Snickerdoodles are a classic holiday cookie and the other day I had a crazy idea about them; How about apple flavoured snickerdoodles? This came to mind while I was enjoying a fresh batch of slow cooker apple butter and the concentrated flavour of the apple butter would be perfect in the cookies. Snickerdoodles are rolled in sugar and cinnamon which is the perfect companion to apple making these cookies even better! I wasn’t done there! I had another idea, apple and caramel are amazing together so why not add caramel to the mix either by drizzling some sauce on top or by stuffing caramel into the cookies? It’s so simple to stuff the cookies with chewing caramels before baking and when they come out of the oven the caramel is all nice and melted a oh so ooey, gooey and good! These caramel apple snickerdoodles are sure to be a hit on your holiday cookie platter!
Mmm… melted caramel… yummm…
Caramel Apple Snickerdoodles
Soft, thick and chewy apple snickerdoodles filled with melted caramel!
ingredients
- 1/4 cup apple butter
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 9 caramels, cut in half
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
directions
- Mix the apps butter, butter and sugars in a bowl, beat in the egg followed by the vanilla extract.
- Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until they are just incorporated.
- Scoop 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cookie dough at a time, roll it into a ball, push half a caramel into the centre, seal and reform into a ball before rolling in the mixture of the sugar and cinnamon, placing on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and baking in a preheated 350F/180C oven until just lightly golden brown around the edges, about 8-12 minutes, let cool on sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
Option: Omit the caramel.
Snickerdoodles
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Bacon Gingersnap Cookies
Fudgy Rolo Brownie Cookies
Pumpkin White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookies
Soft and Chewy Lemon Cheesecake Cookies
S’mores Chocolate Chip Cookies
Caramel Apple Bread
Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies
4 Ingredient Dark Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies
Chocolate Snickerdoodles
These look heavenly!
My mouth is watering over these snickerdoodles! YUM!
Such a great idea!
I'm giggling from looking at these they look so amazing! that caramel!!
These look great! Quick question: In the instructions it says "Baking Soda" but in the ingredients it says "Baking Powder" – if I may, which one is it?
Oh my goodness drooling over here!!
josh: That should have been baking powder in both location. Enjoy!
@Kevin – Thanks! Looking forward to making them!
These sound unreal Kevin!!
I just made up a batch but the cookies seemed to spread. Should they be refrigerated before making into balls. The batter was very sticky and hard to form balls with. Maybe more flour. Any suggestions
My husband will lose his mind over these!
I made these the other day and they tasted great. But they spread out alot while baking. Should I have refrigerated the dough before making the balls because the dough was very sticky also and difficult to shape into balls? Or should there be more flour? They did taste great though. The leftover apple butter tasted great on bread. Thanks
Cheri Ita: I'm glad you enjoyed them! You can chill them, add a couple more tablespoons of flour, remove a few tablespoons of butter or replace some of the brown sugar with white sugar to make a thicker cookie. (This recipe is dependant on the amount of moisture in the apple butter.)
Oh my goodness! These are THE VERY BEST snickerdoodle cookies I have ever had! And I am not very good at baking but these… They are so delicious. I followed the recipe exactly although I did add a little more flour and they came out perfect. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Could I replace the apple butter with regular unsalted butter?
Please use this recipe for snickerdoodles without apple butter: snickerdoodles and add the caramels to the middles! Enjoy!
dear kevin
first time i am commenting on your blog, though i have been following it since ages…
one request , u put up such amazing pictures, but basically all the pics are the same of the finished product…
would prefer if u posted pictures , of the step by step process….. so much more useful
thx
can the dough be made ahead of time (such as the night before), refridgerated, and then rolled out and baked the following day?
Yes it can! Enjoy!
I have made these for Christmas to give away for several years now. No matter what other cookies are included in my gift baskets, these are always peoples favorite by far. I highly recommend them!!!!
The problem I have with these are once the caramels reach room temperature they’re just a little too hard and chewy. It also doesn’t have enough apple flavor. I think if I was to remake these I would use some apple extract. And maybe cut the caramels up into tiny little pieces almost like chocolate chips.
Apple extract would be a nice addition for a more intense apple flavour! I find that the caramels are generally softer after baking in the center of the cookies than a plain caramel is, so they don’t add a chewiness to the cookies. I suppose the brand of caramel might make a difference. Cutting the caramels into smaller pieces would definitely help.
I have followed you for YEARS / printed hundreds of your recipes, bought at least 2 of your cookbooks, and wanted you to know..,, YOI ARE THE BEST !! Resource for recipes —. EVER❗️❗️Thank You!!