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These delicious Apple Oatmeal Cookies are topped with creamy brown butter frosting and a sprinkle of cinnamon. It’s like apple pie meets oatmeal cookie, perfect as a yummy Fall treat!
Apple Oatmeal Cookies | With Brown Butter Frosting
I made Apple Oatmeal Cookies for you today. Because I love your faces, I thought it was about time I made cookies for you. Totally old-school cookies. Like the kind, your Grandma’s would make. Except I frosted them with a life-changing substance I like to call heaven. Or for you normal folk Brown Butter Frosting. When making these cookies, I ate more frosting than cookie dough. That’s saying a LOT. And just like any other cookie, these are pretty simple to make. And even if you screw them up, the frosting will fix everything. Also, I now believe that Brown Butter Frosting is the key to world peace.
Main Ingredients Needed
Lots of simple pantry items come together to make these amazing cookies, here’s everything you’ll need:
- Butter, Granulated + Brown Sugar – this recipe starts out with the traditional creaming method. Be sure to use softened (not melted) butter.
- Egg – for texture and structure.
- Vanilla + Salt – both used for flavor.
- Baking Soda – used to help the cookies rise.
- Cinnamon – this warm spice is used to accompany the apple and oat flavors. So comforting!
- Flour – to fill out the cookies!
- Oats – I used quick cooking rolled oats but you could also use old fashioned oats as well.
- Apple – I used Fuji apples but any apple variety works here. I know some of you are die hard Granny Smith Apple fans when it comes to baking so use what you like.
For the Brown Butter Frosting
- Butter – this will be melted and browned which adds a great nutty flavor to the whole frosting.
- Powdered Sugar – used to thicken and sweeten the frosting.
- Milk – used to thin everything out and gives it a consistent texture.
- More Cinnamon – this is used as an optional garnish!
Variations
One thing that I love about my readers is that they take my recipes and customize them to suit their wants! Here are a couple of common variations for these apple oatmeal cookies:
- Plain: Skip the frosting and enjoy these cookies plain.
- Shredded Apple: I diced my apples but if you want to you could shred them. This distributes the flavor and moisture a little better.
- Add Nuts: Walnuts to be specific, this sounds so good.
- Make Sandwich Cookies: Instead of frosting one cookie, make these into sandwich cookies instead. Kinda like my Oatmeal Cream Pies!
Apple Oatmeal Cookies FAQs
This recipe has been around for a while which means I have some Frequently Asked Questions and answers for you! Read this before making these cookies, kay?
Cookies usually flatten out because there isn’t enough flour mixed in. It’s a pretty common thing to happen and has to do with how you measure the flour. I suggest doing a tester {bake 1 cookie} to see how they do. If they’re really flat, then add a little more flour, like 1-2 tablespoons. Then test another cookie to see how they bake.
Too much baking soda can flatten cookies too, so make sure you follow the recipe card to a T.
I like using parchment paper because it means less dishes! And the Silpat silicone mats are great for cookies. NOTHING sticks to them!
As the frosting cools it might develop a hardened, flakey top, this is totally normal for frostings made in a saucepan. However, if you’re looking for a smoother texture, simply allow the browned butter to cool then with a hand or stand mixer, mix it with the other ingredients.
You absolutely can! Freeze unbaked (dough) or baked (without frosting). Then either pop those suckers into the oven from frozen to bake or thaw and warm up, as desired. I suggest making the frosting fresh for maximum flavor and ease. Freeze for up to three months.
Because these cookies contain fresh cut apples I’d enjoy and eat them ASAP. However that doesn’t mean you can’t store them for a few days either (up to three days). Be sure to store in an airtight container. You can either leave the cookies unfrosted then frost as you go or separate them with a layer of parchment paper.
How to Make Apple Oatmeal Cookies
For full details on how to make these apple oatmeal cookies, see the recipe card down below 🙂
1. Preheat + Prep
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with silicone baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.
2. Make the Dough
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Stir in egg and vanilla. Slowly incorporate all dry ingredients. Stir in oats and apples.
3. Bake + Cool
Scoop onto the prepared sheet and bake 8-10 minutes or until the edges are golden. Cool completely or until warm, your choice!
