Description
Brown Butter Apple Pie Cookies combine a flaky, spiced pastry with a rich apple filling made from browned butter and tart apples. These handheld treats echo the comforting flavors of classic apple pie but with a delightful lattice-top twist. Perfect for fall or any season, these cookies offer a balance of buttery, sweet, and slightly tangy notes with warm spices.
Ingredients
Scale
Pastry
- 1 1/2 cup (180 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (99 grams) spelt flour
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 1 cup (8 ounces/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed, frozen for 15 minutes
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup ice water
Filling
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 small crisp, tart apples (such as Braeburn, Stayman Winesap, or Granny Smith)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 3 tablespoon tightly packed brown sugar
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 dash angostura bitters
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- Buttermilk (or milk or cream), for brushing
- 1/4 cup Demerara sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Make the dough: In a food processor, pulse the flours, sugar, salt, and cayenne to combine. Add the frozen butter and pulse until the pieces are pea-sized. Slowly drizzle in half the combined vinegar and ice water while pulsing until a shaggy dough forms. Test by squeezing a clump—add more liquid if crumbly. Divide the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap, shaping one into a rectangle and the other into a disk. Refrigerate the dough at least 20 minutes or up to 3 days.
- Brown the butter: Melt the butter in a heavy 9-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook until the butter turns honey-colored and smells nutty, about 5 minutes, swirling occasionally to prevent burning.
- Prepare the apples: While the butter browns, peel, halve, core, and slice apples into ¼-inch-thick slices.
- Cook the filling: Add apples to the brown butter and toss to coat; cook 2 minutes to absorb browned bits. Stir in cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Add brown sugar and mix well. Then stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, angostura bitters, and cornstarch. Press apples into an even layer and cook about 5 more minutes until soft but holding shape. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate in airtight container. Can be made a day ahead.
- Roll out the dough: Roll the chilled dough rectangle to ⅛ inch thickness, about 18×11 inches, using parchment and plastic wrap to prevent sticking. Chill if dough becomes too soft.
- Cut the dough: Use a 3-inch round cutter to make 12 circles. Place on parchment-lined sheet pan. Reroll scraps into a 9×6-inch rectangle and cut into ¼-inch-wide strips. Chill strips separately.
- Assemble cookies: Divide apple filling evenly among the 12 dough circles.
- Create lattice tops: Cut strips into 3-inch lengths. Arrange 4 strips per cookie in a square frame. Dab ends with water to adhere. Roll bottom pastry edge around to form a neat border and seal lattice edges.
- Prepare for baking: Brush each pastry surface lightly with buttermilk and sprinkle with about ½ teaspoon Demerara sugar.
- Freeze: Freeze the prepared cookies at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours before baking.
- Bake: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Place cookies spaced apart on parchment-lined sheets. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown, rotating pans halfway through. Cover any particularly darkening edges with foil strips if needed.
- Cool and store: Cool cookies on wire racks to room temperature. Store leftovers wrapped in foil at room temperature up to 2 days.
Notes
- The second dough disk can be frozen for up to 3 months for future use.
- Use tart, crisp apples for the best flavor and texture.
- Brown butter carefully to avoid burning and develop deep nutty flavor.
- Freezing the cookies before baking helps maintain their shape and prevents spreading.
- Adjust seasoning in filling after cooking apples to taste.
- Buttermilk brushing and Demerara sugar topping create a beautiful, crunchy, sweet crust.
- If dough softens too much during rolling, chill for 10-20 minutes to firm up.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 40mg
