Cinnamon Applesauce Cookies
Cinnamon Applesauce Cookies, a healthier cookie, the perfect snack or dessert. A delicious homemade applesauce makes these cookies even yummier! Everyone will love these including kids.
I haven’t posted a recipe for cookies in a while, but when I found Cinnamon Applesauce Cookies in my mother’s recipe cards, I knew I had to try them.
Sweetened with less sugar and more applesauce I guess you could call them a healthier cookie.
Since I can’t get applesauce in Italy I made my own. So simple and easy, very similar to my Apple Pie Filling.
More Apple Recipes you may enjoy!
- Maple Caramel Apple Cheesecake
- Homemade Apple Pie Cookies
- Apple Butter Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Frosting
- Homemade Cinnamon Apple Strudel
I added very little water because I needed a thick applesauce for these Cinnamon Apple Sauce Cookies. Canned works just fine, but what the heck it really doesn’t take long to make it homemade.
And it is so good and probably a lot healthier than canned.
I have made these Cinnamon Applesauce Cookies a few times, and a couple of times I made the dough with my food processor. Mix it all together, no need to refrigerate the dough, make it and bake it.
They come out soft, moist and almost cake like and you can dust them with a little powdered sugar if you like or eat plain.
I noticed my Mom had written that they were better if you to let them rest for a day before eating, so that the cinnamon and apple would mingle really well together. Can’t say they lasted that long in my house.
I have never seen cookies go so fast. (actually the Thick Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies came really close).
A friend of ours came over for coffee in the morning, ate a couple of cookies and then came back in the afternoon for another coffee and another couple of cookies. He said they were that good. Enjoy!
Cinnamon Applesauce Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter (room temperature) (105 grams)
- 1 cup brown sugar (lightly packed) (200 grams)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 2 cups cake flour (or you can substitute with all purpose flour) (230 grams)
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter add ½ teaspoon salt)
- 1 cup thick applesauce (unsweetened or very lightly sweetened-store bought or homemade) (200 grams)
HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE
- 4 medium apples (peeled, cored and chopped)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400° (200° celsius), line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE (makes approximately 2 cups) 400 grams)
- In a medium pot add chopped apples, water and lemon juice, cover and cook on low for approximately 15-20 minutes or until apples are soft, add 1 tablespoon sugar mash with a potato masher and continue cooking on low for approximately 5 minutes or until thickened. Let cool. Refrigerate unused applesauce, use within a week.
- Sift cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl.
- In a medium bowl cream together butter and brown sugar add egg blend about 2 minutes, add sifted dry ingredients alternately with the applesauce, combine until just combined.
- Drop batter by spoonfuls (about the size of a golf ball) on prepared cookie sheets, bake for approximately 10-12 minutes until lightly golden. Keep in cool dry place, best if let to sit for 1 day before eating. (If you can wait) Enjoy! Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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Republished from Feb 5, 2016.
Hi Rose,
Thank you for this recipe. Perfect treat to share with my officemates. Can I use sugar substitute or sugar blend to sub brown sugar? Can I also use shortening to sub butter? Thank you so much!
Myla
Hi Myla, I have never made it with substitutes, but it should work, let me know how it goes. Take care.
How do I substitute the butter for dairy free? I probably could mix coconut oil and Smart Balance, but I don’t know the measurements.
Hi Amy, apparently you can do a 1 for 1 with coconut oil. I have never made them with coconut oil so I can’t say 100%, but it should work. Let me know if you try it.
These are a lovely way to use applesauce. Mine came out fluffy, domed and aromatic (I used high grade bread flour). Next time I’ll add less salt though – it’s a little too much. I used salted butter. Perhaps you did not.
Just took these out of the oven. I made no changes just additions~more cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg plus raisin and chopped walnuts. YUMMY. I make my own home applesauce so I used that. My husband likes them a whole bunch.
Hi Patricia, thanks so much glad you both enjoyed them. Have a great weekend.
Left a comment and forgot to do the rating!
