Where did you get that Nutmeg Ginger Apple Snap? Recreate this fictional favorite recipe from the popular movie Fantastic Mr. Fox and you’ll be as infamous as Mrs. Bean.
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If you’re a Fantastic Mr. Fox fan, you definitely know about these cookies!
I originally recreated them for my daughter’s third birthday. This has been our favorite family movie since she was a baby, so it was really fun to enjoy some food inspired by it!
If you’re not familiar with the plot, a fox, who used to take food from farmers for a living, is now married with a child and working as a newspaper man.
I won’t spoil the whole movie for you, but after a while he gets the itch to start grabbing chickens again, and after a lot of shenanigans we come face to face with one farmer’s wife, Mrs. Bean.
What are nutmeg ginger apple snaps?
In the movie Fantastic Mr. Fox, one of the antagonists, Mrs. Bean, always has a plate of her famous nutmeg ginger apple snaps sitting out. They’re an irresistible cookie that gets more than one character into trouble.
They’re basically a big, spiced cookie topped with an apple slice and plenty of sparkly sugar.
The cookies I made turned out large and strangely indulgent. There is a lot of butter in this recipe and plenty of fall spice.
The sugar within the cookies is minimal but there’s a lot sprinkled on top. I was happy with how authentic they looked and everyone that had one thought they were great.
Nutmeg ginger apple snap ingredients
- Butter
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Molasses
- Fresh ginger
- Ground ginger
- Vanilla extract
- Nutmeg
- Cloves
- Flour
- Eggs
- Salt
- Apples
- Coarse sugar and/or cake sparkles
How to make nutmeg ginger apple snaps
- In an electric mixer, cream butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, molasses, and fresh ginger and mix until fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
- In a bowl, combine flour and spices.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three parts on low speed until fully blended.
- Roll 2-3 tablespoons of dough into balls, flatten out with your hand, and top each cookie with a thin apple slice.
- Sprinkle with coarse sugar
- Bake at 325ºF for 15-25 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are crisp and the edges are lightly browned.
- Sprinkle with cake sparkles and additional coarse sugar if desired and allow to cool completely.
Top tips
Should I refrigerate the dough?
It isn’t necessary to refrigerate the dough. However, refrigeration can help intensify the flavors and create a puffier cookie.
What kind of sugar is on top?
I topped these cookies with a combination of coarse sugar and cake sparkles for the photos, and I used turbinado sugar in the video. If you only have regular granulated sugar you can definitely use that, they just won’t be as sparkly.
I added the sugar both before and after baking, but you could choose to do one or the other if you want to cut down on the amount of sugar you’re consuming.
What kind of apples should I use?
You can use any apple you would use in baking. I liked Gala apples for these cookies, but I think Fuji, Braeburn, or Honeycrisp would be great as well.
How do you slice the apples?
Be sure to slice the apples horizontally to get the pretty core. I do this by grabbing a medium sized serrated knife, turning the apple on it’s side, and slicing it thinly.
More Mr. Fox fun
Keep scrolling below the recipe to see the Fantastic Mr. Fox cake I created for Lola’s birthday! I also used gold edible pens to draw stars on apples for the party. It was very whimsical!
More cookie recipes
- Giant Ginger Cookies
- Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Christmas Cut Out Cookies
- Buttery Bourbon Cherry Cookies
- Whole Wheat Chocolate Fudge Cookies
- Spicy Pistachio and Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
If you make this recipe, be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
This post was updated in October 2021 with new photos, a video, and a few changes to improve the consistency of the recipe. See recipe notes for instructions on the original recipe.
Recipe
Nutmeg Ginger Apple Snaps
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, plus more for topping if desired
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 cups butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 6 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons molasses
- 1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger root
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 4 gala apples
- Organic refined sugar and cake sparkles for sprinkling, or any coarse sugar, like turbinado
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
- In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium speed until light.
- Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, molasses, and fresh ginger and beat until fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until fully blended.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three parts, carefully and on low speed, until the ingredients are fully blended.
- Working in batches as necessary, roll 2-3 Tablespoons of dough into balls and use your hand to flatten them on the prepared cookie sheet about ¼ inch high and 2 inches apart.
- Slice the apples as thinly as you can (crosswise so you can see the star of the core in the middle) and press slices firmly into the center of each cookie. Sprinkle coarse sugar and extra cinnamon evenly over cookies to coat, making sure to cover the edges.
- Bake 20 minutes or until the edges are golden. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with more sugar, if desired, and cake sparkles. Let cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Lola also requested a Mr. Fox cake.
I spent a long time trying to figure out what it should look like to put Mr. Fox on a cake. I landed on baking a cake in a football shaped pan and cutting it into the shape of his head.
I used a cake recipe from Smitten Kitchen and a frosting recipe from I Am Baker. I’m obviously no cake decorator, but I placed the frosting in zip top bags and used knives to spread it around until it looked a little bit like Mr. Fox. Overall, I was pretty happy with the outcome.
Selene says
This recipe is absolutely bland! I had to add much more of all the spices to make it actually taste like something.
JLowe says
I creamed the sugars and spices with the butter before adding the flour. When I tasted the cream, it definitely needed more sugar, and just a pinch more of clove. They are far from bland!
However, is this recipe missing egg? The cookies are not holding together, no matter how long or little they are baked.
Additional tip . . . brush the cookies with egg wash to add a shine and allow the sugar to stick.
Other than that, they are truly fabulous!
Lindsay Moe says
I’m sorry to hear the cookies fell apart, but I’m glad you enjoyed them anyways! If you added more sugar that might be why they wouldn’t hold together. The recipe does not require eggs.
