Apple Butter Snickerdoodles
These Apple Butter Snickerdoodles are soft, chewy, and delightfully spiced with the aroma and flavors of fall: apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, and more. This is a true snickerdoodle, sweet and tender, with a cinnamon sugar coating that makes the crackly exterior especially irresistible. Apple season just got even sweeter!
A cookie synonymous with fall
Snickerdoodles are a soft, chewy sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar topping. They are a truly classic treat in their own right and, in my opinion, extra dreamy when crossed with richly spiced apple butter as an homage to all things autumn.
This said, snickerdoodles have a rather specific texture, and keeping that while trying to maximize apple flavor and minimize complexity required some trial and error: I tested five versions before landing on this cookie! Keys that made it work in the end include reducing the other wet ingredients and being generous with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, which increase the fall flavor without having to add more apple butter than the cookie dough can handle.
Whip up these cookies for a little lunchbox treat, an after-school snack, or just for a fun weekend project that feels seasonal yet hassle-free.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
All ingredients for these cookies are shown in the picture below; the bulleted list includes extra notes to help you shop and substitute well. Scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities and instructions.
- Butter. Creamy butter delivers tender cookies that have the most flavor. Unsalted butter is my go-to, but salted is fine. If you usually stock salted butter, consider halving the added salt in these cookies.
- Apple butter. Use a store-bought version or make your own – it’s surprisingly easy and fun. I usually use the Instant Pot.
- Cream of tartar. A key ingredient to a classic snickerdoodle and a critical component of the cookies’ signature softness and tang.
- Baking basics. You’ll need brown and white sugar, flour, vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, one egg yolk, baking soda and powder, and plenty of spices, specifically cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and cloves.
How to make apple butter snickerdoodles
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Cream Butter and Sugars: Use either a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, a hand mixer, or your own major elbow grease. When fully creamed, the butter-sugar mixture should be uniform in color, light and fluffy in texture.
Add Remaining Wet Ingredients: Mix in the apple butter, egg yolk, and vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. It’s OK if the dough is slightly grainy at this stage: the exact texture depends on the consistency of your apple butter.
Whisk and Add Dry Ingredients: I am normally a proponent of one bowl baking whenever possible, but in this instance, because we’re adding quite a few spices, I find the results more consistent if you take the time to whisk the dry ingredients separately, then mix into the wet ingredients just until combined. The dough will be very soft.
Scoop and Chill: The softness of this dough makes chilling necessary. I found a solid two hours in the fridge yielded the most thick, chewy cookies. It’s worth the wait!
Roll…: After chilling, lightly roll each cookie dough ball in a mixture of granulated sugar and ground cinnamon, then return to or place on a lined baking sheet.
…and Bake: Bake for 13-15 minutes at 350 degrees F, until the cookies are golden brown in color and set throughout. They will develop appealing deep cracks across the top.
Top Tips for Success
- Build in time to chill the dough. Apple butter makes this cookie dough very soft, and chilling time is imperative to ensure the cookies have the right texture and don’t melt into thin puddles in the oven.
- Scoop, then chill. Scoop out the dough prior to the refrigerator step, when it’s softest and easiest to scoop. Use a dough scoop to make this quick and keep all cookies a uniform size.
- Use fresh spices. Spices should have a noticeable aroma when you uncap the lid. If the scent is fading, so is the flavor.
- Gently shape cookies right after baking. If having very even, round cookies makes your heart happy, grab a spoon and use the rounded inside to gently press and mold the edges of each cookie immediately after pulling the pan out of the oven. This has to happen right away, otherwise the cookies will set too much to shape.
Storage Notes
These cookies keep well tightly-sealed at room temperature for 3-4 days. I’ve yet to try freezing the baked cookies, but the dough balls can be frozen then baked following the same instructions included in my perpetually soft chocolate chip cookies.
Related Recipes
If you love these apple butter snickerdoodles, give these other cookies a try next:
- Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
- Soft Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Amish Sugar Cookies
- Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies (Lofthouse style, but better!)
If you try this Apple Butter Snickerdoodle recipe, don’t forget to rate it and leave a comment below. I love hearing how recipes turn out in your kitchen, and it helps other readers, too.
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Apple Butter Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter at room temperature
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup apple butter
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
For the Topping:
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Add apple butter, egg yolk, and vanilla. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again until even. It’s OK if the dough is a little grainy at this point.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and cloves. Add this to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just combined with no streaks of flour.
- Scoop the cookie dough out into balls and place on a plate or baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (I use the medium-sized scoop from this set which holds just under 3 Tablespoons per scoop, and yields roughly 18 per batch of these cookies.) Place dough balls in the refrigerator and chill for about 2 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the 1/4 cup granulated sugar and the 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon together in a small bowl. Remove cookies from the fridge and roll each lightly in the cinnamon sugar until evenly coated. Arrange on the lined baking sheet, with 1-2 inches of space in between them.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, until fully set in the middle and golden brown on top and around the edges. Let cool 10 minutes on tray, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
- Storage: These cookies keep well tightly-sealed at room temperature for 3-4 days.
