This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Cinnamon Sugar Swirled Apple Butter Bread. Better than you could get at any coffee shop, this yummy bread is a real fall treat! Soft apple butter quick bread recipe made with apple butter, sweetened with honey, swirled with cream cheese, and topped with Honeycrisp apples plus sweet cinnamon sugar. Best enjoyed warm, right out of the oven, with a generous smear of salted honey butter. The perfect way to celebrate the autumn apple season!
Half Baked Harvest At Home
20+ new recipes for wholesome comfort food made with everyday ingredients. Pre-order today! HBH At Home will be released on Tuesday, February 23rd!
It’s finally apple season! Look, I love summer produce, but there’s something so special about autumn apples. They’re crisp, sweet, and refreshing. Nothing really can beat a tree-picked apple. They’re one of my favorite fall treats!
Since it is September, I always try my best to really embrace apple season. So many people start breaking out the pumpkin recipes, but it’s just not time – yet.
The inspiration for this recipe is really pretty simple. There are a lot of fall treats out there with apples, especially in bakeries and coffee shops. One of my favorites is an apple cider doughnut, which I highly recommend picking up while picking fresh apples!
I took the flavors I love so much from the apple cider doughnuts and applied them to this apple bread recipe. I also took some ideas from my pumpkin butter bread that I make every season. Then I combined a few recipes and developed this sweet, soft, and apple-filled bread. I love it!
My first taste testers were my cousin Matt and his wife, Caroline. I sent this bread out with my parents when they went to SoCal last week to give to them. Caroline is in the hospital with a pregnancy complication. But all is expected to go well and they will be meeting their little baby girl (Freya) on Wednesday! Matt and Caroline both raved about this bread to my parents (although anything in comparison to hospital food is good). They couldn’t believe how moist and delicious it was.
Here are the quick details
Of course, I wanted this bread to be a little more special than all the others out there. So I used spiced apple butter, and not just apples, to really make this yummy! Apple butter is more reduced down than apple sauce, it contains less moisture, and is usually spiced.
You can use my homemade apple butter, or pick some up at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and most grocery stores. Of course, I am partial to mine. Just make sure your apple butter is spiced for best flavor.
This is all made in one bowl. You’ll mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and that’s it. I used honey as the sweetener. But mostly because I LOVE the warming flavor it adds to baked goods this time of year. The coconut oil keeps the bread doughy. And a touch of cinnamon sugar really adds the spice.
The next step is to spoon some of the batter into your loaf pan. Then swirl in the cream cheese, add chopped apples, and then the cinnamon sugar. If you don’t love cream cheese, you can omit it, but I think it works well with the fall flavors.
For the apples, Honeycrisps are my go-to. I love them!
As the bread bakes, oh my gosh, your kitchen will smell incredible. It’s going to put you in that cozy fall mood.
While the bread is baking, make the honey butter, and that’s it, done. Allow the bread to cool on a wire rack.
This is a very easy fall baking project, so it really should be on your must-make list! Enjoy a slice or two with honey butter. Such a wonderful treat to enjoy! Oslo and Asher both loved every bite of this bread, apples and all! Plus it’s a little healthier than what you’d pick up from the bakery, so we love that!
Looking for other sweet apple recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Spiced Pecan Apple Cider Doughnut Cake
Mulled Spiced Apple Cider Doughnuts
Double the Streusel Apple Butter Bars
Homemade Slow Cooker Maple Apple Butter
Lastly, if you make this Cinnamon Sugar Swirled Apple Butter Bread, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Cinnamon Sugar Swirled Apple Butter Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup apple butter
- 1/4 cup yogurt or sour cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 Honeycrisp apples, chopped , (about 3/4 cup)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
Honey Butter
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a (9×5 inch) bread pan.2. In a bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. 3. In a large bowl, stir together the coconut oil, apple butter, honey, yogurt/sour cream, egg, vanilla, and milk, until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix until just combined. 4. Spoon half the batter into the prepared bread pan. Dollop teaspoon size amounts of the cream cheese over the batter. Gently swirl the cream cheese using a sharp paring knife. Arrange the apples in an even layer over the cream cheese. Sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar, then evenly spoon the remaining batter over the apples. It's OK if the batter doesn't fully cover the apples. Sprinkle over the remaining cinnamon sugar.5. Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until the center is just set. I usually cover my bread halfway through baking to prevent burning. 6. Meanwhile, make the honey butter. In a bowl, combine the butter, honey, and a pinch of salt.7. Remove the bread and let cool, or enjoy warm with extra honey butter.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
I’m hosting Thanksgiving this year and I made this for my family for breakfast. It is so good! 🤤 YUM! Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃
Hi Raven,
Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was a hit! xx
I am SO excited to make this, just wondering if I can substitute the honey for something else? I’m allergic 🙁
Hi Holly,
Of course, maple syrup would also work well for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
What can I substitute for yogurt or sour cream.
Hi Lauren,
You are going to need to use one of those for this recipe:) Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
The most amazing apple cake! I’ve been doing it again and again and the apple butter really gives it that extra something. Everyone loves it and it smells like autumn every damn time! Never going back to anything less
Hi Anna,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and your review:) So glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Do you have any suggestions to modify baking times/temps for baking recipes at sea level vs altitude? I think I needed to adjust the bake time down since I’m at sea level and mine ended up burnt on the edges and slightly overbaked at the 55min interval. Also the apple pieces and cream cheese all settled to the bottom, not sure what happened there. The flavors are so good though and I love that it’s not too sweet, so will definitely have to try it again with some modifications. Love how creative your recipes are!
What can you substitute coconut oil for?
Melted butter or vegetable oil! xT
Delicious! I omitted the cream cheese just because I am not a fan and it was still super moist and tasted like fall in your mouth!
Hi there! So glad you’re enjoying the recipe! Thank you for giving it a try! xT
I made this last weekend and it’s an absolute dream of a cake/bread! Thank you so much for the recipe Tieghan.
Quick Q — do you think it would freeze ok?
Thank you Jess! Yes, I think it should freeze well! xT
Do you think I could use bread flour instead of all-purpose?
Hi there! I haven’t ever tried that before so I’m not sure! xT
Is there anything you could substitute for the apple butter?
This bread is tasty, but I have a recommendation. I noticed the batter didn’t have enough apple flavor, so in the middle; along with the cinnamon-sugar and cream cheese; I dolloped apple butter. That really made the apple flavor pop!
You could use applesauce! xT
This bread is delicious! I made it according to directions and it came out great.
Thank you so so much! xT
I have made this twice. Even made your apple butter for this recipe. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! Wish I could give 10 stars. Delicious bread that kind of feels guilt free…. A fall staple for the years coming!
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! Have a great week! xT
Made this and it was amazing! Should have put more apples since I felt some melted off!
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! Have a great week! xT
This was SO delicious! Will definitely be making more of this!
Thanks so so much for trying out this recipe! Have a lovely day! xT
This turned out so great! I can’t have egg so I substituted using aquafaba. It only filled half the pan…not totally sure what I did wrong!
Does this need to be refrigerated or can this be left out with the cream cheese in it?
Per Cooks Illustrated, the cream cheese filling would require storing in the fridge.
Hi Haley! I haven’t ever tried this recipe with aquafaba so I can’t say for sure! xT