Apple Butter Cookies Recipe with Video Tutorial

Apple Butter Cookies are similar to snickerdoodles: soft and chewy with a subtle apple note, crinkled tops, and a cinnamon-sugar coating. This recipe uses apple butter (homemade or store-bought) to add warm apple spice to classic crinkle cookies.

After posting my apple butter recipe, I wanted to share different ways to use it beyond spreading on toast. Apple butter works beautifully in baking and brings moisture and concentrated apple flavor to cookies and cakes.

In cakes, substituting up to half the fat with apple butter keeps the crumb light and tender—I used it in an apple sheet cake with brown sugar glaze and loved the result. If you don’t make apple butter at home, you can find it in most grocery stores in the jam/jelly aisle.

Using Apple Butter in Cookies

Using apple butter in cookies requires a few adjustments if you want thin, chewy cookies rather than cake-like, puffy ones. Apple butter contains no fat, so replacing butter with apple butter changes how the dough spreads and sets.

I started by swapping half the butter for apple butter in my snickerdoodle recipe. That produced a cakier cookie. After testing and gathering feedback, I adjusted the formula to achieve crinkled, chewy cookies with good spread.

Based on tests and reader feedback, most people prefer snickerdoodles thin and chewy, so this version aims for that texture: crackled tops, tender interiors, and a cinnamon-sugar crust.

The Magic Formula

After testing this recipe multiple times, I refined the method to get the desired crinkle tops, chewy texture, and spread. The key changes when using apple butter are:

1. More sugar: Sugar helps cookies spread. Replacing part of the butter with apple butter (which has no fat) required increasing sugar to encourage proper spread.
2. Fewer eggs: Eggs add lift and structure. My original snickerdoodle used two eggs and produced cakier cookies. One large egg gives the best balance for chewy cookies.
3. Smaller amounts of leaveners: Cream of tartar and baking soda contribute to rise and tang. Reducing those amounts preserved the snickerdoodle flavor while preventing excessive puffiness.
4. Slightly less flour: A bit less flour keeps the dough tacky and encourages spreading. Measure flour by stirring, spooning into the cup, and leveling to avoid packing too much.
5. Chill the dough: Refrigerating the dough for at least an hour helps control spread so cookies remain slightly thick and crinkled. If you skip chilling, they’ll be a touch thinner but still delicious.

How To Make Apple Butter Cookies

Start by mixing the butter, apple butter, and granulated sugar until just combined—avoid creaming until light and fluffy, which would add too much lift. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.

Whisk the dry ingredients (flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon) in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated. Chill the dough for 1–2 hours.

Before baking, preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the cinnamon-sugar coating in a small bowl. Scoop dough into balls, roll each in the cinnamon-sugar until fully coated, and place them on a parchment- or silicone-lined baking sheet, leaving space between cookies.

Bake chilled cookies at 350°F for about 15 minutes; if you skip chilling, bake at 350°F for about 13 minutes. Bake until the cookies have spread, the edges and bottoms are lightly browned, and the dough visible through the cracks still looks slightly moist. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

These apple butter crinkle cookies marry the warm spices in the apple butter with the classic cinnamon-sugar exterior. The result is a cozy, flavorful cookie with a hint of apple and a satisfyingly chewy texture—perfect for snickerdoodle lovers looking for a seasonal twist.

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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