Brown Butter Apple Cookies

Prep: 28 mins

Cook: 40 mins

Cooling and Setting: 90 mins

Total: 2 hrs 38 mins

Servings: 12 servings

Yield: 12 large cookies

These brown butter apple cookies are crisp around the edges with an irresistibly soft and chewy center. Full of apple flavor, they feature both applesauce and fresh diced apples, along with the essential fall spices, cinnamon and nutmeg. Browning the butter adds an extra step, but the flavor developed is undeniably worth it. Plus, you don’t have to pull out a mixer.

What Do You Need to Make Brown Butter Apple Cookies?

Nutty brown butter adds depth and coziness. As a bonus, using melted instead of softened butter results in chewier cookies. I’ve doubled the apple flavor using applesauce as well as a tart Granny Smith apple. 

Be sure to use thick, unsweetened applesauce for the best texture and flavor—the applesauce keeps the middle soft and moist. Rolled oats add heartiness, and you can’t have apple without cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg.

How To Make Brown Butter Apple Cookies

Start by browning the butter in a saucepan on the stove. While the butter cools, whisk together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Once the butter has cooled for a few minutes, combine it with the brown sugar and applesauce, followed by the egg and vanilla extract. Finally, fold in the dry ingredients and diced apples. Divide the dough into twelve large cookies, and they’re ready to bake. 

What Is Brown Butter?

Browning butter is a five-minute process that unlocks the most flavor possible out of a stick of butter. When you brown butter, you melt the butter in a saucepan and boil off the water, concentrating the butter flavor. 

As it continues to cook, the butterfat separates from the milk solids, and the milk solids caramelize. How long this takes depends on the butter and pan you use. You know it's ready when the milk solids turn golden brown, and your kitchen smells like buttery toasted nuts.

Tips for Making Brown Butter Apple Cookies

• Use the right kind of oats—Make sure to use old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick oats may work in a pinch, but the texture and how much the cookies spread may be affected.
• Use a light-colored saucepan—When browning the butter, use a light colored saucepan so you can easily track how much the butter browns. A dark-bottomed pan makes it difficult to gauge.
• No browned milk solids left behind—Some bakers strain the browned milk solids, but for the most flavor, you should add them and scrape as much as you can from the pan. This is where all the toasty aroma is.
• Don’t go too far—Err on the side of under-toasting the brown butter. The butter can easily burn and will continue to brown for a bit, even when taken off the heat. If your browned butter is ready but on the edge of burning, quickly scrape it into a small bowl to stop the cooking.

Make Ahead

The dough can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can either portion the dough before storing it in the refrigerator or just before baking.

«I added walnuts to these big, beautiful cookies and had one every morning for breakfast with my coffee. It felt really healthy to eat a cookie containing rolled oats, applesauce, and chunks of apple, and a little decadent to taste the nutty brown butter.» —Diana Andrews

A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

For the Cookies

• 3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter

• 2 cups (200 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats

• 1 1/3 cups (160 grams) all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1 cup (214 grams) lightly packed light brown sugar

• 1/2 cup (130 grams) unsweetened applesauce

• 1 large egg, room temperature

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and finely chopped, about 1 cup

For the Brown Butter Glaze:

• Reserved 1/4 cup brown butter

• 1 cup (120 grams) confectioners' sugar

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1/8 teaspoon fine salt

• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Steps to Make It

1. Gather the ingredients. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 375 F.

   

2. Heat 3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, the butter will begin to bubble as the water evaporates. Once the water has evaporated, the butter will foam, and the milk solids will separate and toast.

   Continue cooking, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the milk solids turn golden brown and the butter smells like toasted nuts, about 5 minutes. Keep a watchful eye on it, as it can burn quickly.

   

3. Take the pan off the heat and let the brown butter cool slightly. Transfer 1/4 cup of the brown butter to a small microwave-safe bowl and set aside for the brown butter glaze.

   

4. While the butter cools, whisk together in a medium bowl 2 cups (200 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats, 1 1/3 cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Set aside.

   

5. Once the butter has cooled slightly, pour it into a large bowl scraping in all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. It’s okay if the butter is still warm as long as it’s not so hot as to cook the egg. Add 1 cup (214 grams) lightly packed light brown sugar, and 1/2 cup (130 grams) unsweetened applesauce and whisk to combine.

   

6. Add 1 large egg, room temperature, and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and whisk to incorporate.

   

7. Add the flour mixture all at once and fold with a rubber spatula until just combined. It’s okay if there are still a few streaks of dry flour.

   

8. Stir in 1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and finely chopped (about 1 cup) until it is evenly distributed through the dough and no streaks of dry flour remain.

   

9. Portion the dough into 12 large mounds about 1/3 cup each. Divide the dough balls between the prepared parchment-lined baking sheets and place about 3 inches apart, patting them down lightly.

   

10. Bake one pan at a time until the edges set and turn light golden, and the tops are no longer shiny, 18 to 20 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

    

11. While the cookies cool, make the glaze. If the reserved 1/4 cup brown butter has solidified, reheat it briefly in the microwave to melt. Add 1 cup (120 grams) confectioners’ sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and 1/8 teaspoon fine salt, and whisk until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon milk at a time and mix until the glaze is runny enough to drizzle with a spoon, but not soupy, adding more milk as needed to reach the desired consistency.

    

12. Once the cookies have cooled, drizzle the tops with a generous amount of glaze. Allow the glaze to set, about 30 minutes, and serve.

    

How To Store

• Baked cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
• Baked cookies freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw unwrapped at room temperature.
• Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze for up to 3 months. Freeze dough balls in a single layer on a tray. Once frozen through, about 1 hour, transfer to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Frozen cookie dough balls do not need to thaw before baking. Add 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time.

Feeling Adventurous? Try This:

• Use a different apple—Feel free to use another apple variety instead of Granny Smith, but stick to tart apples to avoid overly sweet cookies. Try Pink Lady, Cortland, or Empire apples.
• Add nuts—Stir in 1/2 cup (57 grams) chopped toasted nuts, such as walnuts or pecans.
• Make chewier cookies—For even chewier cookies, use bread flour in place of the all-purpose flour. 
• Make heartier cookies—For nuttier, heartier cookies, substitute whole wheat flour for half of the flour, or white whole wheat flour for all of the flour.
• Give it some zest—Add a teaspoon of orange zest along with the brown sugar and applesauce in step 5.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories	314
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g	12%
Saturated Fat 5g	26%
Cholesterol 36mg	12%
Sodium 229mg	10%
Total Carbohydrate 54g	20%
Dietary Fiber 3g	9%
Total Sugars 29g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 2mg	12%
Calcium 37mg	3%
Iron 2mg	9%
Potassium 133mg	3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.