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Apple Cider Cookies are thick, chewy cookies packed with apple cider flavor in every bite! They’re twice-coated in apple pie spice, brushed with a magical mixture of reduced apple cider and apple butter, & drizzled with apple cider caramel. These irresistible cookies taste just like an apple cider doughnut from the orchard!
Published: Sept 2022. Updated: Sept 2023 to make the cookies a bit thicker and increase the apple cider flavor.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love Apple Cider Cookies:
- Thick & Soft Cookies – These cookies are thick and chewy, with crisp edges.
- Twice Dipped in Apple Pie Spice – Coating these cookies twice in apple pie spice makes them taste just like apple cider donuts from the apple orchard!
- Apple Cider Coating – Brushing the baked cookies with a mixture of apple cider and apple butter allows the second coating of apple pie spice to stick and adds SO MUCH incredible flavor!
- Apple Cider Caramel – These cookies are finished with a drizzle of luscious apple cider caramel sauce.
Ingredient Overview:
- Apple Cider – Use a good quality, real apple cider, like a jug from your local orchard! We’re reducing it by cooking it on the stovetop for about 20 minutes, to concentrate the flavor. You can also use boiled apple cider to skip the reduction step. You can purchase boiled cider online (or possibly at a local orchard – try calling ahead to see if they carry it). Just be sure the only ingredient is apple cider. Do not use apple cider vinegar – this is, as the name implies, vinegar and not the same as the apple cider you’d drink.
- Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer.
- Spices – I’ve used a mix of a few spices here to make a homemade apple pie spice blend in the cookies and in the cinnamon sugar coating. You’ll need cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
- Apple Butter – We’re using apple butter mixed with the reduced cider to brush over the cookies before they get coated in apple pie spice. It brings the flavor to an entirely new level! This is a new trick I learned for fall of ’23, and if you’ve made these cookies in the past, you absolutely must make them again with this tweak – it’s out of this world delicious!!!
Recipe Variations:
- Dairy-free – Use your favorite dairy-free butter and heavy cream to keep this recipe dairy-free.
- Apple Cider – Using apple juice won’t give the exact same flavor, but you can use it if you absolutely can’t find apple cider. Do not use apple cider vinegar – it is vinegar, as the name states.
- Caramel – Nothing compares to homemade salted caramel sauce, but you can use store bought in a pinch.
How to Make this Apple Cider Cookie Recipe:
Step 1: Reduce Apple Cider & Make Salted Caramel Sauce. Reduce your apple cider by cooking it on the stovetop for about 35 minutes. Make your salted caramel sauce and let each cool in the fridge while you make the cookie dough.
Step 2: Make the Cookie Dough. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add egg, vanilla, and the cooled reduced apple cider. Add the dry ingredients.
Chill the dough for 30 minutes, then roll into balls and chill at least 2 hours or up to 48 hours.
Step 3: Bake the Cookies. Roll the chilled dough balls in the apple pie spice sugar mixture, and bake as directed in the recipe card below. Let cool for a bit on the baking sheet.
Step 4: Dip Cookies & Coat in Apple Pie Spice. Once the cookies are cool enough to handle, brush them with a mixture of apple butter and apple cider, then coat in the apple pie spice sugar again.
Note: I just discovered that using apple butter in place of the butter here takes the flavor to a whole new level! If you loved these cookies before, you will absolutely fall head over heels now.
Serving + Storing this Recipe:
Drizzle with the apple cider salted caramel sauce, and dig in to these irresistible cookies! You will fall head over heels for these – pun intended, heh.
Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-6 days, or in the fridge longer. Let them sit out a bit before serving so they can come back to room temperature (or enjoy them cold).
Craving more apple goodness? Make my Skillet Apple Crisp or my Apple Cider Donuts next!
Expert Success Tips:
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
- Chill the Dough – Yes, you must chill the dough for these cookies to not become flat pancakes in the oven. It also intensifies the flavor!
