This thick and rich Caramel Apple Filling can be used for cookies, pastries, and our favorite Purim treat – hamantaschen! Green apples are cooked together with dulce de leche to create a creamy, sweet and slightly salted filling that is absolutely irresistible. Use it for hamantaschen, kolache, cookies, pastries, or any baked treat you can dream up!
Every year at Purim, I like to experiment with a new hamantaschen flavor. With these cookies, it’s all about the filling flavor. I always make our standard family classics– poppy seed, apricot, prune, and Nutella (my stepdaughter’s favorite!). Then I throw in a couple of new flavors to change things up. If the family likes them, I add them to the list for next year.
This year, I tried to come up with a filling that was really unique… something I’ve never seen before. I recently learned how to make dulce de leche in the oven, and I’ve been addicted ever since. The sweet, creamy, lightly salted caramel flavor is so amazing, and it’s surprisingly simple to make. My mind started drifting to ways I could use it in a hamantaschen filling. Most hamantaschen fillings I’ve used in the past are fruit based. What fruit goes best with caramel flavor? Why apple, of course!
Then I remembered that a few years ago I found a recipe for dulce de manzana, a Sephardic Jewish dish for Rosh Hashanah. The dish is made by grating apples and boiling them in sugar syrup, then reducing them till a thick, rich apple sauce forms. Why not combine the two ideas – dulce de leche and dulce de manzana – to create a brand new hamantaschen filling? My Caramel Apple Hamantaschen Filling was born!
For this recipe, you’ll need to make a batch of dulce de leche. It’s super easy to make (and safe– no can boiling required). Click here for the recipe. You’ll only use 1/3 cup of the dulce de leche in this recipe, which means you’ll have about a cup left over. Save the rest to use as a topping for ice cream, pour it over pancakes or crepes, or do what I do and eat it by the spoonful… it’s that good!
Need a delicious and foolproof dough recipe? Check out my Dairy Free Hamantaschen and Buttery Hamantaschen doughs. When baked into a tasty dough, this filling provides a lovely burst of caramel apple sweetness in the center of your hamantaschen cookie. What a treat!
For tips on How to Make Perfect Hamantaschen, click here.
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Caramel Apple Filling
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 4 medium apples)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup dulce de leche - click for recipe
- Salt to taste
NOTES
Instructions
- Before you begin this recipe, you'll need to make a batch of dulce de leche - click for recipe. The process is very easy, but it takes about 90 minutes. To save time, you can make it ahead and store it in the refrigerator till you're ready to begin.
- Peel and core the apples. Shred them into fine shreds using a hand grater or food processor shredding attachment.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil.
- Add the shredded apples to the boiling water and return to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium and let the mixture simmer for 25-35 minutes, stirring occasionally, till most of the liquid evaporates and the mixture resembles a very thick applesauce. When the mixture is ready, it will start to sizzle lightly in the pan and clump together when you stir it. Don't let the mixture burn, but do let it get quite thick.
- Stir in the dulce de leche; add salt to taste. The salt adds depth and gives the flavor of a salted caramel. It also offsets the sweetness a bit.
- Note that the filling is quite sweet on its own (it may initially taste "too sweet"), but it bakes to perfection when used for filling hamantaschen. Let the mixture cool.
- Refrigerate mixture for at least 1 hour before using it to fill hamantaschen; this will thicken it and make it easier to manage when filling.Use filling with your favorite hamantaschen dough. Use about 1 tsp of filling per cookie. For dough recipe suggestions, see blog above.
Nutrition
Can I use just the dulce de leche? If I cook it long enough will it get thick like jam and not be so runny?
It’s too runny to use as a filling as-is. If you cook it down further to thicken it, you may end up with caramel candy. I’m not sure if it will work, but my guess is the filling might be too stiff after cooling if you cook it down. I could be wrong, though.
Could you substitute homemade caramel sauce for the dulce de leche in this recipe?
I have never tried that, but assuming it would probably work – it kind of depends on how thick the caramel sauce is. It should be pretty thick if you don’t want the cookies to run while baking. Good luck!
I make this filling every year! My family LOVES it! But this year I’m having a problem with it collapsing as the cookies cool. I haven’t done anything different. What could the problem be??? Also, any great recipes for the leftover filling???
That’s odd! I’m not sure what could be going on with that. If you’re up for trying another baking project, the filling would also be perfect for kolache: https://toriavey.com/kolache/
These were AMAZING! Made it last year! Do you think once the filling is cooked in the hamentacian, that it would freeze ok?
Thanks!
Yes it should freeze fine, I think. 🙂
I’ve been using this filling with the buttery dough for a few years now, everybody loves it. A great way to use up apples after an apple picking trip! I feel like a zealot for recc’ing this recipe so often but it really is one of my favorite cookies.
I made these last weekend with your Buttery Hamantaschen dough, and they were DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for your recipes!
Hi Tori!
I live in Brazil and we can buy ready dulce de leche, I was wondering if you would know if the homemade version is better/different.
Thanks!
The homemade is very nice as a fresh topping (for ice cream, etc.)– I find its flavor a bit more delicate and layered. However in this recipe there is really no difference between using the pre-made and the fresh after mixing with the other ingredients. Enjoy!
can i just used applesauce from a jar instead of making my own?
Yes you can, but cook it down to the same thick consistency in the photos and make sure you use natural unsweetened applesauce (the dulce de leche is quite sweet on its own). You can always add more sugar if needed.