Apple butter cookies are soft and chewy cookies made with sweet and warmly spiced apple butter. These apple butter and brown sugar cookies are topped with an easy to make apple butter icing. They’re the perfect cozy fall cookie.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
There are few things I love more than a soft, chewy and cozy cookie. My Honey Cookies, Iced Oatmeal Cookies, Chai Cookies, Chewy Molasses Cookies, Apple Cider Cookies, Chewy Maple Pumpkin Cookies are just a few cookie recipes I love from the blog. I know you’ll love these apple butter cookies because:
- Layers of cozy flavors and textures. From the soft and chewy sugar cookie made with sweet and spicy apple butter and brown sugar to the creamy apple butter glaze, these apple butter sugar cookies will delight your senses.
- They are quick and easy to make. All you need to do is bring the butter and egg yolk to room temperature, mix the ingredients, chill for about an hour, then scoop, bake, glaze and eat.
- The perfect fall cookie. These apple butter sugar cookies are filled with caramelized apple flavor, warming spices and sweet brown sugar. They’re the coziest cookies that are guaranteed to make your whole house smell like fall.
Ingredients
This apple butter cookie recipe requires only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you’ll need.
Apple Butter Cookies
- Dry Ingredients: Gather all purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- Wet Ingredients: Gather butter, light brown sugar, apple butter, an egg yolk and vanilla extract.
Apple Butter Glaze
Gather powdered sugar, apple butter and milk or heavy cream.
Substitutions
Here are my recommended substitutions to make these sweet and chewy cookies with apple butter if you need them.
- All purpose flour: Make these soft and chewy apple butter sugar cookies, gluten free, by using a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill. Measure based on weight (240 g) rather than volume in cups.
- Baking Soda: Make sure the baking soda is fresh and in date.
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg: Ground cinnamon and nutmeg are a perfect match with apple butter. Feel free to omit or use another ground spice such as ginger you like.
- Unsalted Butter: Vegan butter or plant based can also be used in place of regular unsalted butter.
- Light Brown Sugars: Maple sugar would also work well to make these cookies refined sugar free.
- Apple Butter: Feel free to use your preferred apple butter. I love the apple butter from Trader Joes. Do not substitute the apple butter with applesauce.
- Egg Yolk: This recipe has not been tested without an egg yolk.
- Vanilla Extract: This is more for background flavor and nicely enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
Variations
- Apple Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies: Follow the recipe for my Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies. Replace the pumpkin with ½ cup apple butter. Follow the rest of the recipe as written.
- Apple Butter Oatmeal Cookies: Reduce the total flour to 1 ¼ cups (150 g). Add 1 ½ cups (150 g) rolled, old fashioned or quick cooking oats. Follow the rest of the recipe as written.
How To Make
Learn how to make apple butter cookies in a few easy steps.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until well combined. Set aside for now.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together the cubes of butter, light brown sugar and apple butter on medium speed for 2 - 3 minutes or until the butter, sugar and apple butter are smooth and well combined. On low, cream in the egg yolk and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Cover the cookie dough and transfer to the fridge to chill for 1 - 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C) for about 20-30 minutes before baking the cookies. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoons, 30 ml), scoop the apple butter brown sugar cookie dough and place the apple butter cookie dough balls onto the lined baking sheet about 3 inches (8 cm) apart. Bake at 375 F (190 C) for 10 - 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set and the centers are slightly puffed. Cool the chewy apple butter cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature.
4. While the cookies cool, make the apple butter glaze. Whisk the powdered sugar with apple butter and heavy cream or milk until smooth and well combined. Once the cookies have cooled and firmed up, quickly dip the top of each cookie in the apple butter glaze. Gently shake the excess glaze from the top of the cookie and return to the cooling rack. Repeat with all apple butter cookies, allow about 30 - 45 minutes for the glaze to set and enjoy.
How To Make Ahead, Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Make Ahead: Prepare the cookies according to the recipe directions up to mixing the dry ingredients into the wet and decide which storage method meets your needs.
- Store: Place the baked apple butter cookies in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 5 days. To store unbaked cookie dough in the fridge, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store in an air tight container for 1 - 2 days. Before baking, allow the chilled cookie dough to sit at room temperature for 20 - 30 minutes before scooping into balls and baking.