- Reduce the Cider – Don’t skip this step as reduced cider has a more intense flavor, which is important as we can’t put too much of a wet ingredient like cider into a cookie dough. Reduced cider has thicker, almost syrup-like texture.
FAQs:
Yes! Freeze cookie dough balls, covered with a kitchen towel. Once solid, transfer to an airtight freezer-safe container. Cookies can be stored this way for about 2-3 months, and can be baked straight from frozen!
Yes, feel free to scale the recipe up or down.
If you want to taste the cider flavor, yes you do. It’s mostly hands off time, with some lazy stirring. You will NOT regret it! You can also buy boiled cider if you want to start with the reduced cider.
Recipe Variations:
- Cardamom – Try cardamom in place of one of the other spices if they aren’t your jam.
- Glaze – Use my 5-Minute Maple Glaze to top the cookies if desired, adding a splash of the remaining apple cider until you have the desired consistency for drizzling or dunking. Reduce the maple syrup to just a splash, too.
Special Tools:
- Cookie Scoop – Use this cookie scoop to make your cookies the size I did. It’s technically an ice cream scoop, but it’s the perfect size for large bakery-style cookies.
- Round Cutters – Use this set of round cutters for rounding cookies, cutting donuts or biscuits, and much more.
More Apple Recipes to Love:
- Apple Cider Slushies
- Salted Caramel Apple Galette
- Cranberry Apple Crisp
- Homemade Apple Fritters
- Puff Pastry Apple Turnovers
- Apple Cider Old Fashioned Cocktails
- The Best Recipes to Make During Apple Season
More Cookie Recipes to Love:
- Soft Molasses Cookie
- Oatmeal Cookies
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Bakery-Style Monster Cookies
- Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies
Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment & star rating!
Click the little stars in the header of the recipe card below to leave a comment & star rating, letting me know how you liked the recipe. I take all feedback seriously, & leaving a rating helps my small business immensely!
Caramel Apple Cider Cookies
Ingredients
For the Reduced Apple Cider
- 5 cups apple cider
For the Salted Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup granulated sugar , 210 grams
- 6 tbsp salted butter, cubed, 85 grams
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp heavy cream, 160 grams
- 1 pinch flaky sea salt
- 3 tbsp reduced apple cider
For the Cookies
- 15 tbsp salted butter, softened at room temperature , this is 1 tbsp shy of two sticks, 1/2 cup + 7 tbsp, or 212 grams. I had to reduce it due to complaints of cookies spreading too much.
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar , 158 grams
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed, 165 grams
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup reduced & cooled apple cider
- 3 cups + 3 tbsp all-purpose flour , 414 grams
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 and 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp allspice
For the Apple Pie Spice Sugar Coating
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar , 105 grams
- 2 and 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp allspice
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
For the Apple Cider Butter Coating
- 3 tbsp reduced apple cider
- 3 tbsp apple butter, can sub melted butter in a pinch, but HIGHLY recommend apple butter here
Instructions
- Prep: Reduce your apple cider by cooking it, stirring occasionally, in a small saucepan on the stove, over medium-high heat until it reduces down to 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. This will take about 35-42 minutes. Let it cool in the fridge so it's room temperature, not hot. Yes, you really do need 5 cups – this produces a very concentrated apple cider flavor, and you won't be able to taste it otherwise.5 cups apple cider
- Make the Caramel: Make the salted caramel sauce by following my recipe here. Stir in the apple cider last. Let it cool to room temperature before using, or make it up to a week ahead and store in the fridge.1 cup granulated sugar , 6 tbsp salted butter, cubed, 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp heavy cream, 1 pinch flaky sea salt, 3 tbsp reduced apple cider
- Make the Cookie Dough: In a large bowl, cream the softened butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed. Add the sugars and mix until creamed together with the butter, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla, eggs, and apple cider, and mix until just combined. Add the dry ingredients last, and mix until a dough forms. Chill for 30 minutes to make it easier to roll the dough into balls.15 tbsp salted butter, softened at room temperature , 3/4 cup granulated sugar , 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed, 1 tsp vanilla extract , 2 large eggs, at room temperature , 1/4 cup reduced & cooled apple cider, 3 cups + 3 tbsp all-purpose flour , 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 and 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp allspice
- Scoop & Chill the Dough: Scoop the dough into balls about 60-65 grams with a large cookie scoop (about 3-4 tbsp), and place in an airtight container to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or up to 48 hours. You can speed this up by chilling in the freezer for 1 hour, or up to 1 month (see notes below).1/2 cup granulated sugar , 2 and 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp allspice, 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- Bake the Cookies: Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line a few cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and spices for coating. Roll the dough balls generously in the apple pie spice cinnamon sugar mixture. Place about 6 cookies on each sheet, with room for them to spread. Bake for 11-13 minutes. The edges should look and feel set when tapped with a fingertip, and the centers will be puffy and look just a tad underdone. They will set up as they cool.
