Apple Crumble Cookies

Name: Apple Crumble Cookies
Prep time: 2 h 40 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 3 h 10 min
Yield: 20
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 225g unsalted butter; 3cm piece ginger, finely grated; 165g (¾ cup) caster sugar; 220g (1 cup) brown sugar; 2 eggs; 10ml (2 tsp) vanilla extract; 300g (2 cups) plain flour; 80g rolled oats; 1 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda; pinch sea salt; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; 100g white chocolate chips; 4 green apples (500g), peeled, cored, finely diced; 55g (¼ cup) brown sugar; 30g butter, chopped; 2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch); 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 70g (⅓ cup) brown sugar; 37g (¼ cup) plain flour; 23g (¼ cup) rolled oats; ¼ tsp ground cinnamon; ¼ tsp ground nutmeg; 40g unsalted butter, diced and chilled

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Apple Crumble Cookies

Ingredient Notes

Brown butter:

Brown butter is made by cooking unsalted butter until the water cooks off and the milk solids caramelise to a golden-brown colour. You’ll know it’s ready when the foam subsides, brown flecks appear at the bottom of the pan, and the kitchen smells nutty and slightly toasty. Use a light-coloured saucepan so you can see the colour change clearly. After browning, the butter must be chilled until firm before being whipped over ice: this is what converts it back to a creaming consistency. If it goes into the dough liquid or even just soft, the dough will be greasy and the cookies will spread too thin.

Green apples:

Granny Smith is the right apple for this. Green apples have firmer flesh and higher pectin content than most red varieties, which means they hold their structure through the stovetop cook and then the oven without breaking down. Red apples like Fuji or Pink Lady have more sugar and softer flesh: they turn to mush during cooking and make the filling overly sweet in a cookie that already has a generous amount of sugar in the dough. Peel and dice the apples finely and evenly so they cook at the same rate. The cornflour in the filling thickens the released juice into a light glaze that coats the pieces and keeps the filling contained in the indent.

Cornflour:

The 2 teaspoons of cornflour in the apple filling acts as a starch thickener. When the filling reaches temperature on the stove, the cornflour gelatinises and binds the apple juice into a thick, glossy coating rather than a watery runoff. This is what keeps the filling sitting neatly in the cookie indent during baking instead of soaking into the dough or pooling on the tray. To know the cornflour has fully activated, look for the juices to shift from cloudy to glossy and the mixture to thicken noticeably. Cool the filling completely in the fridge before using: a warm filling will soften the cold dough on contact and make it difficult to shape.

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Ingredients

225g unsalted butter
3cm piece ginger, finely grated
165g (¾ cup) caster sugar
220g (1 cup) brown sugar
2 eggs
10ml (2 tsp) vanilla extract
300g (2 cups) plain flour
80g rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch sea salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
100g white chocolate chips

APPLE FILLING

4 green apples (500g), peeled, cored, finely diced
55g (¼ cup) brown sugar
30g butter, chopped
2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
1 tsp ground cinnamon

CRUMBLE TOP

70g (⅓ cup) brown sugar
37g (¼ cup) plain flour
23g (¼ cup) rolled oats
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
40g unsalted butter, diced and chilled

Equipment

Chopping board
Peeler
Medium saucepan
Large mixing bowl
Hand beaters or stand mixer
Whisk
Small food processor
3 large baking trays
Baking paper
Rounded tablespoon or cookie scoop
Plastic wrap

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Directions

BROWN THE BUTTER

Melt butter in a medium saucepan on medium heat and cook until browned and starting to smell nutty, 6-8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in ginger.
Transfer to a bowl and place over a bowl of iced water. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally.
When cooled, whip the butter with a whisk or hand beaters over the ice until light, then discard ice.

PREP THE DOUGH

Beat the sugars into butter until creamed.
Beat in eggs 1 at a time, beating well between each addition until light and fluffy, then beat in vanilla extract.
Process oats in a small processor until a coarse crumb. Sift flour, baking powder, bicarb soda, cinnamon and a pinch of salt together. Mix into butter mixture until a soft dough forms, then fold in chocolate chips.
Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours, ideally overnight.

PREP THE APPLE FILLING

Combine apples, sugar, butter, cornflour, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan and place over medium-low heat.
Cook, stirring until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.
Increase heat to medium and saute mixture for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until completely cooled.

PREP THE CRUMBLE AND SHAPE COOKIES

Combine the sugar, flour, oats and spices in a small food processor and process until a coarse crumb. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan forced (355°F) and line 3 large baking trays with baking paper.
Divide the dough into 20 equal portions, roughly 2 heaped tablespoons.
Use your hand to cup the dough while making an indent in the top with a rounded tablespoon.
Place 3 teaspoons worth of the filling in the indent then sprinkle with some crumble topping, pressing in lightly to stay in place.

BAKE

Place cookies on trays, with at least 5cm gap between each for spreading.
Bake for 13-15 minutes, without opening the oven door, then allow to cool for at least 15 minutes on the trays.

Notes

Cook support

13 minutes bake time will give you a very soft cookie, but 15 minutes will give a crisp cookie edge, but still a soft middle from the pie filling.

Don’t skip browning the butter

It adds depth to the dough and helps balance the sweetness. Let it cool fully before creaming if it’s too warm, the dough will be greasy and won’t hold its shape.

Resting the dough matters

Overnight refrigeration gives the dough time to hydrate and firms it up so the cookies hold the filling without spreading too much. A few hours is fine, but overnight is best.

Spacing on trays

Give them at least 5cm between each cookie. They spread. Don’t crowd the tray or they’ll merge.

Substitutions

The green apples will hold their shape when cooked and then again baked, so ideally don’t swap these out for red apples, which will also make the cookie sweeter.

Storage

Store cookies in an airtight container in the pantry.