Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Nothing beats a warm tray of chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven, and this recipe for Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies is a game-changer. This healthier cookie is soft, chewy, egg-free, and made with simple pantry staples.
Whether you’re baking for someone with egg allergies, or you just want a delicious twist on classic chocolate chip cookie recipe, these cookies deliver that gooey chocolate chip bite you crave.
Chocolate chip applesauce cookies only require a handful of ingredients and are the perfect treat for the chocolate lover in the family or anyone on a medically restrictive diet. With these chewy cookies all that’s missing is a glass of milk.
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Heather’s Notes
- Egg-Free Perfection – Unsweetened applesauce works as the binder, making these cookies ideal for anyone with egg allergies or dietary restrictions.
- Soft and Chewy Texture – The applesauce keeps the cookies moist, creating a tender bite with every cookie.
- Pantry-Friendly Ingredients – Everything you need is likely already in your kitchen.
- Kid-Approved – Perfect for lunchboxes, after-school snacks, or weekend baking fun.
- Freezer-Friendly – Make a batch, freeze, and enjoy homemade cookies any time.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need to make a batch of this cozy applesauce cookie recipe:
- Butter – Unsalted butter works best for controlling the salt level. Make sure it’s softened to room temperature for easy mixing.
- White Sugar – Provides sweetness and helps create those golden-brown edges.
- Unsweetened Applesauce – The egg substitute that adds moisture and binds the dough. Use plain, unsweetened applesauce to keep the flavor balanced.
- Flour – All-purpose flour is perfect for creating a soft yet sturdy cookie.
- Baking Powder – Gives the cookies a little lift and prevents them from being too dense.
- Kosher Salt – A pinch of salt enhances the sweetness and balances flavors.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – Semi-sweet, milk chocolate chips, or dark chocolate chips melt beautifully and add bursts of chocolate in every bite.
Find the printable recipe card with exact measurements and step-by-step instructions below.
Substitutions & Variations
- Butter-Free Option – Replace butter with coconut oil or vegan butter for a dairy-free cookie. Cooking times may vary.
- Sweetener Swap – Use coconut sugar or light brown sugar for a deeper, caramel-like sweetness.
- Gluten-Free – Substitute with a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend.
- Vegan Option – use vegan chocolate chips and butter for the best vegan chocolate chip cookies.
- Mix-Ins – Add extra chocolate chips, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, or dried cranberries for extra texture and flavor.
- Spice It Up – Stir in a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg for a warm, spiced twist. Add a splash of vanilla extract for even more flavor.
How to Make
- Preheat Oven – Heat your oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream Butter & Sugar – In an bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or large mixing bowl, beat softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add Applesauce – Mix in the unsweetened applesauce until smooth.
- Combine Dry Ingredients – In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix the Dough – Gradually add dry mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined.
- Fold in Chocolate Chips – Gently stir the chocolate chips into .
- Scoop & Bake – Use a cookie scoop or drop tablespoon-sized portions onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.
- Cool & Enjoy – Let warm cookies cool on the sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Tips for Storing
- Room Temperature – Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Refrigerator – Extend freshness by keeping cookies chilled for up to a week.
- Freezer – Freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before enjoying.
- Dough Storage – Freeze cookie dough balls in a zip-top bag for quick, fresh-baked cookies anytime.
FAQs
Yes, but your cookies will be sweeter. Reduce the sugar slightly if using sweetened applesauce.
Applesauce-based cookies tend to be thicker and more cakey. You can flatten the dough slightly before baking to encourage a flatter cookie.
Absolutely! Swap the butter for a plant-based alternative and ensure your chocolate chips are dairy-free.
Avoid over-mixing the dough. Stir until ingredients are just combined. Or reduce baking powder by half and add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda for a chewier cookie.
Yes. Scoop portions of dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, freeze until solid, then store in a freezer bag or airtight container. Bake straight from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the bake time.
More Recipes We Love
- Applesauce Pancakes with Peach Compote
- Pumpkin Spiced Cookies
- Black Cherry Bourbon Soda
- Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft Ginger Cookies
Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup applesauce, unsweetened (homemade or premade)
- 2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips, or raisins or nuts or a mix of all to equal 1 cup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375º F and line baking sheets with parchment or silpats, set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the applesauce and mix to incorporate.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt Add to the butter mixture and mix until just incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- 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.
