Äppelgrottor (Apple Butter Thumbprint Cookies)

Autumn or Fall?

To start this post off with something only slightly related to the actual recipe – do you prefer calling it autumn or fall? I’m very partial to autumn now that I’m living in the UK because first, British people tend to say autumn, not fall, and second, it just sums up the season better than fall does. Something about the dreary melancholy of a gloomy and rainy day is best expressed in the word autumn rather than fall. What about you? Any staunch defenders of the word fall out there? Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that today’s recipe is one of those classic autumn/fall recipes, one that makes you feel super cozy, and one that you’ll want to make every year from now on.

The Inspiration Behind the Recipe

Despite the Swedish name, this is not a classic Swedish recipe, although there are a few other baking blogs out there who had the same idea as us. But Swedish thumbprint cookies, called hallongrottor or “raspberry caves” and filled with raspberry jam, are a classic. And it’s one of our most popular recipes on the blog! So, we took that beautiful recipe and thought why not give it an autumnal twist? I’m also certain that there are several of you out there reading this that have an overflow of apples right now, so the apple butter in this recipe will help relieve you of some of those. Keep reading to find out more about this type of cookie and how you can make this recipe at home.

Apples and Cinnamon

Nowadays, many people think that pumpkin is the classic autumn flavor, but we still love the humble apple. Pumpkin is almost just a vessel for moisture in a baked good and doesn’t contribute much flavor, while apples actually seem to become more flavorful when you bake or cook them. Combine apple with cinnamon and a few other spices, including the Scandi favorite cardamom, and the taste conjures up images of leaves turning red and orange on a crisp fall day.

Other Thumbprint Cookie Variations

Now, this is our latest in thumbprint cookie innovations, but what else can we come up with? One inspired by skoleboller, with coconut and vanilla pastry cream, would be undoubtedly delicious. We could easily do a marzipan and nougat (the soft chocolate and hazelnut kind) version around the holidays. Or even one inspired by risalamande! God, that would be very fun to make. Any other ideas out there? What’s your favorite filling for a thumbprint cookie? Let us know in the comments, or if you have any good ideas for us!

Ingredients You’ll Need

For the dough, you’ll need softened butter (this is very important!), sugar, vanilla extract, plain or all-purpose flour, cornstarch (cornflour in the UK), baking powder, salt, and cardamom. The cardamom is optional but we love adding a dash for even more autumnal flavors, and the apple butter is usual more cinnamon-heavy, so this adds a nice floral touch. The cornstarch is there to give the dough a really tender texture when it’s baked, but you could replace it with potato starch or just regular flour if you don’t have any. For the filling, you’ll need apple butter – we have a recipe here that makes the perfect amount – and you can use storebought if that’s easiest. If you’re in the UK, look for “apple spread”, that’s usually close enough. The topping is simple: icing/powdered sugar, water, cinnamon.

How to Make Apple Butter Thumbprint Cookies

These look easy, and they are, but there are a few steps that can trip you up. First, you need butter that is soft but hasn’t melted, or else your dough will be too soft and will melt when baked. Mix this with the sugar and vanilla. Mix the dry ingredients separately, then add these. Gently mix until no dry spots remain and the dough has the texture of Play-Doh. If it’s too soft, add a tablespoon of flour. Shape the dough into balls and press down with your thumb (or a spoon) to make indents big enough for the filling. You can put the dough in the fridge before or after shaping it into balls; again, you don’t want these to spread much so you should keep the dough cool. Spoon the filling in, bake, and decorate with cinnamon icing to bring out all the autumn goodness!