Brown Butter Apple Pie Cookie Cups + Video
OMGYES.
Brown butter cookie cups.
And apple pie (but like, not actually).
Combined into one epic dessert.
‘Tis the season of cozy fall spices and tender apple pastries and rich, indulgent desserts.
And these brown butter apple pie cookie cups possess slash embody slash are all of the above mentioned things.
Another thing: a video tutorial. For these apple pie cookie cups. It is here:
Or, watch it on YouTube.
Okay. So by now you may have some idea about my feelings for brown butter. I’ve mentioned them a couple (hundred) times. Let’s just say the feelings are strong and leave it at that.
Brown butter takes a few minutes longer to make than melted butter. And by “make” I mean you just let the butter simmer a little past melting point until amber specks appear in the butter.
And these amber specks transform the butter into a mixture that is deep and rich and caramely and butterscotchy and the best.
And aside from the brown butter flavor. Here’s what else one of these apple pie cookie cups has going on:
A tender, soft, chewy, rich, thick, dense cookie with crispy edges and a gooey center.
A cookie that comes together in minutes in your mixing bowl and is far thicker than your average cookie, because hey ya, we’re making cookie CUPS here.
Which means the cookie dough gets portioned into a muffin pan and bakes up into a dense, thick, cup-like shape.
To be filled with a so-very-wonderful apple pie filling.
The apple filling.
It’s 3 tart apples, diced up, and cooked in butter and brown sugar and vanilla and cornstarch and cinnamon and nutmeg. Until the apples are tender and succulent and juicy and sweet and tart and caramely and spicy.
The apple filling can be made whilst the brown butter cookie cups are baking, so overall, this is actually a quick and easy recipe, even with the multiple steps involved.
And. These apple pie cookie cups are DEFINITELY quicker and easier to make than an actual apple pie. So that’s another win.
Once the cookie cups are baked, they get a neat little depression down their centers with the use of a shot glass. After which the apple filling gets spooned into that indent.
And now the brown butter apple pie cookie cups are ready to be consumed. Immediately. Or later. At room temperature.
Add a sprinkling of confectioners sugar. And a hefty dollop of vanilla ice cream. And whipped cream too, because why not. These are serving suggestions. That operate more like commands than suggestions.
Thanksgiving is in two weeks.
Will you be making these soft, gooey, rich, indulgent, caramely cookie cups with succulent, tender, tart, spiced apples for the occasion?
You should. Do the right thing here.
Brown Butter Apple Pie Cookie Cups
Yield: 9 large cookie cups/about 24 mini cups
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups packed flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Apple Filling:
2 tablespoons butter
3 tart apples, peeled and diced
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 9 muffin molds (or 24 mini muffin molds) well.
2. In a light-colored (so you can observe the browning) skillet, brown the butter: chop up butter and place into skillet over a medium flame. First, the butter will melt. Once butter melts, it will foam and bubble. Make sure to stir the butter periodically with a rubber spatula. After a few minutes, the bubbling will subside and golden specks will appear on the bottom of the pan and the butter will start smelling nutty. This means your butter is browned! Warning: Butter should have golden/amber specks, not completely brown ones. If the butter is too browned, your cookie cups may have a burnt/bitter taste. (See above for video tutorial.)
3. Remove skillet from flame right away and pour the browned butter into a large mixing bowl to stop the cooking. Make sure to scrape in all the browned specks from the bottom of the pan.
4. Stir the brown sugar into the browned butter. Vigorously whisk in the egg and vanilla extract until mixture is smooth.
5. Pour flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt over wet ingredients and mix everything together until just combined.
6. Drop large pieces dough into the muffin molds and flatten them to the edges of the molds. Bake for 11-15 minutes (8-9 for minis), until the edges are golden and set but the centers are still slightly gooey.
7. While cookie cups are still hot, using a small shot glass, press down into the center of each cookie cup, forming a hollow indent for the apple filling (the bigger the indent, the more room you’ll have for the filling). Ease cookie cups from their molds.
8. Apple Filling: In a large skillet over a medium flame, melt the butter. Add in the diced apples and cook for a few minutes until apples begin to soften, stirring occasionally. Add in the rest of the filling ingredients and cook until apples are very tender, stirring occasionally.
9. Spoon apple filling into cookie cups and serve warm or room temperature, with a sprinkling of confectioners sugar and ice cream if desired.
