Apple Butter Cookies
Chewy cookies that taste like apple; made with apple butter, freeze dried apples, apple pie spices and browned butter.
Double the apple in these thick cookies: apple butter and apple itself! There’s brown butter and some apple pie spices in these and the chewy cookies are coated in a crispy cinnamon sugar.
I’ve always wanted to share an apple version of my pumpkin cookies, as soon after sharing it I had tried swapping out the pumpkin butter for apple butter. I didn’t think they tasted as “apple-y” as I wanted though so it wasn’t until I had the idea to add freeze dried bits to the cookies that I thought, now that’s one worth sharing!
Recipe Origins
For this recipe, I followed my chewy pumpkin cookie recipe which is essentially a pumpkin butter cookie. I do a lot to remove the excess water from the cookie dough: brown the butter to remove the water from the butter, do away with the egg white, and use a fruit butter which has the fruit’s water content cooked off and its sugars concentrated.
One small amendment I made to this recipe: I added freeze dried apples. This is something I do in these soft & chewy apple cookies and it really heightens the apple flavor and gives the cookies a slightly tart flavor.
Recipe Ingredients
Apple butter: this is a sauce made of apples, sugar and spices. It’s slow cooked so that much of the water in the apples evaporates and the sugars caramelize.
Freeze dried apples (apple chips): I find this at trader joes (in the nut and freeze dried fruit section), labeled apple chips or at target, where it’s just labeled ‘freeze dried apples’.
Butter: unsalted butter, cold is fine (we’re browning it!)
Spices: I use a combination of cinnamon and allspice. You can leave out the allspice if you prefer.
Sugar: fine granulated for the cookie dough. If you are doing the sugar coating, opt for something coarser so you can see it and it’ll give a bit of crunch.
Brown sugar: light or dark, soft brown sugar.
Egg yolk: from a large egg. Reserve the white for another use.
Leavening: baking soda.
Flour: all purpose, of a medium protein content.
How to make Apple Butter Cookies
This dough needs a slight room temperature rest so plan ahead (just 30-60 minutes will do).
Brown the butter: in a light colored pan, melt the butter and let it sputter as the milk solids separate. Once they do, they will start to turn brown. Once all the bits are a deep golden brown (think of the color of toast) transfer to a large bowl.
Bloom the spices: add the cinnamon and all spice to the hot brown butter and stir. This brings out the spicy flavors. Let this cool for a few minutes while you get the rest of your ingredients together.
Make the dough:
Add the salt, vanilla, brown sugar and granulated sugar to the bowl and whisk well.
Whisk in the egg yolk, then the apple butter:
Use a rubber spatula and add the flour and baking soda, stir until combined.
Process the dried apples in a food processor until it’s a mix of small bits and powder: add this to the bowl and mix to combine.
Cover the bowl and let rest for 30-60 minutes, at room temperature.
If you like, make a cinnamon sugar mixture to coat the cookies in: stir together a half teaspoon of cinnamon with a quarter cup of coarse sugar (like organic cane).
Spoon the cookies onto two prepared baking sheets (light colored, aluminum, with a sheet of parchment). For the cookies pictured I portioned them at 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. They aren’t big spreaders but we are going to be flattening them post-bake so leave some space between the dough mounds.
Bake until the edges are golden brown and they’ve puffed up and cracked. As soon as they are out of the oven, use a flat bottomed measuring cup to press gently on top of the cookies to gently flatten them. This removes the excess air and makes them fudgier and chewier!
FAQ
Can I make my own apple butter?
In theory this should work but in practice homemade apple butter is going to vary by whichever recipe you’re using. I use store-bought (mine is from a local farm store) because the consistency is fairly dependable and I know what texture and flavor I’m going to get. If you do make your own, expect some changes in the texture/flavor/spread of the cookie.
Can I skip the freeze dried apples?
You can! The apples do play a slight role in texture here, they add some softness and chewy texture but they are mostly there for flavor. They bring a more apple forward taste to the cookies.
Can I make the dough ahead of time?
If you need to do this, prep the dough to the point of scooping (so make the dough, rest it at room temp and portion the cookies). Scoop onto a parchment lined tray or plate and set in the freezer until solid, about 15 minutes.
Then set the cookie dough balls in a freezer gallon bag. When you’d like to bake, set them on the cookie pan (distance them so there’s room for them to spread) and bring them to room temperature before baking.
Apple Butter Cookie Recipe
Apple Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 140g or ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter unsalted
- ½ teaspoon all spice optional
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon plus more for topping
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 100g or ½ cup granulated sugar
- 100g or ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg yolk from a large egg
- 145g or ½ cup apple butter
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 250g or 2 cups all purpose flour
- 35g freeze dried apples ground into bits
- 50g or ¼ cup coarse sugar for topping (optional)
Method
- Note: we’ll make this dough about an hour before baking the cookies, they need a short rest for the flour to hydrate and the butter to cool.
- Brown the butter & bloom the spices: Set the butter in a light colored frying pan over medium heat. Cook as the butter melts and begins to sputter. Small panko-like bits will fall to the bottom, keep cooking and stirring while those bits turn brown. The butter will smell nutty and it will stop sputtering, going silent as all of the water has evaporated and the milk solids have turned a toasty brown color. Pour into a bowl and add the cinnamon and allspice if using and stir. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Make the cookie dough: add the salt, vanilla, sugar and brown sugar to the bowl and whisk well. Add the egg yolk and whisk well to combine. Whisk in the apple butter. Switch to a rubber spatula and add the flour and baking soda, stir until combined. Grind the freeze dried apples in a food processor until it’s a mix of little bits and powder, add it to the cookie dough and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap to seal and rest the dough at room temperature for 30-45 minutes.
- Bake the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 F. if you’d like to do a cinnamon sugar coating, whisk together a quarter cup (50g) coarse granulated sugar with a half teaspoon of cinnamon. Prep two cookie sheets with parchment paper and scoop the cookie dough in mounds of 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Dip them into the sugar to coat all over. Ensure the cookies are spaced out so there’s only six cookies per pan. Bake the cookies until they have puffed up and cracked, and edges turn golden brown, about 13-15 minutes. As soon as they come out of the oven, use a flat bottom measuring cup or something similar to gently flatten the cookies. Let cool briefly then enjoy! Leftovers should be kept in an airtight container.
Notes
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