
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. I’m definitely not the type of person who drinks pumpkin spice lattes in 90º weather in the middle of August, but these are my favorite fall cookies ever so I wanted to give them a proper head start. 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 TikTok to watch the video of these Apple Spice Cookies being created.
Servings |
cookies
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- 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
- 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 milk
Ingredients
Cooked Apples
Brown Butter Icing
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- Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add apples, sugar and cinnamon to skillet.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender, about 4-5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool completely. Drain any excess liquid from cooled apples.
- In a small saucepan, cook 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 browned butter to a small bowl. Whisk in powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt and 1 tablespoon milk. Add more milk as needed to reach desired consistency.
- Drizzle icing over cooled cookies.
NOTE: If your cookies spread too much when baking, refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, then bake as directed.