Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies

Many thanks go to Ethan Adeland’s Grandmother for this recipe and to Ethan for allowing me to share the deliciousness with all of you.

These cookies are soft, cakey and have just the right amount of spice to them.  They are devine little morsels and definitely are a keeper in my book.  So disclaimer time – I love nuts in food when I can see it like in pasta or salads, but I have to draw the line on baked goods.  For me, there’s something about biting into what looks like a gorgeous cookie and WHAM there’s a nut.  My gag reflex goes in to overdrive!  Gross, I know.  I’m sorry.  So when a recipe for cookies or brownies calls for nuts, I usually swap with raisins or chocolate chips.  It’s the safer route for me personally and anyone in the vicinity of me.  So if you love nuts in your cookies than by all means load em up!  I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as I do!  And my kids.  And my neighbor Anjel.  They really are delicious.

Happy Thursday to you and yours from me!

OK peeps – think ahead.  Don’t be me and try to “room temperature” your butter in the nuker.  It just doesn’t ever turn out the right way.  Hence the gooey butter oozing from the center of the not-so-room-temperature-cube.

Add 1 cup of sugar to the ROOM TEMPERATURE cube of butter and cream it.  Cream it good.  Until light and fluffy!

Add 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce to your sugar butter.  You could use homemade here and have AMAZING results.  I, unfortunately, didn’t have the opportunity to put up applesauce last fall so this is unsweetened applesauce from the store.
For the dry ingredients you need 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg.  Put it all in a bowl and whisk it together to incorporate.  You could also use a sifter, but I like less clean up and the whisk works just as well.
Add the flour to the butter mixture and mix just until combined.  Now decision time.  Nuts, Raisins, Chocolate chips?  A mixture of all?  The choice is yours!  May the Schwartz be with you!

Bake them at 375 for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottoms and the tops are cooked through.  Mine are a tad flat for 2 reasons.  1) I didn’t use room temp butter and 2) I’m still figuring out the correct temps for my convection oven.  So expect yours to be taller and more cake like, assuming you do as I say and not as I do.

Now go forth and make some deliciousness for someone you love.  (that includes YOU).

Happy Baking!

Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies


Ingredients
1/2 c butter, room temperature
1 c white sugar
1 c unsweetened applesauce
2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (you could also use cloves)
1 c chocolate chips (raisins or nuts or a mix of all to equal 1 cup)

Instructions
1 Preheat the oven to 375 and line baking sheets with parchment or silpats, set aside.
2 Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the applesauce and mix to incorporate.
3 In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Add to the butter mixture and mix until just incorporated.  Stir in the chocolate chips.
4 Drop by spoonfuls or use a hinged ice cream scoop and space about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned and the centers are cooked through.
5 Pour a large glass of milk and a plate of cookie deliciousness and enjoy!

* Recipe adapted from Ethan Adeland’s recipe at http://tastesbetterwithfriends.wordpress.com/

Written by

Heather is the author of the food blog Farmgirl Gourmet. An avid home cook, amateur photographer and organic gardener. She lives in Spokane County, Washington where she develops family friendly recipes from her 100 year old kitchen.

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