Made with flavorful apple butter, nuts, and oats, these Apple Butter Oatmeal Cookies are little tastes of fall!
Apple Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Apple butter is a fall must around here. It’s such a delight to spread on biscuits, bagels, and more. And it’s a great ingredient for baking, too. With this recipe for Apple Butter Oatmeal Cookies, apple butter adds wonderful flavor and texture to nutty oatmeal cookies.
These little guys are perfectly soft, chewy, and flavorful. The warm, delicious spices and sweet fruit from the apple butter add such a lovely taste. The first time I tried one I thought to myself that it tasted like fall. But I must say, I would welcome a batch of these cookies any time of year.
The combination of apple butter with brown sugar, oats, and nuts make these cookies absolutely fantastic. I bake a lot of cookies, and I have to say that these are one of my favorites in recent memory. Bake a batch for a sweet fall treat to share with friends and family.
What You’ll Need
- All-purpose flour – Measure by weight or spoon and sweep.
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Oats – I prefer the texture that old-fashioned rolled oats give these cookies, but you can use quick oats if you like. The cookies will be flatter and less chewy. Be sure to substitute by volume, not weight.
- Unsalted butter – Set out the butter about half an hour before baking so it can soften properly.
- Brown sugar – Either light or dark brown sugar will work. Dark brown sugar has more moisture, so you may need a little extra sprinkle of flour. (If your brown sugar has hardened, see How to Soften Brown Sugar for some easy fixes.)
- Apple butter – You can use store-bought or make your own. My Apple-Pear Butter works well, and you can scale it easily if you don’t want a big batch. But it’s so good and has so many uses that I’m sure the excess of a full batch won’t go to waste.
- Egg – Set out the egg when you set out the butter.
- Vanilla extract – Almond extract would also be good in these cookies.
- Chopped nuts – Pecan, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds… whatever you like! If you want to make these without nuts, you can omit them. Just keep in mind that you’ll get fewer cookies due to that loss of volume.
All the spices in the apple butter mean that you don’t have to add any to the cookie dough. Of course, we all like different levels of spice in our baking. You can certainly add a bit of cinnamon or other spice to the dough if you like. Just take into consideration the flavor and spice of your apple butter before making any additions.
How to Make Apple Butter Oatmeal Cookies
These cookies are simple to make. You’ll need a couple of mixing bowls, a hand or stand mixer, and your trusty half sheet pans. If you have a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop, get that ready, too.
Prepare for baking. Gather all the ingredients, and heat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the oats, and set aside.
Mix the wet ingredients. Cream together the butter and brown sugar with a hand or stand mixer on medium speed. Once they’re combined, mix in the apple butter followed by the egg and vanilla.
Combine the dry and wet ingredients. With the mixer speed on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Mix just until combined or a few streaks of flour remain. Stir in the nuts.
Portion the dough. Drop the dough by 1-tablespoon portions onto the pan. I recommend using a cookie scoop for quicker and more accurate portioning. Leave about 2 inches between the cookies.
Bake. The cookies will need to bake 10 to 12 minutes. When the centers appear set, they’re ready to come out of the oven. Then cool them on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips for Success
- Don’t over-mix. Too much mixing means crumbly, flat cookies.
- Bake one pan at a time. Chill the dough between batches.
- If you reuse your pans, let them cool completely. Putting cookie dough on a warm baking pan will lead to over-spreading and uneven baking.
How to Store These Cookies
Place the cooled cookies in an airtight container. They should keep up to 3 days.
For longer storage, wrap the cooled cookies in plastic wrap and put in a freezer-safe bag or container. They should keep up to 3 months. Thaw on the countertop for a couple of hours.
Apple Butter Oatmeal Cookies
The sweet, spiced flavor of apple butter makes these soft, chewy Apple Butter Oatmeal Cookies wonderfully delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/4 cups (150g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 & 1/2 cups (149g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup (150g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup apple butter (store-bought or homemade)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup chopped nuts, such as pecans or hazelnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the oats. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and brown sugar until thoroughly combined. Mix in the apple butter. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix well.
- Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined. Stir in the nuts.
- Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared pans, leaving about 2 inches between cookies. A cookie scoop works well for consistent portioning.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until the centers appear set.
- Cool on the pans for 5 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
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25 Comments on “Apple Butter Oatmeal Cookies”
This looks like a yummy cookie. I have some Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter and wondered if you thought the consistency of that would work as a substitute for the Apple Butter?
Hi, Kit. I’m not a pumpkin fan, so I’ve never used pumpkin butter. My guess is that the consistency would be similar enough to work.
I plan to make these with Trader Joe’s pumpkin butter too! Â I’m taking them to Thanksgiving dinner with our in-laws. Â They look awesome! Â I’ll let you know how they turn out :). Â Thanks for all of the great recipes!
Enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving!
I made them and they are wonderful 🙂 Thank you so much for the easy & delicious recipe. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi JenniferÂ
Could I use my homemade applesauce in place of the apple butter ? It’s quite thick and spiced with cinnamon but not as thick as apple butter ? Â Nancy
Hi, Nancy. Apple butter is usually thick enough to spread. Applesauce may be too thin to get the same consistency of dough. If your dough is too thin to scoop, you may have to add more flour.
Hi Nancy, have you tried to add some small diced apple. Eating one right now that I got from store and it has sm diced apples. It’s delicious but really want to try your recipe?
I’m sure that would be fine. If it adds too much liquid, you may need to add a bit more flour.
Do you have to use hazel nuts or pavan in this recipie
Hi, Patty. You can omit the nuts if you like. The texture will be a bit different, of course. You also may get fewer cookies.
Wondering if I could exclude the nuts
Of course! You may end up with fewer cookies, but they should be fine otherwise.
I’d like to substitute steel-cut oats for the rolled (because that’s what I have in the cabinet). Would I want to soak them first or just bake the cookies a bit longer?
Hi, Alison. Steel-cut oats are not ideal for baking because they’re so much harder than rolled oats. I’ve not tried it, but I’ve read that they can be used if they’re cooked first. Still, I would expect a difference in the texture of the cookies.
I love these! I added a diced apple instead of nuts, and adjusted with 1/4 cup more of oats. Absolutely fabulous!
I’m all for making these even more apple-y! Glad you liked them!
Just made these but without nuts. I followed the recipe accordingly but used salted butter because it was all I had on hand and added a tad bit more apple butter. They were absolutely delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so glad you liked the cookies!
I wouldn’t have changed a thing but I was running low on AP flour. I used pear butter I made and froze last fall, half spelt flour, and made each cookie more like 2 tbsp each. Perfect recipe. Adding to my saved recipes for posterity. So yummy.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies, Sheena! I must try these with pear butter!
Suggestions for high altitude? I usually add an extra egg and 1/4 cup flour. I live at 9300 feet in Colorado.
Hi, Ronnie. I live essentially at sea level here in New York, so I don’t have any experience with high altitude baking. You might look at these tips from King Arthur Baking.
Super easy and yummy recipe! I used walnuts and homemade apple butter from the great smokey mountains. Excellent choice. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies, Alena!