I made these today, as written, including the home made applesauce. I used cake flour, which I forgot to sift. However, no problem. I used a 3 cm cookie scoop, my smallest, and the recipe yielded about three dozen. I say about because the house Cookie Monster, who is six feet tall, inhaled a few. So much for keeping them overnight before eating! I will have to hide some. The batter had an interesting, very light texture which is why I scooped them. It was almost like an airy muffin batter. I baked them at 400 Fahrenheit, on convection, because I live at altitude. My scoops were done in about 9 minutes My baked cookies are about 7 cm across, and gently domed, about 1.5 cm in the centres. Definitely not flat. They are more cake like in texture than most cookies I make, but I am happy with them They smell lovely and the Cookie Monster gives them two thumbs up. Thank you for this one, Rosemary. Will definitely make it again.
Hi Bonnie, thanks so much glad you and the cookie monster enjoyed them. And thank you for sharing all the info, very helpful. Have a great weekend.
Cookies are in the oven right now. Very disappointed as they have spread & are going to be flat. My baking soda & baking powder are new so that’s not the problem. The cookies appear higher & cake-like in the picture. Bummed ☹️ I have rest of cookie dough chilling. They taste good but are flat. 🤔
Hi Anita, could depend on the flour. You need a high protein flour (12% or higher), whenever I use Italian flour my cookies go flat too. Let me know.
You know what? I used Italian flour! I have some issues with wheat so I ordered Italian flour that isn’t hybridized like flour in the U.S. So you are saying that might be why the cookies flattened out & had smooth tops? Maybe I could just add more flour? I am going to try making with regular flour & see how they bake up. They are delicious though! I did make my own applesauce too so that can’t be the problem.
Hi Anita, yes then it’s the flour, I can guarantee it. When I first came to Italy (and had no idea about the difference in flour and protein amounts) I wanted to make my Mom’s crescent cookies and whipped shortbread, so I used regular Italian flour and yes, completely flat, they tasted the same but flat. I was so disappointed. Then after I started the blog and I did some research on flour I discovered why that was. I had my daughter make the cookies in Canada and they were fine, all due to the flour, I purchased high protein flour here (Manitoba flour) and they turn out perfect. And adding more flour won’t help and neither will refrigerating the dough. I tried it all. 🙂 Let me know.
It seems to be very good.
Thanks Linda, have a great weekend.
I have one simple question (I hope). I have canned/bottled apple sauce and am confused by the recipe. Do I use one cup of it or two cups? It is not home made. Thank you.
Hi Sue, well the homemade applesauce makes two cups, but you only need one cup for the recipe. The applesauce should be quite thick though. Hope this helps. 🙂
Hi can I use almond flower or whole wheat flour
Hi Din, I would recommend it because it will change the texture and taste of the cookies. Sorry about that.
i used 1 cup almond flour and 1 cup flour and they turned out great. i also added cranberries to half the batter and cooked 4 minutes longer…smeared a bit of cream cheese frosting on those while still hot and Oh My!
Hi Tracie, thanks so much, sounds delicious.
Regarding the applesauce cookie recipe. Can you use regular flour instead of cake Flour?
Hi Bonnie, yes regular flour will be fine. I hope you enjoy them.
Hi Rosemary what a great tasting cookie. I make my own applesauce so when I saw this recipe I just had to make them. They are easy to make and delicious.
Thanks for sharing.
Mil
Hi Mil, thanks so glad you like them and with homemade applesauce even better. Have a wonderful weekend.
These cookies appeal to me very much. Your instructions call for a thick applesauce, and my applesauce is quite thin. How can I adjust the recipe to compensate for this?
Hi Mara, you will have to add more cake flour, but add a tablespoon at a time until you reach the proper dough consistency (check the video for that). Depending on the amount of flour (any more than 1/2 cup) you may add a little more cinnamon and a tblsp of brown sugar. But I think the rest should be ok. Hope that helps. Let me know how it goes.
Can’t wait to try these! I was just wondering what is the serving size (that has 157kcal), is it one cookie? Thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Veronika, thanks and yeah that’s for one cookie, although they are pretty big. 🙂
Have you ever doubled the recipe?
Hi Julie, I have never doubled the recipe but I am sure you could. 🙂
What a delicious cookie! I used 1/4 cup pumpkin purée in place of the egg, due to my son’s egg allergy. They were a hit for the whole family. Thanks for sharing this delightful recipe.
Hi Jennifer, thanks so much and a great idea thanks for sharing. 🙂