Apple Butter Cookies + Video
Apple Butter Cookies are just like snickerdoodles. Soft and chewy, with a hint of apple, crinkle tops, and cinnamon-sugar coating. Use apple butter (homemade or store-bought) in this great recipe!
After sharing my apple butter recipe, I wanted to be sure to include some other recipes to use it with. Of course you can spread it on toast and stuff like that, but you can also bake with it!
Using apple butter in cakes works really well. You simply substitute some (up to half) of the butter or oil with apple butter and it creates a light and fluffy cake. I used it for this delicious apple sheet cake with brown sugar glaze.
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*If you don’t make apple butter, you can find it at the grocery store in the aisle with the jam/jelly/spreads. Look for Musselman’s or Kroger brands.
Using Apple Butter in Cookies
Unlike cakes, using apple butter in cookies can be tricky if you don’t want a puffy, cake-like cookie.
I wanted to use my best snickerdoodle recipe and simply alter it using half butter, and half apple butter. The cookies came out okay, if you like puffy and cakey cookies, but I wanted thin and chewy cookies with cracks on top.
I began to wonder how others liked their snickerdoodle cookies, so I asked.
After polling my instagram followers on how they prefer snickerdoodles, it was a pretty close call.
58% said they like snickerdoodles thin & chewy, whereas 42% said they like snickerdoodles puffy & cakey.
I’ve only ever had snickerdoodles that are thin and chewy with cracks on top, so that’s how I wanted my recipe to be, and I wasn’t going to stop until I got it right!
The Magic Formula
After testing this recipe 7 TIMES, I finally got the crinkle tops, chewy texture, and spread I was going for.
I learned that when using apple butter for cookies you need:
- MORE SUGAR — Sugar and fat help cookies spread, and since half of the butter is replaced with apple butter (containing no fat) it needed more sugar to increase the spread.
- LESS EGGS — Eggs work as a leavening agent, but also help create structure, so you can’t leave them out completely. My original snickerdoodle recipe used 2 eggs. I tried it with both eggs (too cakey), just an egg yolk (too dense), and one egg. One egg worked best.
- LESS CREAM OF TARTAR AND BAKING SODA — My snickerdoodles had quite a bit of cream of tartar and baking soda. Both work as leaveners — just like the eggs. I couldn’t leave out the cream of tartar completely, because it gives the snickerdoodles the tang that they’re known for. But I did decrease the amount drastically and kept a little baking soda as well to help create a soft interior.
- LESS FLOUR — Compared to my original snickerdoodles, I used a little less flour in these cookies. This kept the dough slightly wet/tacky, to help with the spread. When measuring flour, make sure to stir up it up, spoon it into the cup, and then level it. This incorporates air and prevents using too much flour.
- REFRIGERATION — I tested these cookies by baking them immediately, and by chilling them for at least 1 hour prior to baking. Refrigeration helps them spread slower, keeping them just slightly puffy/thicker. The difference wasn’t super noticeable, so if you want to skip refrigeration, you will just get a slightly thinner cookie. If you can wait the hour, do it. You’ll have cookie perfection.
How To Make Apple Butter Cookies
For the cookie dough, mix together the butter, sugar, and apple butter. Be careful not to cream it too much. Creaming it will leaven/lift the dough (contribute to a puffy texture). Mix until incorporated well, but not light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla. Mix. Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon separately. Then add it to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated.
Refrigerate the dough for 1-2 hours, then scoop it into balls, roll it in cinnamon-sugar and place it on a baking sheet lined with silicone or parchment paper.
Bake the apple butter cookies at 350˚F for 15 minutes. If you decide to skip the chilling, you can bake them at 350˚F for 13 minutes.
Bake until the cookies have spread, the edges and bottom have browned, but the dough peeking through the cracks looks slightly wet still.
Leave the cookies on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
If you’re a snickerdoodle lover, you will LOVE these apple butter crackle cookies!
They have all the spices from the apple butter combined with the cinnamon-sugar exterior to make them warm and flavorful, with a hint of apple coming through.
A great use of apple butter in these apple butter snickerdoodles.
More Crinkle Cookies
- Pumpkin Spice Crinkle Cookies
- Double Chocolate Crinkles
- Coconut Lime Crinkle Cookies
- Best Snickerdoodle Recipe
- Lime Crinkle Cookies
- Soft Baked Lemon Cookies
- Homemade Oreo Cookies
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Apple Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, (1 stick) room temperature
- ½ cup (136 g) apple butter, (homemade or store-bought)
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (330 g) all-purpose flour, (stir, spoon & level)
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Cinnamon-Sugar Coating:
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, apple butter, and sugar together until incorporated, but not light and fluffy. (Do not cream together for very long.)
- Add the egg and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix until combined.
- REFRIGERATE dough for 1-2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with silicone or parchment paper.
- Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl for coating. Scoop dough into balls (with a #30 scoop) and roll in cinnamon-sugar until fully coated. Place the coated dough balls on a prepared baking sheet several inches apart.
