Soft and fluffy apple cider donut cookies are sandwiched together with a browned butter cinnamon buttercream that is bold and luxurious! They’re the perfect Fall baking treat!
This is one of my Dessert recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
When it comes to fall desserts, are you more of a pumpkin person, or an apple person?
Personally, I don’t know if I can pick! But I do definitely love apples and feel like they get left out in favor of pumpkin a lot.
So this recipe is just me doing my part to rectify that!
The “cookies” part of the whoopie pies taste just like a fluffy, sugar-coated apple cider donut (reminiscent of a visit to a farmers market or orchard), and the filling is like taking regular buttercream and cranking the deliciousness up to a level 10.
The browned butter and flecks of cinnamon add warmth that pairs perfectly with the sweetness of the cookies.
Why you’ll love this recipe!
- Fall-favorite – if you love fall flavors, like apple cider, cinnamon, and browned butter, then you’re in luck!
- Freeze-able – the cookies are easily frozen, so you can have a sweet treat whenever you’d like.
What do I need to make this recipe?
- Apple cider – you’ll want real apple cider for this recipe, not just apple juice.
- Flour – nothing fancy here, just plain all purpose flour.
- Leavening agents – in this recipe, those are baking powder, and baking soda. These are what help the cookies rise and be fluffy.
- Spices – this is the ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, and salt. I use kosher salt.
- Butter – I like to use salted butter for this recipe, to counter all the sweetness, but you can use unsalted if you prefer. Just add a bit more salt to the cookie batter and frosting.
- Sugar – this recipe works best with granulated sugar.
- Oil – you want a neutral-flavored oil for this, like vegetable oil.
- Applesauce – this not only enhances the apple flavor, but it adds moistness to the batter.
- Eggs – this recipe was tested with large eggs.
- Vanilla – I prefer the flavor of real vanilla extract, as opposed to the clear imitation variety.
- Powdered sugar – this is used in the frosting, as other types of sugar are too grainy.
How to make apple cider donut whoopie pies:
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Reduce apple cider. This really concentrates the flavor of the cider. It can take a little while, but this can also be done ahead of time.
- Brown the butter. I find it’s easiest to do this in a saucepan or skillet that’s stainless or one that has a light colored bottom, so you can see the color of the milk solids as they start to brown.
- Start cookie batter. After you cream together the butter and sugar, when you add the oil, applesauce, eggs and vanilla, it may not look like it’s coming together. But don’t worry, it will in the next step.
- Finish batter. Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt).
- Scoop. Using a standard medium sized cookie scoop will give you the perfect little cookies. A medium cookie scoop will hold about 1.5-1.6 Tbsp of batter.
- Bake. This will take about 12-15 minutes, and the edges will just be starting to turn golden brown. Let them cool to room temperature.
- Add cinnamon sugar. One at a time, brush a cookie top with melted butter, then dip in a small bowl of granulated sugar and cinnamon. Repeat with remaining cookies.
- Make frosting. Cream all the frosting ingredients together until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
- Pipe and assemble. Pipe or spread the frosting onto the flat side of one cookie, then top with another cookie. Repeat.
Helpful Tip!
While it may be tempting to make these whoopie pies quickly (so you can eat them sooner!), it’s really important to let the cookies cool completely before you frost them. Add frosting to a warm or hot cookie makes for a huge, sticky mess when the buttercream melts all over the place. Thankfully, parts of this recipe can be made ahead, so you don’t have to do it all in one day.
Variations of this recipe
- Different fillings – try experimenting with different frosting filling flavors if you’d like. Cream cheese frosting is another one of our favorites.
- Drizzled – if you feel like being extra decadent, try drizzling some caramel sauce (this homemade caramel is our favorite!) over the top of these whoopie pies!
- Doubled – this recipe is easily doubled if you need to make a large batch. A single batch of these cookies yields approximately 20 cookie sandwiches, so most of the time, a single batch will be all you need. However, if you do want to make more, make sure you double all of the ingredients.
- Unsalted butter – if you use unsalted butter, add about 1/4 tsp of salt to the cookie batter and a generous pinch to the buttercream.
- Less strong filling – the browned butter flavor in these is strong, so if you’re not sure if you want that much, you can only brown half the butter. Just add 7 Tbsp of butter when it’s softened to room temperature, and brown 7 Tbsp.
- No piping – if you’d rather not fuss with piping the filling, you can absolutely just use an offset spatula or butter knife to spread the filling onto a cookie, then top with another cookie.