4. Make Brown Butter Frosting
While cookies are baking, place 1/4 cup butter into a small saucepan. With the heat on medium, melt and brown the butter. Once the butter is a medium brown/amber color remove from heat and pour into a small bowl. Stir in powdered sugar and enough milk to get a spreadable consistency (add more powdered sugar and milk as needed to get the consistency you like).
5. Frost Cookies
Frost warm cookies and sprinkle with more cinnamon, if desired. Serve.
More Oatmeal Cookies to Try!
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Coconut Peanut Butter Oatmeal Scotchies
- Absolutely Loaded Oatmeal Cookies
- Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies
- Stuffed Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
We LOVED these Apple Oatmeal Cookies. But, anything could taste good with that frosting slathered all over it. 🙂 Hope you guys get around to making these! Perfect for an evening treat, an after-school snack or to pack in a lunch.
Have a great day and don’t forget to save this recipe (bookmark/pin/print).
The printable recipe card is below, enjoy!
Apple Oatmeal Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 6 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour + 1 tablespoon
- 1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
- 1/2 cup apple peeled + diced, I used a fuji
for the frosting:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon milk approximately
- cinnamon for garnish if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with silicone baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Stir in egg and vanilla. Slowly incorporate all dry ingredients.
- Stir in oats and apples.
- Scoop onto prepared sheet.
- Bake 8-10 minutes or until the edges are golden.
- While cookies are baking, place 1/4 cup butter into small saucepan. With heat on medium, melt and brown the butter. Once the butter is a medium brown/amber color remove from heat and pour into a small bowl.
- Stir in powdered sugar and enough milk to get a spreadable consistency.
- Frost warm cookies and sprinkle with more cinnamon, if desired. Serve.
Just made these cookies and they are delicious!! These garnered rave reviews and I will be making these again. Thanks for the recipe!
These have got to be the ultimate fall cookie! They look so delicious!
[…] Apple Oatmeal Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting […]
Made these today and they are awesome! I doubled the cinnamon and vanilla, just a personal preference, and I grated the apples instead of dicing them. Definitely will make again.
Thank you!
i have a question- If you don’t put the icing on right away, could you freeze the cookies, thaw them out and then frost them before you serve them? Just wondering, they look tasty and your daughter is lovely…
I frost them pretty much right away. Never done it before after freezing but don’t see why that wouldn’t work!
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Made these last night. They were absolutely delicious. Added 1/2 cup walnuts. Great recipe!!!
This is so my kind of cookie! I pinned it to try this weekend.
[…] good combination. This works in pies, crumbles, muffins – the list goes on. These Apple Oatmeal Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting from Lauren’s Latest have brought this flavor mixture to cookie form, which look so rustic […]
LOVE these. What a great mix of flavors! I bet the brown butter adds such a yummy depth to these oatmeal cookies. Also, your daughter is just so adorable. I am sure that she was fine being used for her cheap labor 🙂
This is the type of cookie i could eat 40 of and still want more. I mean there’s fruit in there, so it’s kinda healthy 🙂
Mmm! These look amazing. I think I want a couple for breakfast this morning!
All you have to do is say browned butter, and I come running!! And that is the best kind of child labor!
[…] Apple Oatmeal Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting from Lauren’s Latest […]
These are great!! Mine spread out a bit as well, but that makes no never mind to my family lol I added cinnamon to the frosting and am in love! Thanks so much for this delicious recipe 🙂
I made these yesterday and the flavor was awesome, but they spread all over, and were really too thin. Couldn’t frost them (although I didn’t need to they taste great alone). However, if I make them again I’ll have to do something different 1/2 cup flour maybe wasn’t enough or something.
Try making them smaller and possibly adding a touch more flour. Did you add the 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon? This recipe has worked for me several times…interesting that you’re were flat like pancakes.
I followed the recipe exactly and kept the cookies small, in fact they made 36 cookies because I made them a little small. Anyway they sure were tasy even if they were flat. I think a little more flour and maybe refrigerate them before scooping and baking. Thanks for the reply.
Mine came out spread and flat too… so I added a good bit more flour to the second half of the batter, and then they were fine! I probably would put 3/4 – 1 cup of flour in them next time. But they’re yummy!
I wonder… I used old fashioned (not quick cooking) oats – maybe the quick cooking ones absorb more moisture? or something…
I used quick cooking oats–they didn’t absorb any extra moisture. Maybe the kind of apple I used was extra juicy?
These cookies are a work of art. They look so good. Your pictures are so pretty and your little girl is adorable. Have a nice weekend!