- Bake at 350˚F for 15 minutes, until the cookies have spread, the edges and bottom have browned, but the dough peeking through the cracks looks just slightly wet still. Remove from oven and leave cookies on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
- APPLE BUTTER: You can use store-bought or homemade apple butter for these cookies. You can find apple butter in the jam/jelly/spreads aisle of the grocery store. Kroger or Mussleman's apple butter are great brands to try.
- NO CHILL COOKIES: To bake these cookies immediately, bake at 350˚F for 13 minutes. Note: Cookies may be thinner than ones baked with chilled dough. Use a spatula to press the edges of the cookies inward just after the tray comes out of the oven to create thicker cookies.
Nutrition
Did you make this?
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After trying another website’s Apple Butter Cookies, I landed on this one with terrific results. This is going in the tried-and-true file! Using my homemade apple butter, I successfully halved the recipe for about 16 cookies (30 oz each) and followed the directions exactly. Thanks for a great recipes.
I tested this recipe 7x before I published it, so that means a lot to me that you are so happy with it Deb! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with the recipe.
Hello! I recently moved from Virginia to New Jersey. I tried your recipe for the first time in Virginia with a gas oven and it came out perfect! I’m now in New Jersey making your recipe again for the first time with an electric oven and they are coming out super thin. Any suggestions on how I can keep them from flattening out so much?
Just kidding- they were both electric ovens. But something else I’m remembering is that I did use a different kind of butter and it was a little more melty than how I’ve typically used it in the past (because I microwave it to get soft) but I guess maybe too much of it was melted?
Sorry for the delayed response. Yes, I bet if you microwaved the butter and it was softer than usual, then that had a lot to do with it. You can also try adding 1/4 cup (30 g) more flour to help it spread slower. Make sure it gets a good chill in the fridge as well.
Great, thank you so much! Next time I make them I’ll let you know how it goes!
I needed a recipe for a cookie exchange at work, just made these; they were delicious. I substituted the cinnamon for five spice. although they turned out great, my batter was dry and crumbly and since I’m not a baker I didn’t know if I could add more apple jelly to make it wetter.
apple butter
Hi Pauletta, I’m glad they turned out well even with a dry batter. A few things that can contribute to that would be not stirring/fluffing up the flour before measuring it or packing it into the cup when measuring it. The butter may have been too cold, or needed to be creamed longer. If the cookies still worked well, I wouldn’t worry about adding more apple butter. I tested this recipe 7x to get it perfect and it is a science, so I would focus on making sure the measuring and steps are done well. I have a video in my post to help show you the process to make the cookies, if that helps.
Has anyone tried this with gluten free all purpose flour?
I haven’t, but I’m pretty sure it will be just fine.
OH.MY.GOSH. These are amazing! I made these today; I guess because of the seasonal popularity apple butter was out of stock but I found apple pecan butter. It had tiny chips of pecan in it, and it sent these cookies over the top! Amazing texture, a great flavor. Happy first day of October and thank you for the perfect recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe Amie! That apple pecan butter sounds like a great option for these cookies.
These were the best snickerdoodles I’ve ever had but we couldn’t taste apple at all and we even added just a little extra. What would happen if I put 1 c. of apple butter in instead of the 1/2 c.? Would it ruin the cookies some how?
Hi Mindy! So glad you are enjoying these cookies. You could potentially replace the butter with extra apple butter, but I haven’t tried it myself. My guess is they would puff up and be more cake-y. You could also try folding small chunks of apples into the cookie dough if you want more of an apple-y taste. Hope this helps!
Is this dough one that can be frozen?
I haven’t tried it myself, but I’m almost positive it would be ok.
Did you try and freeze this dough at all? Curious if I can make the dough ahead and freeze them for later use.
I did freeze the dough for about two weeks and it worked out well!
This sounds really good. I made a batch of pumpkin cookies a few days ago that turned out cakey ( darn! ), so I was looking for a recipe that I could use with pumpkin pecan butter. I’ll give it a try this afternoon!
Ooh! That sounds delicious! Please share if it worked out for you.
The cookies turned out great….in fact, I’m eating too many of them! I used the measurements you called for and just substituted pecan pumpkin butter for the apple butter and added a dash of nutmeg. I also swapped a tiny bit of the sugar for brown sugar, it gave it a little extra chew. Great recipe! Thanks for putting in the effort to figure it out.
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for the update!
I made these and they are absolutley delicious! I doubled the batch and used a smaller cookie scoop (adjusted bake time to 10 mins) and they are my family’s new favorite cookie! They taste even better the next day! I wanna try this with various fruit butters like peach and blueberry. Thank you so much!
Trying other fruit butters sounds like a great idea! Glad you enjoyed these cookies Laura.
I had made a rather unsuccessful batch of apple butter, and took the dangerous decision to throw good time and ingredients after bad…and I am very pleased that I did ! This is a super recipe, with results exactly as pictured. However the taste is delicious, failed apple butter notwithstanding. I will be making these time after time. Btw the reason I chose this recipe over others was the explanation of the method and the ingredients. I had been doubtful about small quantities of leavening agents in other versions – and I trusted this because of the research. Well done and thank you.
I’m so glad you were able to use your apple butter for this recipe and that it worked well for you. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with the recipe Theodora!