FAQ’s
That’s up for debate lol. In my opinion they’re cookies, since the chocolate rounds are baked on a baking sheet and not in a pan like a traditional cake. But these cookies are so soft, they taste just like cake, with a slightly crispy outside edge that is just delectable.
Whoopie pies are a classic New England treat, comprised of two soft cookies (almost like cakes) with a creamy filling. In the traditional recipe, the cookie/cakes are chocolate, and the filling is made of buttercream and marshmallow fluff. This version uses an apple cider donut cookie and a browned butter frosting laced with cinnamon.
Making whoopie pies ahead of time
The great part about this dessert is that it can be made ahead in various ways.
Assembled whoopie pies can be kept fresh in an airtight container (at room temperature), for 3 days.
The pumpkin cookies can be made the day before, then sandwiched with the frosting the day of serving.
You can also prep ahead, and make them in stages.
How to prep ahead for this recipe:
- Cider reduction – this step takes the longest, so it’s the step I most recommend doing ahead of time. Once the cider is reduced, let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Before using, set it out for a bit so it can come up up to room temperature.
- Dry ingredients – the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt can be combined and kept at room temperature.
- Browned butter – the butter can be browned and cooled to room temperature. If using within a day, you can leave it at room temperature. Otherwise, refrigerate, then set out for a while before using so it comes up to room temperature.
- Cinnamon Sugar – the granulated sugar and cinnamon mixture can be combined and kept at room temperature.
Freezing
While I’ve not tested freezing the assembled whoopie pies, the apple cider cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the refrigerator, then frost, and you’re good to go.
Storage
Leftover whoopie pies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
More Fall Dessert Recipes:
My Favorite Cookie Scoop!
Cookie scoops are the most versatile kitchen tool… you can use them for cookies, meatballs, ice cream, and more! This scoop is the exact size you’ll need for these whoopie pies!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
Apple cider reduction
- 3 cups apple cider
Cookies
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup salted butter softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce room temperature is preferred
- 2 large eggs room temperature is preferred
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup apple cider reduction
Cinnamon sugar coating
- 2 Tbsp melted butter salted or unsalted
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Browned butter cinnamon buttercream
- 14 Tbsp salted butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3 Tbsp apple cider reduction
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Reduce apple cider
- Add 3 cups apple cider to a small saucepan and heat over MED heat, whisking every 5 minutes or so, until it evaporates down to 3/4 cup.
- Remove from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. You can place it in a bowl in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes to speed this process along.
Brown butter
- In a saucepan or skillet, add 14 Tbsp salted butter. Heat over MED/MED LOW heat and continue cooking, stirring often, as the butter melts, foams, then the little solid bits at the bottom start to brown and the butter will smell nutty.
- Remove from the heat, then pour into a measuring cup or bowl (make sure it can stand hot liquids!) to facilitate cooling to room temperature.
Prepare to bake
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350°F
Make cookie batter
- In a mixing bowl, add 3 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp kosher salt. Whisk to combine.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer), add 1/2 cup salted butter and 3/4 cup granulated sugar and cream together on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, or until lighter in color.
- Add 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce, 2 large eggs, and 2 tsp vanilla extract and mix for another 2 minutes or so. The mixture will likely not look like it's combining well, but that's okay.
- Add the flour mixture from earlier, and 1/2 cup apple cider reduction and mix until combined and no flour streaks remain. The remaining 1/4 cup of the apple cider reduction will be used later in the frosting.
Bake
- Use a medium cookie scoop and scoop mounds of batter onto prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches in between each cookie.
- Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until puffed up and the edges are starting to turn golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and continue cooling.
Dip in cinnamon sugar
- To a small bowl, add 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 tsp ground cinnamon and stir to combine.
- When the cookies are still slightly warm, brush each cookie with some of the 2 Tbsp melted butter, then dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Make buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl and a hand mixer), add the room temperature browned butter from earlier, 4 cups powdered sugar, 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg, 3 Tbsp apple cider reduction, and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- Mix on medium speed for 3-5 minutes, or until fluffy and smooth.
Assemble whoopie pies
- Take one cooled cookie and spread some of the buttercream over the flat surface. Top with another cookie, then repeat with remaining cookies and frosting.
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Chef Tips
- This recipe makes approximately 20 assembled whoopie pies (so 40 cookies, plus the filling), which you’re free to divide into as many servings as you’d like.
- Prep/cook time doesn’t include the time needed for things to cool, as this will vary quite a bit from person to person.
- Make/prep ahead tips and storage/freezing directions are in the text above this recipe card.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
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