Brown Butter Caramel Apple Sourdough Oatmeal Cream Pies
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
These sourdough discard caramel apple oatmeal cream pies are made with browned butter and filled with a brown sugar cream cheese frosting with a homemade caramel apple sauce. These are reminiscent of the childhood favorite treat but are a far more amplified version. This recipe is everything that is beautiful about autumn!
These are…ridiculous. In the BEST way! It has been hot, hot, hot in Minnesota, and it’s got me daydreaming about fall and all the cozy recipes that come with it (don’t worry, still fully embracing the summer beach day because your girl knows summer is short-lived in the north country)!
This recipe was inspired by my OG sourdough oatmeal cream pie recipe. This caramel apple recipe takes it up a couple notches!
Why You’ll Love These Sourdough Brown Butter Caramel Apple Cream Pies
- Loaded with cozy fall flavor. Brown butter, warm cinnamon, homemade caramel, and tender apples come together in every bite for the ultimate autumn-inspired dessert.
- Perfectly soft and chewy. The brown butter oatmeal cookies bake up thick, chewy, and incredibly flavorful, while the brown sugar cream cheese frosting adds a rich, creamy contrast.
- A delicious way to use sourdough discard. This recipe transforms leftover sourdough discard into a bakery-worthy dessert, adding subtle tang and depth of flavor without tasting overly sour.
Check out these sourdough recipes!
Step-By-Step Instructions (Full details in recipe card)
Brown the butter until it’s golden, nutty, and full of those delicious browned bits. Let it cool slightly before using.
Cook the caramel ingredients until smooth, then stir in the apples and cook until they’re tender. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let the filling cool completely.
Whisk together the oats, flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt.
Whisk the browned butter with both sugars, then mix in the eggs, molasses, vanilla, and sourdough discard.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until a soft dough forms.
Use a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough onto prepared baking sheets. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes.
Right out of the oven, use a wide-mouth glass or small bowl to gently swirl around each cookie for perfectly round edges. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Beat together the butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, vanilla, and powdered sugar until smooth and fluffy.
Spread frosting onto one cookie and create a small well in the center. Fill it with the caramel apple mixture, add a little more frosting around the edges if needed, then top with another cookie.
Helpful Tips
- Let the brown butter cool slightly. It should be warm, not hot, before mixing it with the sugars so the eggs don’t cook when added.
- Chop the apples small. Small, evenly sized pieces make the filling easier to spread and keep the cream pies from sliding apart.
- Shape the cookies while they’re warm. As soon as they come out of the oven, use a wide-mouth glass or small bowl to gently swirl around the cookies for perfectly round edges.
- Cool everything completely before assembling. Warm cookies, frosting, or caramel filling will melt together and make the cream pies messy.
- Use a frosting “dam.” After spreading the frosting, create a small well in the center for the caramel apple filling. This helps keep the filling in place and gives you a picture-perfect cream pie.
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Medium mixing bowl
- Medium saucepan
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Kitchen scale (recommended)
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- 3-tablespoon cookie scoop (I use these scoops)
- Wide-mouth drinking glass or small bowl (for shaping the cookies)
- Cooling rack
Storage
- Refrigerator: Store the assembled oatmeal cream pies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze the assembled cream pies or the cookies (unfilled) in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or let them come to room temperature before serving.
- Make Ahead: The caramel apple filling and brown sugar cream cheese frosting can both be made up to 2 days in advance and stored separately in the refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble.
Brown Butter Sourdough Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cream Pies
Ingredients
Caramel Apple Filling
- 1 cup brown sugar 220 g
- 1/2 cup heavy cream 120 g
- 5 tablespoons salted butter 71 g
- Pinch of salt
- 2 medium apples finely chopped (about 2 cups / 280 g), peeled if desired
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch 8 g
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 10 g
Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- 3 cups old-fashioned oats 270 g
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 180 g
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 5 g
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1 g
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 7 g
- 1/4 teaspoon salt 1.5 g
- 1 cup salted butter browned* (226 g butter; yields about 185 g browned butter)
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar packed (275 g)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar 150 g
- 2 large eggs 100 g
- 1 tablespoon molasses 20 g
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 10 g
- 1/2 cup sourdough discard 120 g
Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup salted butter softened (113 g)
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened (226 g)
- 1 cup brown sugar packed (220 g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5 g
- 3 cups powdered sugar 360 g
Instructions
Brown the Butter
- Add the butter to a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Melt completely, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking until the butter begins to foam and the milk solids turn golden brown with a nutty aroma, about 5–8 minutes. Immediately pour into a heatproof bowl, making sure to scrape in the browned bits. Let cool until just warm before using.
Make the Caramel Apple Filling
- In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, heavy cream, butter, and salt over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted and the mixture begins to simmer.
- Whisk the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water until smooth, then stir it into the caramel. Add the chopped apples (peeled if desired) and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the apples are tender and the caramel has thickened.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Transfer the filling to a bowl and allow it to cool completely before assembling.
Make the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cooled brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until combined.
- Mix in the eggs, molasses, vanilla, and sourdough discard until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
- Using a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop, portion the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers are just set.
- Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, use a wide-mouth drinking glass or small bowl to gently swirl around each cookie to create perfectly round edges.
- Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Frosting
- Beat the softened butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy.
- Add the brown sugar and vanilla, mixing until fully incorporated. The brown sugar adds granules, so make sure to mix for about 2 minutes to incorporate it. You will still have it in the frosting, but it will be less gritty compared to not mixing long enough.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
Assemble
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag (or just spread it on). Spread or pipe a thick layer of frosting onto the flat side of one cooled cookie. Using the back of a spoon or an offset spatula, create a shallow well in the center of the frosting.
- Spoon the cooled caramel apple filling into the well, then pipe or spread a little more frosting around the edges if needed to help contain the filling.
- Top with another cookie and gently press together.
- Repeat with the remaining cookies.
