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Grated apples combine with creamy peanut butter to create a fun and unique spin on a classic combination. Serve these Apple Peanut Butter Cookies alongside a glass of ice cold milk and you have the perfect after-school snack for a chilly fall day.
Sometimes recipe inspiration comes from the most mundane and random of places.
Like slicing up and apple and giving it to your kid alongside a big spoonful of peanut butter when she gets home from school.
I love peanut butter and usually think about pairing it with jelly (in Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars) or chocolate (in Peanut Butter Cup Cookies), but serving Elle her after-school snack made me think about how well peanut butter goes with apples!
WHAT ARE APPLE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES?
How many times as a kid did you find yourself dipping apple slices into peanut butter? If you’re anything like me, you probably still find yourself snacking on apples and peanut butter pretty regularly.
These Apple Peanut Butter Cookies are the cookie version of that classic snack!
But these cookies aren’t quite like classic peanut butter cookies. They are a bit puffier and chewier and of course have a hint of apple in each and every delicious bite.
HOW TO MAKE APPLE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
Start by gathering your ingredients:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon homemade apple pie spice
- 1/2 cup grated peeled apple, lightly squeezed to remove excess moisture (about 1 large apple)
Using an electric mixer, cream together the softened butter and the peanut butter with the sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. If you forgot to set your butter out to soften, don’t worry – I have some tips for how to soften butter quickly.
Beat in the egg and the vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and apple pie spice.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture, mixing until combined, then stir in the grated apple.
Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. These cookies do spread during baking, so be sure you still leave a couple of inches between each cookie.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until they’re golden brown. Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before trying to transfer them to a cooling rack.
FREEZING TIPS
If you’re anything like me, you like to freeze cookies for snacking on later. These Apple Peanut Butter Cookies are a great one to freeze!
You can freeze the cookie dough or the baked cookies. If you want to freeze the dough, just follow the steps in my guide on how to freeze cookie dough.
This is my favorite option because there’s nothing better than having freshly baked cookies on demand.
If you prefer to freeze the baked cookies, that’s an option, too. Just pop the cooled cookies into an airtight container or a zip-top freezer bag and freeze them for up to 2 months.
Apple Peanut Butter Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon homemade apple pie spice
- ½ cup grated peeled apple lightly squeezed to remove excess moisture (about 1 large apple)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and apple pie spice. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, mixing until combined. Stir in grated apple.
- Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks.
Video
Notes
- Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
- If you want a little crunch, feel free to substitute crunchy peanut butter for the creamy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I was looking for a quick recipe for a friend’s party and came across this recipe both on the Taste of Homes website and yours… I figured I’d give it a shot, after seeing it on your blog! Overall, it’s a good recipe. The apple flavor is definitely faint; peanut butter shines through most. I had some homemade caramel sauce in the fridge that I drizzled over each cookie to make them a little prettier and everyone enjoyed that addition. Everyone really liked them–they all disappeared! While I’m not sure I’ll make them again (too many other fun recipes out there to try!), it was still a fun and unique cookie to make. Thanks for posting!
Thanks for the feed back and I appreciate you stopping by.
-Jamie
Wow, these were so good! This will now be my new go to cookie recipe. The only thing I did different was use butter. Thanks for another awesome recipe, Jamie! :)
I’m so glad the cookies worked out for you. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
Uh-May-Zing. Seriously. I needed to bring something to a pot luck BBQ tomorrow and had this sitting in my “Trying Soon” Pinterest board for forever. I’m so happy I made these (with the help of my 3-year-old). Now I need to keep my hands off of them until then. :-X
Almost forgot- I used butter. Marvelous.
So glad that these cookies worked out for you. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
Somehow, I had missed these cookies, but when they showed up at the bottom of a more recent one of your posts I knew I had to make them immediately. Only had butter, added shredded coconut for some additional texture as well as throwing in some chocolate chips. Had to coarsely chop my Mac apple as it became applesauce when I tried my hand grater on it. Batter tasted delish, almost as yummy as the very hot cookie bits I am now enjoying. What a great combination of flavors, thanks for the new cookie.
Paula-
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the cookies! I agree – definitely a great combo of flavors. Have a great day and thank so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
Leave the home improvements to the professionals! That’s all I’m going to say about that.
What a wonderful flavor combination! I am not a fan of Crisco so I am going to try using coconut oil which has the same properties (solid when cold/liquid when heated) as vegetable shortening. Thanks!
Wendy-
Definitely let me know how that works out for you. I use coconut oil a lot in cooking, but never thought about trying it in baking. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
I’ve used this recipe three times now and I like it more each time. I bake so many cookies that I keep my favorite recipes printed and taped to the inside of my cabinet doors. The very best ones get a red marker star …. This recipe just got it’s star!!
Thanks again.
Today I made my first batch of these Apple Peanut Butter Cookies — I’ll be baking many more. The peanut butter taste is very mild — so is the apple. So it’s a very soft cookie with a soft taste …….. and it’s absolutely amazing.
I used butter – I didn’t have anything else and Fiji apples that were much too juicy. I rolled the grated fruit in paper towels and twisted them. Delicious apples but very juicy.
Thanks again for such a great recipe. I’m having so much fun!!
Nancy-
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback – have a great day!
-Jamie
The problem I have with home projects is that they take so long to diy that I end up with a lot of half-finished projects. Like the hallway it has taken me a year to paint and I still haven’t screwed back in all of the light switch covers. I suck. But these cookies sound amazing!
These look amazing! I love apples and peanut butter together so I can’t wait to make these!