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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 bread 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!
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 bread. 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 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.
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
Servings: 1 loaf
Calories Per Serving: 4127 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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.
My grandchildren loved this!
Hey Heidi,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for giving it a go! xT
This recipe is delicious!! I ended up using a cute fall pan that has six mini loaves, and it ended up being the perfect amount of batter. Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe!! <3
Hey Sarah Jane,
I truly appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was enjoyed!❄️ xx
Holy delicious! Love this bread & how easy it is. 10/10. Though I think I tried to get it out of the pan to hastily and the some of top broke off. How do I successfully take bread out of the pan? How long do you wait after taking it out of the oven? Thanks so much for all your hard work creating amazing recipes like this one ❤️
Hey Kaycee,
Happy Friday!!🌻 I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for trying it and sharing your review:) Yes, I would wait until the bread cools slightly before removing it from the pan. You could also line it with parchment paper and then lift that out of the pan. I hope this helps! xT
This one turned out so well for me!! Tastes delicious and the balance of saltiness with the honey butter is mouth watering. Only thing I note is.. be careful if you try to flip the bread like Teighan does in the video. Mine nearly broke in half when I tried. 🙂 I think that’s because of the apple layer in the middle. Also I barely needed one apple to reach 3/4 of a cup. Maybe mine are larger.
Hey Sarah,
Happy Friday!!🌻 I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for trying it and sharing your review:) xT
So delicious and easy! I used 1.5 large apples, peeled, and replaced coconut oil with melted butter. And I replaced the flour with GF 1:1 flour, which worked perfectly. Truly delicious! I didn’t use all the cinnamon sugar, so I used some of the rest of that to rim glasses for your apple butter old fashioneds 😊 Only thing is, I absolutely agree that the cream cheese is hard to get right so mine turned out chunky – next time, I’m going to get it slightly warmer than room temp or will try whipping it, maybe with a little sugar and vanilla.
Hey Meagan,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
Are you able to make this gluten free and vegan?
Hey Christine,
You can definitely use some gluten free flour here, but I’m not sure about vegan, I haven’t tested that. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
This bread was easy to make and made my house smell so good!! Great recipe from HBH as always 🙂
Hey Evan,
Happy Sunday!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xT
Delicious!
I added apple butter to the honey butter.
Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzled honey butter sauce over ice cream! Everyone raved about it!
Thanks for the great recipe!
Hey Shawn,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! xx
I want to take this to a holiday party. Should I keep it refrigerated the night before since it has cream cheese in it and heat it back up when I get there or does it not save well? Thanks!
Hi Megan,
You can just store this in an airtight container on the counter:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
This recipe is way easier to make than I thought it would be, and it turned out beautifully. I didn’t do a good job of swirling the cream cheese so there were pockets of it in the loaf rather than a layer…but it didn’t affect how much we liked it at all. If I make it again, I’ll dice the apples into smaller pieces but otherwise it’s great as is.
Hey Nicole,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! So glad to hear it was enjoyed:) xT
This was good but you have to make sure the cream cheese is *really* incorporated into the dough otherwise you end up with globs of it in the bread, which isn’t very good. So I guess teaspoons of cream cheese in the dough truly means tiny teaspoons, which is kind of a pain to do that with 4 oz of cream cheese, but…must be done to get a good result. And then swirl it with a knife thoroughly into the dough. And just my opinion, but this was a bit much on the cream cheese. Next time I’d only do 2 oz. Unless you REALLY like cream cheese.
The top of the bread was a little burned, even though I only baked it the minimum time (55 min). Covering the pan with foil the last 15 min of baking might help with that.
Hey Melanie,
Happy Monday! 👻 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! Happy Halloween! 🎃
I’ve made this twice now, and it is absolutely delicious. My husband is such a bourbon fan I decided to give the batter just a slash, so good. Everyone that has tried it, loves it. This goes into my favorite recipe book for sure! Thank you, you are a great inspiration.
Awe thanks so much Michele!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xT
Ive made this 3 times now and its a hit! The honey butter really makes it! I like to use half hot honey for the honey butter. The second time i made this i baked it 30 min then covered it and did 20 min covered. The first time the top was really dark. I was nervous that the middle wouldnt be cooked but it was perfect! I also moved my oven rack down a notch to get it a bit further away from the heat.
Hey Kelly,
Happy Monday!! 👻 I am so glad this recipe was tasty for you, thanks a lot for trying it out! xT
Can we use a different oil other than coconut?
Hi Brady,
You bet! Any other neutral oil or melted butter will work for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Made this tonight after making your creamy tomato soup and everything seasoned grill cheese. It was the perfect fall meal! I love all of your recipes and your videos!
Hey Jaime,
Happy Wednesday!!👻 I truly appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed:)