Apple Snickerdoodles

Apple Snickerdoodles are soft, thick and chewy, with cinnamon-spiced Honeycrisp apples folded through classic snickerdoodle dough and a generous cinnamon-sugar coating.

Course Cookie, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword apple snickerdoodle cookies, apple snickerdoodles, fresh apple cookies, snickerdoodles with apples

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 12

Additional Time: 1 30

Total Time 2 12

Servings cookies

Calories 290kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Equipment

large skillet For cooking the apples until tender and reducing the excess liquid.
kitchen scale Useful for weighing the flour, apple and 55-gram dough portions.
mixing bowls (large and small). For whisking the dry ingredients and the cinnamon-sugar coating.
Stand Mixer or hand mixer. For creaming the butter and sugars and mixing the cookie dough.
rubber spatula For folding the chilled apples into the dough without overmixing.
3 baking sheet For baking the cookies with enough room between them to spread.
parchment paper Prevents sticking and makes cleanup easier.
cooling rack For cooling the cookies completely after their initial rest on the baking sheets.

Ingredients

Apple Filling:

1 tsp (2.5 g) unsalted butter
1¼ cups (150 g) Honeycrisp or Pink Lady apple peeled and diced into ⅛- to ¼-inch (3- to 6-mm) cubes
2 tbsps (25 g) dark brown sugar
1 tsp (2.5 g) ground cinnamon
¼ tsp (0.5 g) freshly grated nutmeg
pinch kosher salt
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract

Cookie Dough:

3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
2 tsps (6 g) cream of tartar
1 tsp (4.6 g) baking soda
½ tsp (1.5 g) kosher salt
1½ tsps (4 g) ground cinnamon
1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
¾ cup + 2 tbsps (170 g) granulated sugar
⅓ cup (75 g) packed light brown sugar
1 large egg room temperature
1 large egg yolk room temperature
2 tsps (10 ml) vanilla extract

Cinnamon-Sugar Coating:

¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
1 tbsp (8 g) ground cinnamon

Instructions

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced apple, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the apples are tender but still hold their shape and the released liquid has reduced completely. The apples should look moist and coated with the brown sugar mixture, with no syrup remaining in the skillet.
1 tsp (2.5 g) unsalted butter, 1¼ cups (150 g) Honeycrisp or Pink Lady apple, 2 tbsps (25 g) dark brown sugar, 1 tsp (2.5 g) ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp (0.5 g) freshly grated nutmeg, pinch kosher salt
Remove the skillet from the heat, then stir in the vanilla extract. Transfer the apple mixture to a shallow plate and spread it out to cool. Once completely cool, refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, 2 tsps (6 g) cream of tartar, 1 tsp (4.6 g) baking soda, ½ tsp (1.5 g) kosher salt, 1½ tsps (4 g) ground cinnamon
In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar with a stand mixer or electric hand mixer until light and fluffy, 2–3 minutes.
1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, ¾ cup + 2 tbsps (170 g) granulated sugar, ⅓ cup (75 g) packed light brown sugar
Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Add the egg yolk and mix until combined, then mix in the vanilla extract.
1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 2 tsps (10 ml) vanilla extract
Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until the cookie dough is almost combined, stopping while a few streaks of flour are still visible.
Using a rubber spatula, fold the thoroughly chilled apple mixture into the dough about 5–8 times. Stop once the remaining flour is incorporated and the apples are irregularly distributed throughout the dough rather than continuing to mix until the dough looks uniform.
Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Meanwhile, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon for the coating in a shallow bowl.
¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, 1 tbsp (8 g) ground cinnamon
Portion the chilled dough into 55-gram portions, about 3 tablespoons each. Shape each portion into a ball without tightly compressing the dough, then coat generously with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Arrange the cookie dough balls about 3 inches (7.5 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 10–12 minutes, beginning to check at 10 minutes. The cookies are ready when the outside looks set and lightly golden while the centers remain soft and slightly puffed. Do not wait for the centers to appear completely set.
Finally, allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes so the centers can continue setting from the heat of the pan. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Notes

I tested these cookies with both Honeycrisp and Pink Lady apples. Both hold together well after cooking, but I prefer Honeycrisp because its apple tang is a little more noticeable in the finished cookie.
Keep the apple pieces between ⅛ and ¼ inch (3–6 mm). Larger pieces can concentrate too much fruit and moisture in one area of the cookie.
Cook the apples until they are tender but still hold together and no loose syrup remains in the skillet. The apples themselves should still be moist, so don't continue cooking in an attempt to dry them out.
Make sure the apple mixture is thoroughly chilled before folding it into the dough. Warm apples can soften the butter and affect how the cookies spread.
Stop mixing the dough while a few streaks of flour are still visible. Folding in the apples will finish incorporating the flour without requiring additional mixing.
Fold the apples into the dough only 5–8 times. The apple doesn't need to be uniformly distributed, and continuing to fold will increasingly blend the cooked apple mixture into the dough.
Portion the dough at 55 grams per cookie for the baking time and visual doneness cues given in the recipe.
The cookies should still look soft and slightly puffed in the center when they come out of the oven. They continue to set during the 10-minute cooling period on the baking sheet.
Cream of tartar is important to both the characteristic snickerdoodle tang and the leavening in this recipe, so I don't recommend omitting it.

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