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 serving up cookies as good as Mrs. Bean.
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This recipe was changed in November 2025. For the original recipe, see the notes at the bottom of the recipe card, which is at the bottom of this post.
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
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Ground ginger
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Cloves
- Flour
- Eggs
- Salt
- Apples
- Cake sprinkles
How to make nutmeg ginger apple snaps
- In an electric mixer, cream butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add granulated sugar and brown sugar and mix for 3 minutes.
- Add the molasses and mix until combined.
- Add eggs and mix until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three parts on low speed until fully blended.
- Roll 2 tablespoons of dough into balls, flatten out with your hand, and top each cookie with a thin apple slice.
- Sprinkle with cake sprinkles.
- Place the baking sheet with the unbaked cookies in the freezer for 5 minutes if you prefer a puffier cookie.
- Bake at 350ºF for 12-14 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are crisp, the edges are lightly browned, and it doesn't look wet under the apple slices.
- Sprinkle with additional cake sprinkles if desired and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Top tips and questions
What changed in the recipe update?
I changed this recipe significantly in November 2025 due to mixed reviews in the comments. Some people loved this recipe, while others were complaining the cookies were dry and didn't have enough flavor.
After testing this recipe a handful more times, I landed on a cookie that was crisp on the bottom, chewy in the center, and full of punchy nutmeg ginger flavor. If you prefer the original recipe you can find it in the notes section of the recipe card.
Should I refrigerate the dough?
It isn't absolutely necessary to refrigerate the dough. However, refrigeration can help intensify the flavors and create a puffier cookie. You can refrigerate before or after rolling the dough into balls.
What kind of sugar is on top?
I topped these cookies with cake sprinkles, which look like coarse sugar but hold their shape and don't melt in the oven. If you only have regular granulated sugar, coarse sugar, or turbinado sugar you can definitely use that, they just won't be as sparkly and some of the sugar may melt when baking, creating more of a glazed look.
I added the sprinkles 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. The sprinkles are more likely to stick if you put them on before baking.
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. You want the slices super thin so the apple cooks with the cookie and doesn't release too much moisture.
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!
How to store nutmeg ginger apple snaps
Keep cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze these for up to 3 months.
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 recipe was changed in November 2025. For the original recipe, see the notes at the bottom of the recipe card.
Recipe
Nutmeg Ginger Apple Snaps
Ingredients
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ Tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, plus more for topping if desired
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cups butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3 gala apples
- White cake sprinkles, or any coarse sugar, like turbinado
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
- In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium speed until light in color.
- Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat for 3 minutes.
- Add the molasses and mix until combined.
- Add the whole egg and egg yolk. 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 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), removing any seeds, and press slices firmly into the center of each cookie. Sprinkle cake sprinkles and extra cinnamon evenly over cookies.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator or freezer for 5 minutes to chill the dough and prevent the cookies from spreading too much.
- Bake 12-14 minutes or until the edges are golden and the cookie doesn't look wet under the apple slice. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with more sprinkles, if desired. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- 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 salted butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger root
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 4 gala apples
- Organic refined sugar and cake sparkles for sprinkling, or any coarse sugar, like turbinado
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment 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.
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.
H says
They were so dry and crumbly, kinda turned to sand in my mouth. Didnt taste of much either unfortunately. Was making them as a gift, but i dont think i can gift these.
Lindsay Moe says
I'm sorry these didn't work out for you. While some people have had success with this recipe, I plan to do additional testing that takes reviews like this one into account.
I says
Shouldn’t there be baking soda and baking powder in these? The recipe itself doesn’t actually list either of those ingredients so I didn’t use them even though I thought that was strange. When I saw that the cookies weren’t rising at all, I looked at this page again and saw that baking soda and powder are in the photo towards the top but not in the recipe nor in the older recipe listed. They taste great but I was making them for someone and they’re not entirely presentable.
Lindsay Moe says
I sincerely apologize for the oversight. Thank you for pointing this out to me, I have updated the recipe to include the baking soda and baking powder.
Malcolm says
Is ginger optional? That’s the only spice I don’t have but can’t afford at this moment, dollar store was out :(( but! 5th year in a row of making these 🙂
Malcolm says
Ignore my previous comment I failed to realize that was the whole point LOL
Amber says
We watch Fantastic Mr Fox every Thanksgiving. I was so excited when I found this recipe.
I made the new updated version and they turned out so good! Everyone in my family loved them. I chilled the dough for a couple of hours before rolling into cookies. They were perfectly puffy and tasted delicious! The only changes I made included cutting the recipe in half and I didn’t have ground cloves, so I just left it out.
I will definitely be making these again!
Lindsay Moe says
This is wonderful to hear! Thanks for sharing your adaptation and letting everyone know how they turned out.
Lou says
This recipe does not work. No matter how long I refrigerate or freeze them the spread out and end up soggy. It’s really disappointing because literally only the edges are edible.
Lindsay Moe says
I'm surprised to hear this, and sorry it didn't work out for you. Is it possible you left out an ingredient, or measured incorrectly?
Taylor says
I made this recipe for a Christmas cookie swap that I hosted this year, and they went over great! Such a delightful presentation.
I don't eat dairy, so I substituted dairy-free butter (which will always change the outcome, of course, but I figured some people may be interested..). I found that the cookie was quite soft and would bend and kinda flop downwards with gravity veryyyy easily. This could have been due to over or under beating.. I'm not sure.
If you have any input I'd be curious to hear. I've found this a common issue with the vegan butters where I live (Vancouver, BC).
Lindsay Moe says
Thank for sharing your adaptation, I'm glad everyone enjoyed them! I think the softness is probably a result of the dairy free butter. Next time I would try reducing the butter by 1 tablespoon or adding an extra tablespoon of flour. Hope this helps!
Lara says
I’m obsessed with this recipe, the best cookie I’ve ever had! It’s so delicious, and my whole family loved it. It turned out soft on the inside and crispy on the edges, though I didn’t follow the exact baking time, I just went by sight.
Thank u so much!!!
Lindsay Moe says
I'm so glad you enjoy this cookie, thanks for taking the time to leave a review!