Save this Recipe!
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Notes
Nutrition
* Nutritional information is not guaranteed to be accurate.
Did you try this recipe?
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Co-Founder at Spiceology | More About Heather…
Heather is a recipe developer and content creator living in Vancouver, Washington. She started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006, almost 20 years ago, as a way to share recipes with friends and family. Heather is also the co-founder of Spiceology , a unique spice company, which she started in 2013. She shares family friendly recipes for easy everyday meals with a gourmet twist.
Yes love them!
I really love this recipe and hope you will too!
These turned out really yummy. I use a whole pkg. of chocolate chips. Parchment paper on a cookie sheet works great. 12 min was perfect. My husband absolutely loves these.
So glad you and your husband loved them. I tend to just toss in the whole bag of chips too…YOLO, right? 🙂 Thanks for commenting!! ~heather
Can I make these with oil instead of butter? I don’t have any right now lol
Tried these today and I added craisins, walnuts and dark chocolate chips. Awesome!
Love these cookies! Printing out and saving in my cookbook. I used M&Ms instead of chocolate chips, my daughter and her friend ate them up!
This is an awesome recipe! I added a teaspoon freshly squeezed orange juice to the apple sauce and then substituted chopped Lindt’s chili dark chocolate for the chocolate chips! Amazing!
So glad you enjoyed these cookies. They are a go-to in our house. We <3 them! Thanks for popping back to comment.
Instead of apple sauce, I used fresh apricot sauce that I made. I like eating whole apricots but found I don’t like sauce. Instead of throwing it out I found your recipe and thought there can’t be much difference in using a different type of fruit sauce and it worked! They taste great! I also used brown sugar instead of white sugar. Baked for only 10min at 350.
I decided to make these… I did everything right, or so I thought. After making one pan full, I realized something wasn’t right. After looking over the ingredients again, I realized that I had left out the backing soda! 🙁 So, I mixed in some and put the next batch in. They, finally, poofed up and got rounded! At least I know what happens if you don’t have baking soda now…
I have done that in the past as well!! It’s easy to do for sure!! Glad you caught it and were able to salvage them. Chalk it up as today’s science experiment. 🙂 ~Heather
This recipe does sound good from what I’ve read. I can’t wait try to try this. Do you have a calorie count per cookie? Also, is there a recipe for a double-chocolate chip cookie in your recipe collection? I’m new at this whole cookie baking thing.
This recipe was very good. I added 1 tsp vanilla and substituted 1/2 cup brown and 1/2 cup white sugars in lieu of solely white sugar. Thank you for sharing.
I like your version. And I didn’t notice that the recipe didn’t call for Vanilla. I think Vanilla should always be an ingredient for cookies and cakes. Thanks.
As a person allergic to eggs, this recipe was a great find. I was hoping my cookies would look more like the ones pictured and maybe have a bit of crispness to them, but I guess I made them “right” as they are
Cake-like, but yummy. Thanks for sharing!
@Kate679 – You could replace the butter with applesauce, but be prepared for them to be a little tough. Not as cakey. I’ve done it before with Oatmeal cookies using only applesauce and they were good. Give it a shot and let me know how it goes.
Made these today and YUM! I replaced the sugar with 2/3C agave, dropped oven temp to 350 and baked for 12 min – so good!
While I love to bake, I’m not good at subbing items, but am wondering if you could use more applesauce in place of the butter?
I concur with the No Egg?!? I am waiting for mine to bake now and we’ll see.
Can’t wait to try this out! Looks delicious!
No egg?
These are the most tasty cookies! I used a chunky apple sauce and they are so moist and yummy! Next time, we’ll be doubling the recipe!
Love this lower fat recipe. Perfect for us watching our intake!
@tastesbetterwithfriends Thanks Ethan for allowing me to share this great recipe! Your Grandma was on to something with these cookies. Delish!
They look great heather! I too thought about using chocolate chips, but I decided i’d start with the recipe as is, but good to see they are just as good!
Thanks for doing my grandma’s recipe proud:)
Love these cookies! I just made them too and couldn’t stop eating them, so additive. I used nuts but anything with chocolate makes me happy!! 🙂