Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies

A long time ago, I had a Home Ec teacher who explained there are three basic kinds of cookies: chewy, crisp, and cake-like. These old-fashioned oatmeal cookies are definitely in the cake-like group, soft and moist and full of flavor.



They are also relatively healthy (though still with enough sugar that they definitely should stay in the "special treat" category of your family's menus). This is an adaptation of a recipe I found in my mother's church cookbook from the early 1930s. Originally they called for one and a half cups of butter. Substituting unsweetened applesauce, cutting back the sugar,  and increasing the spices improved the nutrititive value without compromising flavor at all.

 

 Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 c butter
3/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c unsweetened applesauce
2 t vanilla
3 c flour
2 t baking powder
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
2 1/2 c old-fashioned or regular oats (oatmeal, NOT the instant kind and NOT steel cut)
1 c dried cranberries
3/4 to 1 c chopped walnuts (optional)

1.  Cream butter and sugars together. Stir in the eggs and then the applesauce and vanilla. Blend until very smooth and light.
2.  Sift the flour, baking powder, and spices together and add to the egg mixture. Stir until well blended.
3.  Mix in the cranberries and nuts and then add the oats gradually. Continue to stir until the oats are evenly blended in.
4.  Drop by spoonfuls on to a greased baking sheet and flatten lightly with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies.

Makes 3 1/2 to 5 dozen cookies, depending on the size you make. For those in the picture, I scooped out balls of dough a little bigger than a golf ball, with a yield of 40 cookies.

Variations:

Replace the dried cranberries with raisins or dates.

For a very different texture, put the oats and raisins in a processor and blend until quite fine. This works very well if you have family members not especially fond of raisins.

Chocolate, Applesauce, Oatmeal--Great Cookies in the Making!

One of those automated invitations arrived in my email the other day, asking for three dozen cookies for an event this weekend. I was glad to sign up, but I knew that there are lots of really fantastic bakers who will also be providing cookies, so I wanted to try something that might be a little different.

I decided to add  half a package of "white chocolate chips" left from holiday baking to an old-favorite chocolate drop cookie. It is quick and easy and, because I substituted oil for the butter in the original recipe, relatively economical.

One thing to keep in mind with the chips: Even the name brand "white chocolate chips" are really not exactly chocolate, so they handle and bake up differently from "regular" chocolate chips. Whether it was the chips or the substitution of the oil, I did find the dough a little trickier to work with than usual. Just "dropping" the spoonfuls of dough on the pan resulted in lots of chips rolling off in many directions, so I had to use my fingers to press them back into each cookie. Note the "before and after" of this step:

Before:

  

After:

Not a big deal, but one you should be aware of when you make these.

Also--as you can see from the photos, the six ounces of chips is more than ample; to reduce costs a bit, you could cut back on the chips and save those not used for another purpose. (They might also be easier to handle if the ratio of chips to batter was slightly different!)

Chocolate Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies

1/4 c canola oil
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1/3 c cocoa
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 t soda
6 oz white chocolate chips
3 c rolled oats, quick (not instant) variety

1. Combine the first six ingredients and beat until smooth.
2. Stir the baking soda into the flour and then add to the batter. Combine until well mixed.
3. Stir in the chips and then the rolled oats.  (It is much easier to get the chips well blended by putting them in first).
4.  Drop by tablespoons onto a lightly greased baking sheet, pressing the chips into the dough as needed.
5.  Bake at 350 degrees about 8 to 10 minutes, until the cookies barely spring back after touching with a finger in the center. As with most chocolate cookies, be careful not to over-bake! Store tightly covered.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

Variations:

Use semisweet chocolate chips instead of the white variety.
Add 1/2 to 3/4 c chopped walnuts or sliced almonds.

Substitute raisins or dried cranberries for the chips.