Brown Butter Apple Streusel Cookies

Crisp apples, sugary streusel, and a vanilla glaze make these fall cookies a win. Enjoy with a cup of tea!

Ingredients

• 2 sticks of salted butter
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 1 ½ Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, room temp.
• 1 cup chopped apple (1 medium apple) *choose an apple with a strong flavor, like Jazz, Honeycrisp, or Granny Smith
• 1 tsp cinnamon (1 tsp)
• Pinch of Nutmeg (optional)

Streusel Ingredients

• 6 tbsp salted butter, softened to room temperature (separate from the butter above, which you will brown and used in the dough itself)
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 c whole wheat pastry flour
• ½ c old fashioned oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Prep bowl
• Takes 30 minutes for butter to come to room temp; 3-5 minutes to prep

Vanilla Glaze Ingredients

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 2 tsp half and half, milk, or heavy cream (may add more if you want thinner glaze)
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract (substitute maple for more fall flavor)
• Prep bowl, beaters
• Takes 3-5 minutes while your muffins are baking

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Tools & Timing

• Small saucepan
• Flat-bottomed glass bowl/baking dish (for cooling your browned butter)
• Plastic wrap (or lid for glass container)
• Heatproof whisk and spatula
• 2 baking sheets
• Parchment paper
• Beaters
• Wooden spatula
• Two large mixing bowls; one small prep bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Cooling rack (or brown paper grocery bag – see Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks)
• About 2 hours  (including prep time for browned butter)

Background

            One of my favorite food blogs is Baker by Nature. I love her “Salted Caramel Chocolate Chunk Cookies” recipe (I highly recommend you try these)! Making these cookies was how I was first introduced to browned butter – and it is SO GOOD and SO WORTH IT! Browned butter lends a richer, warmer flavor to your baked goods! Anyways…I loved these cookies so much that I started using the base recipe for other cookie spin-offs! Here, in honor of fall, I give you Brown Butter Apple Streusel Cookies. I also included an option for glaze; I like to mix and match when it comes to recipes. Enjoy!

This dough is adapted from Baker by Nature

Streusel adapted from  Halfbaked Harvest

Step-by-step

Brown the Butter

*Begin this process  75 minutes before you want to start making your dough (you can always brown the butter the night before).

1. Measure out ½ cup of salted butter and place it in your saucepan (this is 1 stick of butter, if you buy it that way).
2. Turn heat to medium-high, and swirl the butter as it melts (so it doesn’t burn). Once the butter melts, continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the butter takes on a rich, caramel color (you’ll begin to smell a richer flavor, like brown sugar candy, and see a dark caramel color begin at the center of cooking butter – once this happens, keep cooking until all of the butter is brown – about 15 more seconds). This entire process, once melted, takes about 3 minutes.
3. Remove the butter from the heat and immediately whisk in your other ½ cup (stick) of butter. Keep whisking until the butter is fully incorporated.
4. Pour into your flat-bottomed glass container (the butter will separate a bit during the cooling process, so a flat-bottomed container helps maintain consistency). Cover and pace in the refrigerator for 60-75 minutes (until firm). Once firm, and you are ready to make your dough, remove from fridge.

Make the Dough

*About 30 minutes before you are ready to make your dough, set out another 6 Tbsp of salted butter (3/4 of a stick) and your eggs to come to room temperature.

**Your brown butter will need about 10-15 minutes to come back to room temperature.

1. As the brown butter is returning to room temperature, begin to prep your other ingredients:
   1. Get your streusel ready: Blend sugar, wheat flour, oats, and cinnamon with a metal whisk. Then, using your fingers, incorporate the softened, salted butter until you have “pieces” of streusel. (This is the fun part of making streusel – you squish the butter and the oat blend with your hands until the mixture looks like large crumbs!)
   1. Blend your dry ingredients for your cookie dough: in your first prep bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
   1. Peel and dice your apple (you may keep the skin for flavor and texture). Cut them into consistent, small chunks. In a small bowl, toss the apple pieces in cinnamon and nutmeg.
   1. Prep your baking sheets with parchment and preheat your oven to 375. 
2. Once the brown butter is at room temperature (you can test this by pressing your finger into the butter – when it leaves an indentation, it’s ready – this should take about 10 minutes), move to large prep bowl and cream (with beaters – this means to beat it until it’s smooth).
3. Whisk in brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat until fluffy (1-2 minutes).
4. Reduce the speed to low and add eggs, one at a time.
5. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes.
6. Switch to your rubber spatula and gently fold in flour mixture until just combined.
7. Gently fold in apple chunks.
8. Scoop out a ball of dough – about 2 Tbsp. Place it onto the baking sheet, then gently press your thumb into the middle. Moving in a clockwise pattern, continue to press your thumb until the entire top of your cookie has an indent with a crust edge (almost like a pie crust). Continue until you have 12 balls of dough (placed at about 2 inches apart). Place this cookie sheet in the fridge while you prepare the other sheet.
9. Once your second sheet is prepared, switch it with the first in the fridge.
10. Sprinkle streusel into the thumbprint of your first chilled cookies.
11. Bake one tray at a time for 11-14 minutes (the edges should be golden and the streusel will begin to brown – this takes 14 minutes in my oven).
12. Remove your tray and allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes before moving them to wire cooling rack. *See Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks.
13. Complete streusel process above with your second sheet of cookies, then bake.
14. Once cookies are cool (this takes about 20 minutes), you have the option to make and drizzle with glaze.

*Glaze: Blend powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla in a bowl. You may drizzle the glaze directly onto the muffins from the bowl or use a plastic bag (or pastry bag, if you’re feeling fancy).

Serve and Enjoy

Other Options

If you love these (and you love fall flavors), try my Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies, my Pumpkin Cream Cheese Streusel Muffins, or my Caramel Apple Streusel Muffins!

Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks

The Spatula Tap: When cookies bake, often they get poofy. Years ago, I started using the back of a cookie spatula to gently pat my cookies down when they came out of the oven. This technique has served me well – I think it helps to ensure that the cookies cool more evenly on the cookie sheet (for recipes that call for this extra bake time) and it helps my cookies to look better!

Wire Rack Swap: Years ago, I read that you can use paper bags as “cooling racks” for your cookies – and they actually help make your cookies better because a bit of the oil gets drawn out of your baked cookies in the process. If you have extra brown paper grocery bags, give it a try!