Cinnamon Applesauce Cookies
Soft and cake-like, these cinnamon applesauce cookies are an old-fashioned treat with just the right touch of warm spice. An easy, no-chill dough makes them perfect for fall and winter baking!
These cinnamon applesauce cookies come straight from my mom’s recipe box, and they’re as cozy as it gets. Soft, cake-like, and full of apple flavor with just the right hint of spice, they’re a nostalgic favorite I’ll be baking all season long.
If you’re like me and can’t get enough of apple desserts, you might also enjoy the sweet little bites of apple pie cookies, the tender crumb of cinnamon applesauce muffins, or even a comforting applesauce cake to share with friends over a cup of coffee.
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
- Soft and fluffy. Applesauce cookies bake up more cakey than crisp cookies. They are moist, tender, and lightly chewy in the center.
- Quick and easy. No chilling required! Just mix the dough, scoop onto a baking sheet, and you’ll have warm, flavorful cookies ready in minutes. Perfect for fall baking or after school treats!
Ingredients Needed
- Butter: Use room temperature butter so it creams easily with the sugar. If you use unsalted butter, add a pinch more salt to the recipe.
- Brown sugar: Lightly packed brown sugar adds sweetness and gives the cookies a softer, more moist texture than granulated sugar would.
- Egg: Helps bind the ingredients together and gives the cookies structure.
- Flour: Cake flour makes them extra tender and fluffy, but all-purpose flour works too.
- Baking powder & baking soda: A combination of both ensures the cookies rise well and keep their light texture.
- Cinnamon: The warm spice that makes these applesauce cookies smell and taste like fall.
- Applesauce: The star ingredient! It keeps the cookies moist and adds natural apple flavor. You can use store-bought (unsweetened or lightly sweetened) or try my homemade applesauce for an even fresher taste.
personal Note
In Italy, applesauce isn’t sold in grocery stores, so I always make my own for baking. It’s quick, easy, and has the thick texture these cookies need. A friend of mine once loved these applesauce cookies so much he came back twice in the same day for more, proof this old recipe is a keeper!
How to Make Applesauce Cookies
To start, in a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Sifting helps remove any lumps and keeps the cookies nice and light.
In another bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until smooth and fluffy, then beat in the egg.
Next, add the dry ingredients a little at a time, alternating with the applesauce.
Stir just until everything comes together. Don’t overmix or the cookies can turn out dense.
Drop spoonfuls of dough (about the size of a golf ball) onto parchment-lined baking sheets, then bake until lightly golden, about 10–12 minutes. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the pan before moving them to a wire rack.
recipe Tips
- Best flavor. These cookies are delicious fresh from the oven, but the flavor actually gets even better the next day once the spices have had time to settle. They never last that long in my house though!
- Garnish. A light dusting of powdered sugar is always pretty, or try drizzling them with the maple glaze from my cinnamon apple strudel or the maple frosting from apple butter cinnamon rolls.
- Mix-ins. For extra flavor and texture, stir in raisins, chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or even a handful of quick or rolled oats.
- Food processor shortcut. The dough can be made in a food processor instead of mixing by hand. Just pulse until combined, quick and easy.
- Cake flour substitute. If you don’t have cake flour, measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour, remove 2 tablespoons, and replace with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Sift well.
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)
- 1 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 2 cups cake flour (or you can substitute with all purpose flour which make them spread less and more firm)
- 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)
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
How to store the applesauce cookies
The cookies should be stored in an airtight container, they will keep for 1-2 days at room temperature (depending on the warmth of your house) or 4-5 days in the fridge. They can also be stored in the freezer in a freezer safe container for up to two months.Nutrition
Republished from Feb 5, 2016.
Recipe FAQs
How should I store applesauce cookies?
Once cooled, keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Their flavor actually deepens after the first day.
Can I freeze them?
Yes! Place the cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container or bag, separating layers with parchment paper. Freeze for up to 2 months, then thaw at room temperature before serving.
Can I add more spice?
Of course. A little nutmeg and allspice (about ¼ teaspoon each) will give the cookies even more warm fall flavor.
Can I replace the butter?
You can swap in coconut oil if you prefer. The cookies may bake up even more cake-like, but still soft and delicious.
Can I add texture on top of the cookies before baking?
Yes! A simple streusel topping, like the one from my apple pie streusel cake, works beautifully. Or just sprinkle a few nuts and a little cinnamon sugar on top for extra crunch.
