Apple Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

These Apple Spice Cookies were one of my most popular cookies last fall so I decided to bring them back a little early this year. The combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in this cookie dough will remind you of cinnamon rolls and apple pie and inspire you look forward to fall.

The apples in this recipe are cooked briefly on the stovetop to bring out the flavor and create the perfect texture. Dropping raw apple chunks into cookie dough or cake batter is usually not a good idea. If you’ve ever baked an apple pie, you know that apples release liquid as they cook and that liquid will end up in your baked cookies, creating soggy spots. So definitely don’t skip this step!

These gorgeous, golden brown cookies are perfectly delicious on their own, but extra credit goes to the Brown Butter Icing for taking them over the top!

Make sure to head over to Instagram to watch the video of these Apple Spice Cookies being created: Click here

Apple Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

Spice cookies with fresh apples and brown butter icing

Course

Dessert

Keyword

cookies, holiday, thanksgiving

Servings

Ingredients

Cooked Apples

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup (4 oz or 113g) chopped apples (1/4-inch pieces) I used one large Granny Smith apple
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Brown Butter Icing

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup (2 oz or 57g) powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch fine sea salt
1-2 tablespoons whole milk

Course

Dessert

Keyword

cookies, holiday, thanksgiving

Servings

Ingredients

Cooked Apples

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup (4 oz or 113g) chopped apples (1/4-inch pieces) I used one large Granny Smith apple
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Brown Butter Icing

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup (2 oz or 57g) powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch fine sea salt
1-2 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

Cooked Apples

Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add apples, sugar and cinnamon to the skillet.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender, about 4-5 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool completely. Drain any excess liquid from the cooled apples.

Apple Spice Cookies

Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.
Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract, one at a time, until well combined
Stir in the flour mixture, just until combined.
Fold the the cooled apples into the cookie dough.
Divide the dough into 12 equal golf ball size portions and place them 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake until golden brown, about 11-13 minutes. Let cool 1 minute on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Brown Butter Icing

In a small saucepan, cook the butter over medium heat until golden brown and fragrant. When brown specks start to form in the bottom of the pan, remove from heat.
Immediately transfer the browned butter to a small bowl. Whisk in the the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt and 1 tablespoon milk. Add more milk as needed to reach desired consistency.
Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.

Recipe Notes

NOTE: If your cookies spread too much when baking, refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, then bake as directed.