- Finish the Cookies: Let cookies cool a few minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely, or until cool enough to handle. Stir together the apple butter and reduced apple cider in a medium bowl, then brush each cookie with a generous coating and dip in the remaining apple pie spice sugar from earlier (add it to a plate).3 tbsp reduced apple cider, 3 tbsp apple butter
- Serve + Store: Drizzle cookies with apple cider caramel and dig in! Cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week. (The caramel needs to be refrigerated.) Let cookies come back to room temp a bit before serving.
- Frozen Cookie Dough: Cookie dough balls can be frozen on a lined baking sheet, then transferred to a freezer bag or airtight container once frozen. Bake frozen cookie dough from frozen, adding 1-2 mins to the bake time as needed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is a really interesting recipe with a unique, strong flavor because of the reduced apple cider. Kudos! The description “just like a cider donut” is spot on – it’s a donut in cookie form! That said, or me, it’s a really sweet cookie. The apple cider reduction/apple butter topping is a really interesting idea, but for me it is just super sweet. And as cute as the caramel is (definitely adds visual interest, and you *can* taste the apple flavor in it), it makes the cookies a bit tricky to store as you have to chill them first to set the caramel, and keep them in the fridge. Then, unless they are going to be eaten right away after you take them out of the fridge, you have the problem of melting caramel. Also note that I only used about half the caramel called for! I wonder if a confectioner’s sugar glaze could be made with the apple cider reduction that would actually set. All in all, I like this recipe & will try it again, but perhaps without the extra topping to tone down the sweetness a bit.
Thanks for the in-depth review, Liz! Glad to hear you liked these overall. Yes, you could use the glaze from my apple fritter cake instead of the caramel.
I made these for a family party and they were a huge hit!!! They are SOOOO good!!! I will definitely be making these again.
So glad to hear that, Amanda!
These turned out great! A bit fussy but well worth the effort, especially at harvest time! Delicious!
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Ruth!
Delicious! Definitely reduce the apple cider. I was worried the apple butter would end up making the cookies soggy, but instead it keeps them moist even a couple of days later.
Glad you enjoyed these, Kelsey!
I love the flavor but how do you keep the cookies from getting soggy because of the apple butter/ cider that you brush on top?
Hi Melissa! I haven’t had an issue with them getting soggy but I typically store these in the fridge, so perhaps that’s it!
It has been twice the time and 5 cups has only reduced to 2 cups. Help?
Hi Denise! I’m guessing your heat isn’t up high enough – turn the heat up and let it keep going! It will get there ☺️ please let me know how you like the recipe!
I would suggest using a wider pan. Give yourself more surface area for the evaporation. The first time I did this, I used a regular sauce pan (6″x5″) and it took 1.5 hrs. I used a shallower/wider pan (14″x3″) the next time and it was finished much faster.
Hi Amanda! Good tip, thanks for sharing that. How did you like the cookies? Please be sure to leave stars with your rating! 🙂 Happy baking!
These were so tasty! My only regret is that I didn’t have time to make apple butter for the glaze and I subbed for regular butter. I think the apple butter would’ve given it a great extra apple kick!
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Taylor!