.
When you take a bite, you do get a little apple flavor. There’s a mild sweetness that suggests dried apples are doing some work in the dough.
But what you don’t get is cinnamon.
And that’s a surprisingly big issue.
I checked the ingredient list after tasting them because I kept waiting for the cinnamon flavor to show up. It never did.
For me, cinnamon is part of what makes apple pie taste like apple pie.
Without it, these cookies end up tasting more like a mildly sweet oatmeal cookie with a hint of apple than anything resembling an actual slice of pie.
The apple flavor isn’t offensive. It’s just incomplete.
And these cookies have strong 1990's low-fat baking energy.
These taste like when everyone's mom was baking with applesauce instead of butter: bland oatmeal cookies without any cinnamon or butter.
Would I Buy Them Again?
No.
If you’re a big apple pie fan, I’d save your money.
These aren’t terrible cookies. They’re perfectly edible, and some people may enjoy the lighter apple flavor.
But if you’re expecting warm apple pie spices, buttery pie filling flavors, or anything that reminds you of a slice of homemade apple pie, you’re probably going to be disappointed.
I'd skip it.
But please, if you've tried these cookies and disagree with my review, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I am one of the most critical people I know, second only to the people who birthed me.
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