These Cinnamon Apple Peanut Butter Cookies are a sweet spin on the classic peanut butter cookie recipe! With a crunchy bite from the apples, sweet cinnamon flavor and a chewy peanut butter cookie, these cookies have everything you need and more!
Why You’ll Love…
Having a classic peanut butter cookie recipe in your kitchen is always a win! Peanut butter cookies are soft, chewy and pretty easy to throw together! But sometimes, peanut butter can bit a boring, so this is a super easy way to spice up a classic recipe with things that you probably already have in your pantry!!
Freeze Dried Apples Versus Fresh Apples
When it comes to cookie recipes, I always tend to lean towards freeze-dried fruit! While I love a fresh ripe apple, they can release excess juice in the cookies that can throw off the flour to liquid ratio! When this happens, the cookies can spread too much and not hold their shape! When you use freeze-dried fruit, you get all the flavor of the fruit with none of the moisture! So save your fresh apples for snacking, and grab the freeze-dried apple slices for this recipe!
However, if you really want to use fresh apples, I recommend using the kind of apples best for baking, which would be Granny Smith or Honeycrisp apples! These are bit more firm and hold their shape better in baking! I also recommend patting them dry with a paper towel first to absorb excess moisture!
Peanut Butter Options
I love some creamy peanut butter, it’s a staple in our pantry! From sandwiches, to smoothies, to snacks and more, it’s a must have! However, I know that there’s a few different peanut butter options to choose from at the grocery store, so here are my tips!
Crunchy Peanut Butter – while the crunch from the peanuts might be delicious, I don’t recommend using chunky peanut butter in this recipe! The bits of nuts could prevent the butter and peanut butter from creaming together smoothly! If you really want to add the crunchy snap of the peanuts, you can sprinkle those on top of the cookie dough!
Natural Peanut Butter – I haven’t worked with natural peanut butter too often, but depending on the type of natural/organic peanut butter, they can have a bit of extra oil in them! If this is the case, you can add a tablespoon or more of flour to help balance it out!
Other Nut Butters – if you have a peanut allergy or just aren’t a fan of peanut butter, feel free to substitute any other nut butter you like!
If you love peanut butter treats, I have a whole bunch of recipes linked here!
Equipment Needed:
Electric Mixer – You can use a hand mixer or use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment! I prefer to use an electric mixer to make sure everything gets fully combined!
Large Bowl – This helps mix everything together! I’ll link my favorite set of glass bowls below!
Baking Sheet – As always, baking sheets are a must-have in my house! I have a set of three cookie sheets that I absolutely love and use just about every day in my kitchen!
Parchment Paper – Perfect to make sure nothing sticks to the baking sheet!
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Ingredient List:
See Recipe Card for Full Details
Step by Step Instructions:
Step 1. In a glass bowl, add in softened butter, peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix everything together. Then add in egg and vanilla extract.
Step 2. Then add in dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture.
Step 3: Mix in chopped apple slices.
Step 4. Mix cinnamon sugar in a small bowl, then roll cookie dough in the cinnamon mixture. Place cookie dough balls on a prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown.
Storage Instructions:
Store in an airtight container for about 4-5 days at room temperature! If you want to freeze this recipe, scoop out the cookie dough balls, then place on a baking sheet and put in the freezer. Once the cookie dough is frozen, you can place them all in a freezer bag and seal completely! Then when you’re ready to bake them, let them thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes and then roll in cinnamon sugar and bake!
Helpful Tips and Tricks
Be sure to save any of the leftover cinnamon sugar mixture! It’s great for toast, oatmeal or even sprinkling into your coffee!
If you wanted to make these cookies a spin on the classic cinnamon apple oatmeal, you could add in some quick oats to the cookie dough! That would be equally as delicious and turn these cookies into peanut butter oatmeal cookies!!
I love the hint of cinnamon with the peanut butter and the crunchy apple pieces! These are not just your regular homemade peanut butter cookies, they’re so much better!
Cheers!
-Holly Michelle
Cinnamon Apple Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick Butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup Peanut Butter
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar packed
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/2 cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 cup Freeze-Dried Apples
Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream together butter and peanut butter.1 stick Butter room temperature, 1/2 cup Peanut Butter
- Then, add in brown sugar and sugar.1/2 cup Sugar, 1/2 cup Brown Sugar packed
- After the sugar has been fully incorporated, add in the egg and vanilla extract.1 Egg, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Then add in flour and baking powder.1 1/2 cups Flour, 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- Chop freeze-dried apples into pieces and add into cookie dough!1/2 cup Freeze-Dried Apples
- Scoop out cookie dough and roll into a ball, then roll into cinnamon sugar.
- Gently press flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then add a few more freeze dried apples to the top.
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 14 minutes.
Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
- Pour sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and mix together.1/4 cup Sugar, 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
