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Applesauce Cookies

These applesauce cookies are moist, chewy, cake-like cookies made without eggs. Simply spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg for fall and seasonal snacking.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 13 minutes
Total Time 38 minutes
Servings: 44
Cuisine: Chinese
Calories: 120
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Main Ingredients
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour (420-grams)
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
  • 0.5 teaspoon salt
  • 0.25 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (slightly melted (cold butter from fridge, 30 seconds on high in the microwave))
  • 1 cup granulated sugar (200-grams)
  • 0.5 cup light brown sugar (packed, 100-grams)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 0.5 cup unsweetened applesauce

Method
 

Preparation Steps
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, corn starch, ground cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground nutmeg. Set the dry mixture aside for now.
  2. In a separate large bowl, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar and vanilla extract until well combined (about 2 minutes).
  3. Beat the applesauce into the wet ingredients just until combined.
  4. Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture and beat on low speed just until combined (until you no longer see dry ingredients). Be careful not to mix the cookie dough too much or the cookies won’t bake up nice and chewy.
  5. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  6. Using a 2-tablespoon sized cookie scoop, scoop balls of cookie dough onto the parchment lined baking sheet then use your hands to shape them into smooth round balls. The cookies can be close together but not touching for this step.
  7. Place the tray of unbaked cookies in freezer for 15 minutes. Freezing the cookies before baking helps to prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking.
  8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  9. Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper, take some cookies out of the freezer then place those cookies on the second baking sheet. Leave the rest of the cookies in the freezer until you are ready to bake them. Bake the cookies all from frozen. When baking, cookies should be at least 2 inches from each other on the baking sheet since the cookies will spread a bit while cooking. Bake only one tray of cookies at a time to ensure an even baking temperature for all cookies.
  10. Bake each tray of cookies for 13 to 14 minutes. The tops should look set (no longer wet) but the cookies will still look slightly under baked in the middle. The cookies will finish baking on the hot baking sheet after it is removed from the oven. Do not over bake the cookies or they’ll become dried out. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet before removing.
  11. Store cookies in a sealed food safe container at room temperature for up to 4 days or in freezer for up to 2 months.

Notes

Can I freeze these Applesauce Cookies? Yes, these cookies can be frozen for up to two months. Be sure to seal them well in a food-safe bag or container. Bring the cookies back to room temperature before serving. Let the cookies cool completely before transferring them to the freezer to prevent them from sticking together once frozen. Why is My cookie dough too sticky and wet to handle? It sounds like the butter melted too much or not enough flour was added. Try covering the cookie dough bowl with plastic wrap and then place it in the fridge for an hour. You can then try to work with the dough again. If the cookies spread too much during baking, that’s a sign that not enough flour was used. Use a food scale to best measure the flour in all your recipes.