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Hi, Rosemary. May I ask, do you mean ‘soft’ like having a bit cake-like texture inside and crispy on the outside?
Hi Donna, I would say the whole cookie was quite soft. Take care!
Hi which is the correct amount of flour as you have 280g and then you have 230g same with all other ingredients which are correct please?
Hi Tony, sorry about that, some of these are old recipes that haven’t been updated, the new updated measurements are showing now. Thanks.
They turned out so good. I added some sliced almonds on top before I put them in the oven. Perfect level of sweetness in this cookie and I like how they turned out soft and moist.Great recipe, Thank you!
Hi Christine, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed them and great idea with the almonds. Take care!
Great with store bought apple sauce as well. Icing sugar on top is a must. Would be good to add some caramel or butterscotch chocolate chips next time.
Hi MC, thanks so much and yes adding chips is a great idea! Take care.
Can I change out the sugar for maple syrup? If so how much do I use? I’m making these for my toddler hence the swap
Hi Shaynie, I am not sure it would work because when you substitute with maple syrup you have remove some liquid in the recipe, for every cup of maple syrup you would remove 3/4 cup of liquid. But there isn’t any liquid in the recipe, What about honey? Since honey is sweeter try using 1/2 – 3/4 cup for the one cup of sugar. Maybe add a bit more flour if needed. Hope that helps. Let me know if you try it. Take care!
I really liked the texture of these cookies. I could not find chunky applesauce and I didn’t have any apples so i used regular jarred applesauce. I sprinkled them while warm with a cinnamon sugar mix I use for squash, toast and muffins. Very good.
Hi Barb, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed them. Take care!
Made these with half spelt flour, half all purpose with the zest of an orange + lemon, a half tsp of vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice mix instead of cinnamon. The batter definitely needed 15-20 mins to chill in the freezer before going in the oven and took a few extra mins to bake – the result was a delicious muffin bar / cake batter cookie (IYKYK), perfect for little ones!
Thanks, glad you liked it. Take care!
I made it just like u did super good .the grandkids loved them
Hi Geo, thanks so much, glad your grandkids enjoyed them. Take care!
Great recipe turned out just like the pictures. Taste wonderful as well. Real runny dough but baked just right.
Hi Dustin, thanks so much, glad you enjoy them. Take care!
No sure mine came out as intended. I am big on batch cooking so doubled everything in the mix, but this didn’t make what I would call a ‘batter’ that would drop so I added a lost more apple sauce to thin to what I was expecting. Seasoning and sweetness are lovely for my taste( though husband said he can’t taste the apple) but the texture is not what I was expecting for a cookie. Not at all crisp. Instead rather soggy (they curve when you pick them up) and more like a flat muffin. Still did like the taste so would like to try again if you can advise what I might do to make them a bit more crisp.
Best thing – great way to use up mountains of applesauce from my freezer which I made last autumn from our bumper apple crop.
Hi Ruth, I think you probably added too much applesauce, they are a softer cookie rather than crispy. 🙂
These were okay. I only baked a few and then adjusted the recipe and baked a few more and kept going like that, making several adjustments. The original recipe comes out fine. I was worried they’d be flat with the thin batter, but they weren’t. They were, however, bland and not very sweet, even after dusting with powdered sugar. At the very least, I think they need double the amount of cinnamon. That helped the most. I added 1/4 cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup of flour, but if I make them again I think I’ll increase that to 1/2 cup of white sugar (and maybe then decrease the brown sugar to 3/4 cup). I added raisins to a few, which is also a nice addition.
I didn’t see an oven temperature. I’m going to go with 325 unless someone tells me otherwise.
Hi Elaine, the oven temperature is the first sentence in the instructions. 🙂 It’s actually 400F. Take care!
The cookies were delish, but rather flat, b. Soda and powder were fresh . All in all they were enjoyed !
Hi Kathy, glad you enjoyed them, if you use all purpose (at least 11% protein) they won’t be as flat. Take care!
Wonderful…. Added walnuts and raisins whole family loved them
Hi Maria, thanks so much, glad you like it and great idea with adding walnuts and raisins. Take care!
can you freeze the dough to make later?
Hi Mango, yes you can, it will keep wrapped well and placed in a freezer bag or container for up to three months. You could also freeze the dough dropped on the baking sheet, freeze covered until firm then move the dough balls to a freezer container, separate the layers with parchment paper. Hope that helps. Take care!
Has anyone tried these with 1:1 gluten-free flour?
I used gluten free flour 1:1.
Recipe worked fine.