The cozy flavors of fall spices and apple cider combine to create your new favorite cookie.
Table of contents
❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe
- A twist on a classic: If you love old-fashioned molasses cookies, you’ll love these too. The same, but different. 😊
- Seasonal and delicious: These soft and chewy cookies are packed with flavor, and they’re perfect for autumn.
- Easy to make: You’ll love how easy they are to make – just mix everything together and bake. No fancy decorating, no fussing.
🧂 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You’ll find the full measurements and instructions in the printable recipe at the bottom of the page.
You’ll need the following for this delicious drop cookie:
- boiled apple cider
- shortening
- granulated sugar
- egg
- salt
- ground cloves
- ground ginger
- ground cinnamon
- baking soda
- all-purpose flour
- sanding sugar
🥣 Equipment
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- cookie scoop or tablespoon
- hand mixer or stand mixer
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🍴Instructions
Step One: Mix the wet ingredients together
Mix shortening, sugar, and egg with an electric mixer for 3-4 minutes. Add the boiled apple cider and beat until well blended.
Combine dry ingredients and add to the shortening mixture. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice. Add one-third of the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients at a time. Mix on low until just combined.
Step Two: Chill and shape the dough
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for an hour. Towards the end of that time, preheat the oven to 375°F with the rack in the center.
Shape the dough into balls that are about the size of a tablespoon. Roll the balls in sparkling sugar until they are coated. Then, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and make sure that they are spaced out from each other.
Step three: Bake!
Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes, depending on how crispy you want the edges. Cool them on racks. Store them in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
🥫 Storage instructions
The best way to store your cookies is in an airtight container. This will keep them fresh and delicious for longer. You can also freeze the dough balls before baking, or freeze the baked and cooled cookies. Just make sure that they’re well-sealed so that they don’t get freezer burn.
🔍 FAQs
Nope. Getting (or making!) the boiled cider is crucial to this recipe.
I think shortening is the best way to get a super soft and chewy cookie. But if you really aren’t a fan, substituting butter is fine.
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- Don’t overmix the dough: Overmixing the dough will make the cookies tough instead of soft and chewy.
- Chill the dough: This step is important! chilling the dough will help to prevent the cookies from spreading too much while they are baking.
- Use a cookie scoop: Using a cookie scoop will help to ensure that all of your cookies are the same size, which will help them to bake evenly.
- Boiled apple cider is simply a concentrated cider. You can buy it online or make your own by cooking apple cider in an uncovered saucepan until it is 1/4 of its original volume. The boiling process concentrates the cider and gives it a lovely deep flavor.
📘 Related Recipes
🍽 Serve it with
Having a cozy fall day at home? Try these recipes too:
- Mulled Wine in the Slow Cooker
- Corn and Cream Chowder
- Cast Iron Skillet Brussels Sprouts
- Buttermilk Fried Chicken
- Easy Four Ingredient Biscuits
📖 Here’s the recipe
Apple Cider Cookies
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup boiled apple cider (see notes)
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sanding sugar for rolling the cookies
Instructions
- Beat wet ingredients. Beat shortening, sugar, and egg with an electric mixer together for 3-4 minutes. Add the boiled apple cider and beat until well blended.
- Combine dry ingredients and add to the shortening mixture. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice. Add to the wet ingredients, one-third at a time, mixing on low until just combined.
- Chill dough and preheat the oven. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for an hour. Towards the end of the chilling time, preheat the oven to 375° with the rack in the center.
- Shape and roll. Shape the dough into tablespoon-sized ball and roll in sparkling sugar. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets 2 inches apart.
- Bake and cool. Bake for 9-11 minutes, depending on how crisp you would like the edges. Cool on racks. Store in an airtight container for up to five days.
These cookies are absolutely delightful! I threw a tablespoon of mulling spices into the cider as it was boiling down and then threw in a cup of toasted pecans at the end. A new favorite for sure. Thank you so much, Katie, for your creativity and your clarity!
I made these, and they’re my wife’s favorite cookie now! I like this recipe because the apple cider reduction makes it an ‘off the beaten path’ specialty. They stay soft and fresh for longer than shown. This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies, yum!
Ditto the egg.
I just noticed you’ve made the same error with allspice. You include allspice in the directions, but do not list in with the ingredients. Should I leave it out?
I’d very much like to make this recipe – it sounds absolutely delicious. But you seem to be missing an ingredient from your list. In your directions, you say, “In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice.” But in your list of ingredients, you do not include baking powder. How much is needed? Or did you include baking powder by accident?
Thanks for your help!
hey john, i’m so sorry about that! i sometimes use the allspice. (I’ll add it to the list. and yes to baking powder and egg! not sure what was going on with me when i wrote this, jeez!)