These look so great! And they have apples and oats in them, so my nutritionist can’t get upset with me, right? Right?
Maybe I’ll make half with frosting and half without, and eat the plain ones for breakfast 😀
Hehe, this post is awesome! I especially like that you love our faces 🙂
I am making these this afternoon for a coffee date tomorrow. Looks so good. Question though, can I frost these cookies now, or should I wait till just before serving?
p.s Happy Victoria Day from a fellow Canuck.
These look amazing! I love creative cookies!
Another big hit!! This looks and sounds so delicious!
The cookies and frosting look amazing! Love your daughter, she’s so cute! Hope I get to meet her next month!!
Cutest, sweetest pictures, ever! Those cookies look great too 🙂
Thanks, Kristen!!
You have the cutest little helper I have seen since my 20 year old daughter was that age! 😀 I printed this recipe.
I have tried a few times to make apple pie cookies.. all unsuccessful. These sound awesome.
Your daughter is ADORABLE. Also, I am obsessed with all things brown butter-related so I must make these immediately. Or tomorrow morning. But either way, very soon!
Yay! Hope you like them!
I’m currently making these cookies and the atter is amazing, but is there supposed to be more flour than just half a cup?
Batter*
nope! 1/2 cup is right!
you are such a genius for creating this. looks sooo good!! i can just imagine tasting a delicious apple pie in this cookie….brooke is absolutely adorable! haha cheap child labor, love it 😉
It’s like apple pie meets oatmeal cookie…with a good brown butter slathering.
mmm…looks so warm and inviting! I don’t know that I’ve had apple in cookies before though it sounds wonderful! Love the oats, love the brown butter frosting…the apples, the cinnamon. It all looks lovely. I bet your adorable little niece loved them!
I liked your photo. The cookies sound amazing with the frosting!
Good luck on the marathon. I have done a couple half’s, but have always wanted to do a whole. Not sure my knees could hold up though 🙁
That frosting looks heavenly! Yum!
Who could resist baking cookies for your cute little angel. They sound scrumptious!
Does you daughter do the washing up too (aside from licking the kitchen aid attachment clean)? I think I need to get me one of those!
These cookies are full of some of my favourite things and I feel the urge to cover everything that I eat in brown butter frosting right now!
We’ve tried to teach her the concept of dishes, but it’s been a total FAIL. Maybe in a few months.
These little cookies look so good, Lauren! The flavors are so reminiscent of fall, too, which I can never get enough of. Great recipe!
Love the brown butter frosting. That would be amazing on almost anything!
These sound amazing. Brown butter really is magical.
These sound perfect! Love apple and oats together, and with brown butter frosting, I’m pretty sure you can’t go wrong!
Love the picture of your daughter!
The pictures of your daughter are just precious! These cookies look divine. And with the brown butter frosting, I would be eating just the frosting too! 🙂
Cheap labor rocks. And can I have these for breakfast? They do have fruit so it seems totally okay in my book. 🙂
Lauren, these cookies look great. One question though. Your recipe calls for quick cooking oats. Do you think I can just sub in old fashioned, which I have on hand?
Yup! That should be fine!
Ooooh these flavors are glorious. Apple + oatmeal + brown butter + cinnamon = all the comfort I need in cookie form! Also, your daughter is adorable. She can steal cookie dough from me anytime (except not really because licking the paddle is my favorite part).
One of my favorite things….beater licking, I think she is very well paid!
I LOVE apples in baked goods…seriously one of my favorite things. But can you believe I still haven’t tried browned butter anything??? What is WRONG with me?!?!
I so want to make these but I know I would be completely powerless with them in the house. Thus, I will make these the next time I have company or have to bring a dessert and make everyone else powerless, too 😉
You had me at brown butter.
Love the big chunks of apples you can see in the cookie! But even more I love your assistant. I have one of those too! Big help.
These look fantastic and your daughter is too cute (and smart)! I’d definitely have to make extra frosting to be safe.
Yes! Extra frosting is a must!
Your daughter is just too precious! And these cookies are to die for! It has all my favorite ingredients – apple, oatmeal, and butter. Oh wait, and that frosting too. Can’t forget about that!
I love the pic of her licking the beater…part mischief, part sheer joy, part sneaky little daredevil…I can see my daughter being the same 🙂
Great cookies, Lauren!