Lori Welsh says
Made these today. Very easy to do and completely delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
Kathleen Noll says
i’m not sure what’s wrong with this recipe, maybe the fact that it doesn’t have eggs or a chemical leavener, but these cookies are not firming up, they’ve been in the oven for 15 minutes and theyre still very soft. I’m hoping if I cook them longer they will firm up.
Lindsay Moe says
It can take up to 25 minutes for them to cook completely. Hopefully it worked out for you!
Helen says
The shortbread base of these cookies was absolutely delicious. However, I didn’t think the apple slices contributed much other than to the visuals. They made the middles a little soggy, there wasn’t enough for a strong apple flavour to come through, and I always find apple skins a pain in baked goods. I made them a second time with a little less sugar (1/4 cup each brown and white, just my personal preference, nobody else found them too sweet!), and added some fresh ground black pepper for a subtle kick. I left the apple slices off, and instead topped with a reduced apple cider glaze that was intensely apple-y, and I thought it worked better. Delighted to have found the base recipe, it’s definitely a keeper. I think if anyone finds it bland, it might be because their spices are stale, because it really has a lot of flavour!
Megan says
Very good! These were great and my family loved them. I used a mandolin to get the apples thin and even. I live at high altitude and they worked great with no adjustments. Cured my craving for ginger cookies and apples as well as my craving for these cookies after the first time I watched this movie years ago!
Cei says
The concept of these cookies are really great but the middle of my cookies (underneath the apple slices) were completely raw. I guess you should press your apple slices to get as much moisture out as possible.
Madison Forde says
I had to add an egg to make the crumbly batter stick together. As I tried to ball it up in my hands it completely crumbled. The batter tasted fanatic although!
Benjamin kane-nichols says
that doesn’t work (or at least for me) I did that and they were raw and soggy we tried to cook them for longer and then they BURNED
carlie says
this recipe came out so well. very yummy and not too sweet. tastes like fall <3
Rebecca says
I followed the recipe exactly. I had no issues with molding dough balls and all-together presentation.
However, the cookie part turned out very dry and brittle. The flavor is great but is compromised by dryness. I think you’d be better off making gingersnap cookies and placing apple slices on top. They’d be way more moist and overall a lot more enjoyable to eat. I think the only way to enjoy these cookies is with hot cider, tea, or some coffee. Even then, the offer a weird floury/grainy texture in your mouth.
Maybe a recipe with eggs would be better.
I appreciate the visual and the inspiration. I just don’t think this recipe was for me! I’m sure it is astounding for others.
**** If you don’t mind the shortbread likeness of the cookie, maybe change the ratio of the apple slices to cookie. Make sure the outer ring of the cookie is about a centimeter out from the apple slice or same size. So each bite you get has apple!! 🙂 ****
Arabella Du Bois says
I never ever leave reviews, but this was just a crappy recipe. I followed the recipe to a T. The dough was super bland and once baked it was super dry (there was wayyyy too much butter). The cookies baked fine but the apples made the middle hella soggy. I spent three hours trying to remake and fix the dough. Regardless of what the author of this recipe says, use eggs. Overall, they’re cute but very much inedible. Save yourself the time an energy, find another recipe.
Lindsay Moe says
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe. I will continue to test solutions to create a more consistent outcome.
Andie says
I followed the recipe to a tee and I found them very dry; it was like eating mix.
kosi says
i lve ur work! Ur BaKiNg is AwEsOme! Keep up the good baking WoRk!
Dana says
Haven’t tried these yet but this is exactly the recipe I was looking for !!(as my kids are STILL obsessed with the movie 😉 The cake you decorated is definitely going on a platter; maybe for Halloween we’ll have a Fantastic Mr Fox party!! Excellent decorating,it really looks like his face from the movie!(it’s the thought the counts with kids,people!) THANKS FOR SHARING!!
haz says
i was so excited to find a fantastic Mr fox recipe however after following this I felt I had wasted time and money on ingredients. There is way too much butter for these and when I added in the eggs there was no way you can ‘roll’ these into balls.
Also cut the apples as thin as I could ans after baking they were still raw underneath.
Think it’s needs modifying.
Lindsay Moe says
I’m very sorry you were disappointed by this recipe. It is difficult to help troubleshoot through a computer, but the dough should be very thick and easy to roll, so perhaps something went wrong with your measuring or ingredients.
M says
In the directions it reads a “flour mixture” and states cornstarch but in the recipe itself no cornstarch is listed?
Lindsay Moe says
Thanks for pointing this out, and I apologize for the inconsistency. There is no cornstarch in the recipe, and I have updated it for clarity.
julia says
okay this is a few tips for anyone who struggled with the recipe. here’s what I did:
-add more ginger and nutmeg for a kick
-bake the cookies alone first without the apple for about 15 minutes
-take them out, add the apple and cinnamon/sprinkles topping, then back in the oven for the rest of the time
I struggled with the apple adding too much moisture to the cookies, flattening them out and making them raw underneath. I did this with the 2nd batch in the oven, and they turned out perfect
Lindsay Moe says
Thanks for adding your tips!
Jill says
Just a quick heads up—the post mentions at first that there aren’t any eggs in the recipe, and eggs are not mentioned in the basic directions (before you get to the recipe card), but eggs are pictured in the ingredients image as well as the ingredients list and recipe card.
Lindsay Moe says
Thanks for letting me know, and I apologize for the oversight. I have updated the post for clarity.
A says
How many grams are 2 cups of butter???
Thx
Lindsay Moe says
453.6 grams in 2 cups of butter
Connie says
The flavor of these cookies is amazing! I made these for Thanksgiving and we all agreed that they tasted delicious, but that they were simply so dry. If they were crispy as well I think it would have been fine, but they are soft and dry. Don’t want to tank this recipe at all, as the taste is still very good, I just wish they were moist or crispy!