Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
For a second there I thought that we had already entered Winter here in Tennessee, but fortunately for us the past week it has been pretty decent Fall weather in my opinion. While home for Thanksgiving my mom mad an apple pie. She usually does the typical peach cobbler but decided to do something different this time and I fell in love with it! So it brought back this great idea for Fall desserts!! I looooooove apple desserts! Apples are overshadowed by pumpkin around this time of year, but since I am not a pumpkin fan I’m all things apple right now! Apples are so in season so I had to create this semi healthy apple cinnamon oatmeal cookie!
These apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies have climbed to the tippy top of my favorite cookie list. How unpredictable. Because if you have been following me on social media you know I am a donuts girl! I basically just took one of my oatmeal bar recipes and made it into a cookie! Of course I had to switch some ingredients around because cookies are made from dough! I also used some of my nutrition background (my experimental foods course) to switch out some of the not so healthy ingredients with some healthier ingredients. And let me tell you it turned out freaking AMAZING!!
I actually had to do two rounds of these to get the recipe just right. The first time they turned out a little dry and cakey, though the flavor seemed to be on point. And looking back, I know now that it was mostly a ratio thing; not enough oats, too much flour and applesauce etc.
So I revisited things and here’s what to love about today’s cookies:
Chewy with crisp edges
Soft and moist centers
Flavorful, spiced, and chunky
Some science for you!
These are quick and easy. The first ingredient is unsalted butter, not too hot and not too cool. Too hot and the dough and cookies will become an oily puddle a total mess. Too cool and your cookies will taste a little too cakey. So what I did was melted the butter and set it aside for 10 minutes as I prep the rest of the ingredients. It’s still warm, but not extremely hot.
Next = sugars. I like to use dark brown sugar in recipes this time of year though light or dark are equally delicious. You’ll scarf them down no matter which you use! For extra apple flavor, whisk in some applesauce. I recommend using unsweetened applesauce. I find the apple flavor is much more pronounced when there isn’t a bunch of added sugar in its way.
Applesauce can usually make cookies taste a little rubbery, but the melted butter will keep the chewy texture in check.
For the apple chunks, make sure they’re pretty small. There’s only 1/2 cup of apple chunks– you can probably get away with 2/3 cup, but any more than that will lend too much moisture. Between those and the applesauce, there’s still plenty of flavor. I also added lots of cinnamon and apple pie spice, if you have it. If you don’t have any, just use a little extra cinnamon.
More oats than flour = chewier cookie. You’ll need 2 cups of whole oats and only 1 cup of flour. The oats will soak up a lot of the moisture if you let the cookie dough sit for too long. This isn’t a bad thing, but I find the centers are softer. You’ll get a better cookie if you bake them right away (impatience wins today). Though I will say the cookies have 50x more flavor the next day if you can actually wait!!
I wasn’t going to top these with any sort of glaze or icing, but then I remembered a maple icing recipe from a friend and the rest was history!
Ingredients
2 cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats
1 cup almond flour (regular flour works fine)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice (or an extra tsp cinnamon)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce*
3/4 cup packed dark or light brown sugar (I prefer dark here)
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup finely diced honey crisp apple (about 1/2 of a large apple)
optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Maple Icing (optional)
1 and 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 Tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
Instructions
Feel free to chill this cookie dough for 1-2 hours after step 4–before rolling and baking. Enjoy!
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Whisk the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and apple pie spice (if using) together in a large bowl.
Whisk the butter, applesauce, brown sugar, and white sugar together until combined. Then whisk in the egg and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Fold in the apples and walnuts. The cookie dough will be thick and sticky.
Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough into balls (about 2 Tbsp of dough each) and place 3 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Slightly flatten the balls out– see picture above– as the cookies won’t spread much unless you help out first!
Bake for 14-15 minutes or until lightly browned and set on the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before icing.
Make the icing: Whisk all of the ingredients together and drizzle over cookies. You may have a little icing leftover. Drizzle more on each… it’s so good!
Notes
Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Iced cookies stay fresh covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Their flavor is even better on day 2! You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 5. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw.
Applesauce: Make sure you are using a thick applesauce. Anything too liquid-y could cause excess spreading.
So here’s to this yummy Fall dessert that is good anytime of the year! Make these at your next gathering and let me know in the comments below what a hit they were with your guest!