- Freeze Cookie Dough: Prepare the apple butter brown sugar cookies through the resting/chilling step. Chill the dough for 1 hour, then scoop the dough into balls onto small lined baking sheet or large plate. Freeze the balls for 20 minutes then transfer them to a freezer proof container for up to 2 months. Thaw the cookie dough balls in the fridge overnight and proceed with the cookie recipe as written starting with the baking step.
- Freeze Baked Cookies: Place each of the baked cookies in a freezer proof container in a single line with parchment paper between each layer. Freeze for up to two months. Thaw the cookies by setting them out at room temperature for a few hours or until thawed. I recommend leaving the cookies plain if you plan on freezing them. Top the thawed cookies with the apple butter glaze and enjoy.
M’s Expert Tips
- Measure the flour properly. I highly recommend using a food scale to get perfectly measured ingredients every time.
- Chill the cookie dough. Chilling the cookie dough creates a softer and chewier cookie that has less chance of spreading too much.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Always use the lowest speed on your electric mixer or mix in the dry ingredients by hand. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
- Give your cookies a “cookie scoot.” Within the first minute of removing the cookies from the oven, use a large biscuit cutter (wider than the cookies) to help shape any cookies back into a more round shape. Place the cutter over the cookies so the edges of the cookie are inside the cookie/ biscuit cutter. In a circular motion, gently nudge the edges back into a round shape.
- Fully cool the cookies before topping with the glaze. The apple cookies need to be completely cooled and firm to pick up and glaze. My preferred way to top these cookies with apple butter glaze is to quickly dip them in the glaze and gently shake off the excess.
FAQs
Apple butter is thicker, sweeter, and richer than applesauce. It is often flavored with warming spices like cinnamon and vanilla and with brown sugar. Apple butter is essentially a concentrated and caramelized form of applesauce.
Apple butter is a concentrated form of applesauce, but applesauce can not be used in place of the apple butter in this cookie recipe. Applesauce has too much moisture and not enough apple flavor to work well in this cookie recipe.
I find that a medium cookie scoop, with about 2 tablespoons of cookie dough makes the perfect cookie. However, you can make a small (1 tablespoon) cookie if you like. Bake this size cookie for about 9 - 10 minutes. For a larger cookie, use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons, 45 ml) and bake for 12 - 14 minutes.
Chilling the dough allows the flour to hydrate and prevent the cookies from spreading too much. This cookie recipe with apple butter needs some chilling time to get the best results.
Other Apple Recipes to Try
If you try this Apple Butter Cookies recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! - M
Apple Butter Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
- 2 large baking sheets
- 2 sheet parchment paper
- 1 medium (2 tablespoon, 30 ml) cookie scoop
Ingredients
Apple Butter Cookies
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teapsoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to touch
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (160 g) apple butter
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
Apple Butter Icing
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) apple butter
- 2 - 3 tablespoons (30 - 45 ml) milk or heavy cream, room temperature
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until well combined. Set aside for now.2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teapsoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together the cubes of butter, light brown sugar and apple butter on medium speed for 2 - 3 minutes or until the butter, sugar and apple butter are smooth and well combined.½ cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to touch, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (160 g) apple butter, 1 large egg yolk, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- On low, cream in the egg yolk and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Cover the cookie dough and transfer to the fridge to chill for 1 - 2 hours.
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 F (190 C) for about 20-30 minutes before baking the cookies. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoons, 30 ml), scoop the apple butter brown sugar cookie dough and place the apple butter cookie dough balls onto the lined baking sheet about 3 inches (8 cm) apart.
- Bake at 375 F (190 C) for 10 - 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set and the centers are slightly puffed. Cool the chewy apple butter cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature.
- While the cookies cool, make the apple butter glaze. Whisk the powdered sugar with apple butter and heavy cream or milk until smooth and well combined. Once the cookies have cooled and firmed up, quickly dip the top of each cookie in the apple butter glaze. Gently shake the excess glaze from the top of the cookie and return to the cooling rack. Repeat with all apple butter cookies, allow about 30 - 45 minutes for the glaze to set and enjoy.1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) apple butter, 2 - 3 tablespoons (30 - 45 ml) milk or heavy cream, room temperature
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