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Sweet Embodiment of Fall

Cookies from Heaven

By Celestia MorellePublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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Real photo taken by me!

Maybe you’ve seen it on the baking aisle, or remember it from your grandma’s basement, but for me it was a new ingredient I had never even heard of.

“Never? Like never ever, ever?”

Never.

Apple Butter

“Seriously? You’ve never had apple butter?”

Um, no. I had never even heard the words in all of my 22 years so far. Chinese takeout was a luxury to me as a kid and still kind of is. I don't even own an electric mixer. When I first started dating my boyfriend I quickly found out that his grandma was excellent at making her own stuff: salsa, jam, and apple butter. When we got the first jar as a Christmas gift it sat and sat for the longest time until I started to wonder, "Is this still good?" Low and behold, it was and after cracking open the sealed tight jar I was stumped on what to do with it. I searched desperately for what I could use it for. The number one thing I found was to put it on your toast.

I was baffled, “Toast?!”

I speak for myself when I say bread is my life, and I wasn’t going to try this new fall smelling substance on my precious bread. For a while now I've been trying to test out my baking skills. It started with homemade pancakes and now I make bread and all sorts of cookies from scratch. I was so excited when I found a recipe for apple butter snickerdoodles, in fact, I found a LOT of recipes for apple butter snickerdoodles. I took bits and pieces from each one and reached my own recipe that I will be sharing with you. A lot of the recipes I went through seemed simple enough but a lot of them involved a mixer or several different bowls and then combining the ingredients in a third bowl. As someone who HATES dishes, I decided to try my new recipe in one bowl. Yes folks, it worked.

For my ingredients, I used:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tbsp of cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup butter (softened)
  • 1 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 tbsp honey (my own personal secret ingredient in everything I bake)
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract (optional)
  • 1/2 cup apple butter

Word of warning: If you're like me and are trying to get rid of your apple butter, do NOT add more than required unless you do the same with the rest of the ingredients. The apple butter I am using was very strong in flavor and the first time I did this I added more than intended and I tasted it. It's not bad, but it can easily overwhelm the original snickerdoodle flavor.

To start I spray my bowl with Baker's Joy because it helps during the cleaning and scooping process. Then I start with all of my wet ingredients by mixing the vanilla extract, honey, butter, and then the eggs. I whisk them up nice and smooth and move on to adding the sugars. Beware the brown sugar tends to clump and this can make your mixing process a pain if you aren't careful. Finally, I add the rest of my dry ingredients while also mixing them together on top before I blend the whole thing, by hand. Once you have finished mixing your dough you must let it chill for AT LEAST four hours. I went ahead and chilled mine overnight because I knew I had a busy day ahead of me and wanted to divide up the work. If you do not chill your dough your cookies will spread to be as big as your face because of all the butter in them. If you want cookies as big as your face, by all means just throw them in the oven, which leads me to the cinnamon sugar topping.

For it I used:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon

All the previous recipes I had read into said to use 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1/4 of cup sugar, and the first time I made these cookies I ran out of the topping very quickly. With my above combination it was a perfect amount, plus a little extra for me to sprinkle on top. Once again though, make sure the brown sugar doesn't clump up in your topping. The brown sugar adds to the sweet flavor making your cookies look like chewy clouds, but if you get a big clump it makes them a little too sticky.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and then line your cookie sheets with sprayed parchment paper. Then start rolling your cookies in the cinnamon sugar. I scooped my dough out into little balls with a spoon and used my hands to cover it up with the mix until I could roll it around without getting as much sticky dough on my hands. It was still pretty messy and my fingertips were incredibly covered in sugar afterward. I ended up filling two trays and then I put my cookies in for 13 minutes. At that time it left my cookies still soft and fluffy, but you can put them in for 9-11 minutes if you prefer yours a bit gooier.

If you do not know this, once you pull anything you've baked out of the oven, take it off the cookie sheet! Keeping your baked goods in those pans, or still in the oven allows them to continue cooking due to the temperature. If you don't have a cooling rack just move it to a not hot pan, something to keep your cookies or whatever from overcooking, or worse, burning. I was given cooling racks so I just let my cookies sit for a little under ten minutes and then they are usually cool enough to put into a bag or Tupperware that way they can be served later.

I hope this recipe helps someone else who is looking for a yummy treat and that you enjoy the taste of fall as this summer starts to come to an end!

recipe
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About the Creator

Celestia Morelle

When I write, I connect with a part of me that otherwise doesn’t exist. She’s a flame that I spend hundreds of thousands of words trying to grasp. I hope you feel her too when you’re reading. I turn the sirens voice into art, for she is me.

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