Apple Crisp Brioche Buns
If you’re ready to kick off fall baking, these Sourdough Discard Apple Crisp Brioche Buns are the perfect place to start! Soft, buttery brioche buns are topped with warm cinnamon apples, a simple oat crisp topping, and finished with a brown sugar glaze. They’re part apple crisp, part bakery-style brioche bun, and completely made for cozy fall mornings.
These buns are also a delicious way to put your sourdough discard to work. Make them for a slow weekend breakfast, fall brunch, or an afternoon treat with a cup of coffee. You get soft brioche, buttery apples, cinnamon oats, and that warm glaze in every bite — all the best parts of apple season in one bun!
Why you'll love these buns!
What I especially love about these buns is that they aren't quite a cinnamon roll and they aren't quite a danish. They're somewhere in between, with a soft homemade brioche base and an open center that gives you plenty of room for all that apple filling.
They're also:
- A great way to use sourdough discard
- Made with simple fall ingredients
- Soft, buttery, and not overly sweet
- Filled with real apples
- Topped with an actual oat crisp
- Easy to prep ahead
- Perfect for breakfast, brunch, dessert, or an afternoon coffee
What Apples Are Best?
For these buns, you want an apple that will soften in the oven without completely disappearing.
Granny Smith is my first choice if you like a tart contrast to the sweet topping. Honeycrisp is sweeter and holds its shape beautifully.
You can also mix the two-half Granny Smith and half Honeycrisp gives you a really nice balance of tart and sweet.
Other good choices include Pink Lady, Braeburn, or Fuji.
I would avoid softer apples that break down quickly because we want little pieces of apple in every bite rather than applesauce.
Can I Make Them the Night Before?
Yes. I would make the brioche dough the night before and let it complete its first rise in the refrigerator overnight.
You can also prepare the apple filling and crisp topping and refrigerate them separately.
The next morning, shape the cold dough into buns, add the apples and crisp topping, and let them sit at room temperature until noticeably puffy before baking.
This makes them much more manageable for a fall brunch or holiday morning.
How to Serve Apple Crisp Brioche Buns
These are best served slightly warm, when the brioche is extra soft and the brown sugar glaze is still a little gooey.
Serve them for a weekend breakfast with hot coffee, add them to a fall brunch spread, or warm one up for dessert.
And if you're serving them as dessert? A warm apple crisp brioche bun with a scoop of vanilla ice cream would be unreal.
How to Store Them
Store completely cooled buns in an airtight container at room temperature for about 2 days or refrigerate for up to 4–5 days.
Because brioche is best soft and warm, I recommend reheating individual buns for about 10–15 seconds in the microwave before eating.
You can also warm several at once in a 300°F oven until just heated through.
Apple Crisp Brioche Buns
Courtney Moody
12
30 minutes
45 minutes
558
American
Soft sourdough discard brioche buns topped with buttery cinnamon apples, a brown sugar oat crisp, and finished with a warm brown sugar glaze. They’re part apple crisp, part bakery-style brioche bun, and such a good way to kick off fall baking!
Ingredients
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¾ cup whole milk, warmed to 110°F (43°C)
2¼ teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ cup sourdough discard
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons softened butter
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1 block softened cream cheese
½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
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4 medium apples, peeled and diced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup brown sugar
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1¼ cups rolled oats
1 tablespoon lemon juice
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4 tablespoons butter
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla
pinch
½–¾ cup powdered sugar
Directions
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Add the warm milk, yeast, and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. If using active dry yeast, let it sit for about 5 minutes.
Add the sourdough discard, eggs, vanilla, salt, and flour. Mix with the dough hook until a shaggy dough forms.
With the mixer running on low, add the softened butter a tablespoon at a time. Continue kneading for 8-10 minutes until the dough becomes smooth, stretchy, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Brioche dough should be very soft and slightly tacky. Avoid adding a lot of extra flour.
Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 - 2 hours or until doubled.
While the dough is rising, prepare the apple filling and maple cream cheese.
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In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Add the diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, rolled oats and a pinch of salt.
Cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until the apples are tender but not mushy. Stir in the vanilla extract and lemon juice, then remove from heat and let cool.
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While the dough is rising, prepare the maple cream cheese filling by placing the softened cream cheese, maple syrup and heavy cream into a small sauce pan. Let everything melt together and use an immersion blender to blend everything together until smooth and creamy.
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Once the dough has risen, punch it down and transfer it to a floured surface.
With a bench scraper, cut into 8 - 10 equal sized dough balls. 8 will be very large, 10 will be a bit smaller.
Cover the dish with a towel and let the buns rise again for about 45- 1 hour until puffy.
When the buns are puffy, use the bottom of a small glass or measuring cup to press a well into the center of each bun, leaving a raised border around the outside.
Dollop 2 spoonfuls of maple cream cheese into the middle of the brioche bun.
Dollop 2 - 3 spoonfuls of apple oat filling into the brioche well right over the cream cheese.
Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until the brioche is golden brown and the crisp topping is toasted.
Allow them to cool for about 10 minutes.
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Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
Add the brown sugar and heavy cream and stir until smooth. Bring to a gentle simmer for about 1 minute.
Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
Allow to cool and then whisk in enough powdered sugar to create a thick but pourable glaze.
Drizzle all over your apple crisp buns and enjoy!!
