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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!
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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 love this recipe. My husband is diabetic & this recipe does not increase his blood sugar for some reason.
Hi Dana,
Amazing! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe, so glad to hear it turned out nicely for you! Happy Thanksgiving! xx
Holy cow, this is amazing. I love the flavor and it’s perfect for Thanksgiving week. So warm and cozy but delicious. I followed the directions and it came out perfectly!
Hey Heather,
Fantastic! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for making it! Happy Thanksgiving! xxT
Love this cake so much!!!
Not sure why but I always find the batter is very thick so I add extra milk to thin it out a bit. Covering it definitely helps prevent it from drying out.
Thanks so much, Hebah! Love to hear this recipe is always enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it so often! Have the best weekend! xx
This was absolutely delicious!! Made it for myself as a pre-Thanksgiving treat! It’s perfect and looking forward to eating more for breakfast in the morning while watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Hi Melissa,
Love to hear this! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment! Happy Thanksgiving! XxT
This bread is FAN-tastic! The only problem we found is that we ate the whole thing in one day. 😳🥰
Hey Shelli,
Happy November!! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! Glad to hear it was a hit! 🍂
Too much in this bread took an hour and 20 minutes to bake. Had to cover with aluminum foil at the one hour mark. The bread still has a little bit of a burnt taste to it.
Hi Leslie,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it took longer than expected! Did you use a glass pan? Let me know how I can help! xT
This recipe is amazing! Do you think it would be ok to mix everything ahead of time and refrigerate overnight, and bake in the morning?
Hey Jen,
Wonderful! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for trying it! I would just let the batter come back to room temp before baking. Have the best autumn weekend! xT
I love this bread! It is delicious! I put extra cream cheese in, and it is so good. Perfect for fall! Thank you for a great recipe!
Love to hear this, Virginia! Thanks for making this recipe and your feedback! Have a great Sunday! xT
We can’t buy apple butter here but this recipe looks so good! Where can I find your recipe to make my own?
Hey Kelsey,
Here is the recipe for apple butter:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/homemade-slow-cooker-maple-apple-butter/
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
This is, hands down, my favorite fall bread. Easy and so flavorful and delicious. I can never swirl the cream cheese properly but it doesn’t even matter, it come out delicious regardless.
Hey Sarah,
Yay! Love to hear this! Thanks for making this recipe so often and your comment! xT
Delicious fall recipe!! I made it as written except subbed veg oil for the coconut oil. It’s moist, and full of flavor. I don’t think the cream cheese adds a ton, and I’d like more of the bread, so for the future I’ll probably triple the batter recipe and make this into two loaves.
Hey Dallas,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it was a winner! Have a great week:)
What can you use in place of coconut oil?
Hey Patricia,
Any other neutral oil that you enjoy will work for you. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Hiya, this looks delish.
It’s a crucial part of the recipe BUT anything else I can substitute for apple butter?
I’m waiting for my crockpot to arrive before I can make more and can’t buy it here.
Thanks x
Hi Mara,
Thanks so much! You could try using a thick apple sauce, that should work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe! xT
Delicious! I even messed up multiple ways- I forgot the cream cheese swirl and to put half of the cinnamon sugar in the middle. It didn’t matter. Tender, flavorful and will definitely make again!
Thank you SO much Angela! So glad you enjoyed this bread! 🙂 xT
I made three loaves of the Cinnamon Sugar Swirled Apple Butter Bread. The house smelled delightful as the bread baked. It is delicious! Will definitely make again.
Thank you SO much for giving this recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing rest of your week! 🙂 xT
I followed all the directions but it’s burnt on the outside and wet on the inside
Hi Sarah! Oh no I am sooo sorry about that! How can I help? xT
I think she’s asking you for help by telling her what may have gone wrong. I was going to make this till I saw this comment. The loaf does look dark in the photo.
The cinnamon and apple butter makes this a dark loaf:) It’s hard to say what went wrong without knowing more info….like what kind of pan she baked in? How long did she bake for? I would be happy to help more!
Would this be just as yummy baked ahead of time and frozen until ready to eat?
Hi Melissa,
You bet, that will work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! Happy Thanksgiving! xx