Apple Cider Donut Snickerdoodles

by Sofi | Broma Bakery

These are the best fall cookie you’ll ever have. All the flavors of an apple cider donut in a tender, perfectly spiced snickerdoodle made with reduced apple cider and finished in a cinnamon sugar coating.

The most incredible fall cookie

Ring the bells. We have officially crowned THE cookie of the fall. These apple cider donut snickerdoodles are soft, gooey, warmly spiced and double dunked in cinnamon sugar. They taste like if your favorite apple cider donut got turned into the best snickerdoodle you’ve ever had.

Pumpkin cookies, you had a good run.

They’re everything you want from an apple cider donut, but in a soft, gooey snickerdoodle with a double dunk in cinnamon sugar for good measure. The secret is a concentrated apple cider and applesauce reduction that gets folded into a butter cookie dough with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

What makes these different from regular snickerdoodles?

A regular snickerdoodle is already a pretty perfect cookie. Soft in the middle, slightly crisp around the edges, warmly spiced, and covered in cinnamon sugar. So naturally, we had to make it better.

• Apple cider and applesauce. The biggest difference is right in the name. We cook apple cider and applesauce down into a concentrated reduction before adding it to the dough. This gives the cookies a real, unmistakable apple flavor instead of just making them taste like a cinnamon cookie.
• More fall spice. Classic snickerdoodles get their signature flavor from cinnamon and cream of tartar. These get an extra dose of fall with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, giving them that warm, spiced flavor you expect from an apple cider donut.
• Double cinnamon sugar. Traditional snickerdoodles get one roll in cinnamon sugar before baking. We do that, then dunk the warm cookies in cinnamon sugar again. The first coating bakes into the cookie, while the second clings to the warm, slightly gooey exterior. Is it excessive? Maybe. Is it exactly what these cookies need? Absolutely.
• A gooey, donut-like center. These cookies are meant to be soft and gooey in the middle, which gives them that almost doughnut-like texture. Pull them from the oven when the edges are set but the centers still look slightly underdone. They’ll finish setting up as they cool.

The result is soft, gooey, perfectly spiced cookie magic with all the nostalgic flavor of an apple cider donut. Basically, your fall baking plans just got a lot more exciting.

Ingredients you’ll need

For the apple cider donut snickerdoodles

Apple cider: Obviously! Use regular apple cider, not sparkling cider or apple cider vinegar. The cider gets reduced down, concentrating its flavor.

Applesauce: Applesauce adds even more apple flavor and helps give these cookies their soft texture.

Unsalted butter: Melted butter keeps the cookies rich and chewy while also making the dough super easy to mix together.

Granulated sugar and dark brown sugar: Using both gives you the crisp edges and chewy centers we’re looking for. Dark brown sugar also adds a little extra caramel-y depth.

Egg: Make sure your egg is at room temperature so it incorporates smoothly into the melted butter mixture.

Vanilla extract: Because basically every good cookie gets better with vanilla.

All-purpose flour: The backbone of the cookie dough. Be careful not to overmeasure your flour, as too much can make the cookies cakey instead of soft and gooey.

Baking soda and cream of tartar: Cream of tartar is what gives snickerdoodles their signature slight tang and helps create that classic snickerdoodle texture.

Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg: The holy trinity of apple cider donut spices. Cinnamon does most of the heavy lifting, while ginger and nutmeg round everything out.

For the cinnamon sugar

Granulated sugar: For that classic sparkly snickerdoodle coating.

Ground cinnamon: Because there is no such thing as too much cinnamon on an apple cider donut.

How to reduce apple cider

Reducing apple cider changed my life. You can pack so much flavor into so little liquid and it’s sneaky pretty easy to do. All you need is a saucepan and an hour. At the end you will have a flavor packed apple cider reduction and an incredible smelling house. Win win.

You’ll start with 3 cups of apple cider and a small container of applesauce, then cook them together until you’re left with just ¼ cup (80g) of concentrated apple goodness. It takes a little time, but trust me, it’s worth it.

At the beginning, you can mostly leave the reduction alone. But once the liquid starts getting low, keep a close eye on it and stir constantly. There’s a fine line between perfectly concentrated apple cider and accidentally caramelized apple cider, and we want the former.

This process can take 45 minutes to an hour, so don’t panic if it feels like nothing is happening at first. As the mixture starts getting close to the finish line, you’ll need to stir it much more frequently. Once it’s really reduced down, stir constantly to prevent the mixture from burning or caramelizing.

Once you’ve reached 80g, remove it from the heat and let it cool completely.

Tips for the best apple cider donut snickerdoodles

Don’t skip the cider reduction. I know 45 minutes to an hour feels like a long time to wait for cookie dough, but reducing the cider is what gives these cookies their concentrated apple flavor. If you just poured regular apple cider into the dough, you’d end up with much less apple flavor and too much liquid.

Let the reduction cool completely. This is important. Warm apple cider reduction will throw off the texture of the dough and can make the butter mixture too warm.

Don’t overbake them. These cookies should look puffed and set around the edges but still soft in the center when you take them out of the oven. If they look completely done in the middle, you’ve probably gone a little too far.

Don’t skimp on the cinnamon sugar. Roll those cookie dough balls generously. Then roll the warm cookies again after baking. That’s the whole point!

Use a cookie scoop. A 1.5-ounce scoop gives you evenly sized cookies that bake at the same rate. It also makes it much easier to get that perfect gooey center.

More fall cookies you’ll love

If you’re fully embracing baking season, you should absolutely make these alongside a few more cozy fall favorites:

• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Old Fashioned Pumpkin Donuts
• Apple Cider Donut Loaf
• Browned Butter Mummy Rice Krispie Treats

But if you only make one cookie this fall, make it these apple cider donut snickerdoodles. They’re soft, warmly spiced, ridiculously cinnamon-sugary, and basically an apple cider donut you can eat with one hand.

And honestly, that’s a pretty good way to spend a fall afternoon.

Happy fall baking!

XXX

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