Soft and Chewy Apple Butter Cookies (No Chill!)

Ingredients

• 1.75 cup all-purpose flour (plus 2 tbsp)
• 1 large egg
• 0.5 cup granulated sugar (for the cookie dough)
• 0.5 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 0.25 cup apple butter (stir well before measuring; preferably apple butter spiced with cinnamon, clove, and allspice)
• 0.125 cup brown sugar (plus 1 tsp; packed)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)
• 0.75 tsp cream of tartar
• 0.5 tsp baking soda
• 0.25 tsp kosher salt (If using regular table salt, use half the amount.)
• 0.5 cup granulated sugar (for coating the cookies)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (for coating the cookies)

Steps

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. 2

   In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and kosher salt. Set the dry mixture aside.

3. 3

   In a separate large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the room-temperature butter, granulated sugar, and packed brown sugar on medium speed for 1 minute.

4. 4

   Add the vanilla extract, apple butter, and egg to the butter mixture. Mix until combined.

5. 5

   Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix just until the dough comes together; do not overmix.

6. 6

   Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If parchment is unavailable, omit it.

7. 7

   In a small bowl, combine the coating sugar and ground cinnamon.

8. 8

   Using a medium cookie scoop or a 1/8-cup measure, scoop portions of dough and roll each portion in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, coating all sides.

9. 9

   Place the coated dough portions on the lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Repeat until all the dough is used.

10. 10

    Bake for 14–15 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown all over.

11. 11

    Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely on the baking sheet. They will firm up as they cool.

Notes

For the best flavor, use apple butter with noticeable fall spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, or allspice. Bring the butter and egg to room temperature before mixing. To make the dough ahead, scoop it onto a baking sheet and freeze or refrigerate; bring the dough to room temperature before baking. If using apple butter made from apples with very little spice, the source suggests adding 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/8 tsp ground allspice to the apple butter.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• cookies
• baked
• fall
• vegetarian
• make-ahead
• no-chill