Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies


With the beginning of the school year already looming over our heads (my three children go to year round school), lazy days are coming to an end for us. I'm already back into school mode with Meet the Teacher nights, schedules and organizing pick ups. This year will be a bittersweet one since it is our oldest's last year in high school. With all of this excitement ready to start here soon, it is important to have healthy snacks on hand since days can get very busy. 

I've mentioned before that my kids love eating fruits and vegetables, but like any kid, they also crave sweets like cookies. While we do have the occasional treat, most of the things I've made for the blog (with the exception of ice cream) has been given to friends, neighbors, and colleagues. There are only a few things that were gone so quickly I didn't have a chance to hand it out (like Nanaimo Bars).

While I was looking for a cookie recipe to make for the kids that would be sweet and treat like but with healthier ingredients and not too terribly high in fat and calories, I came across these Iced Applesauce Cookies in Martha Stewart's Cookies book. The recipe sounded promising, and after a few small modifications, I had a great cookie that was happily eaten by everyone.

To make it more appealing for my kids, I swapped the raisins for craisins since none of them care for the first that much.  I also reduced some of the sugar (they were still plenty sweet), and used all natural applesauce. I also exchanged some of the all purpose flour and replaced it with some whole wheat flour. The glaze for this cookie called for a whopping 1 3/4 cups of powdered sugar which I was able to scale back to only 1 cup along with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. This still yielded more than enough glaze for all the cookies.

This is a great after school, on the go, or even lunchbox snack that I truly feel good about giving to my kids.

Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies
(adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies)

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large eggs
1/2 cup all natural applesauce
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup stone ground whole wheat flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup craisins

For the icing:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon water

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until combined. Add egg and applesauce; mix until well blended, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in oats, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix in craisins.

Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until golden and just set, 13 to 15 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool ion sheets 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack set over parchment paper; let cool completely.

Make icing: Whisk confectioners' sugar, maple syrup, and water until smooth. Drizzle over cookies; let set. Cookies can be storied in single layers in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days. Yield: about 2 1/2 dozen

16 comments:

  1. These cookies sound really, really good.

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  2. Yum! You're such a good mom. Most people would just make the cookies without thought as to how they could be made even healthier.

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  3. Oh, die Cookies wuerden meine auch total gerne moegen. Gerade gestern Abend kam der Wusch nach Oatmeal Raisin cookies auf. Ich mag aber die Rosinen nicht. Dein Rezept gefaellt mir viel besser.
    Wir haben noch einen Monat Ferien, zum Glueck. Ich mag aber year round viel besser, da kann man viel billiger mit den Kids in Urlaub fliegen. Hatten wir auch ein paar Jahre lang.

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  4. I love that these use applesauce instead of oil. The addition of maple syrup in the icing sounds really yummy!

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  5. These look incredible! Will for sure be trying this recipe, thanks!

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  6. These do sound really good, Susi. I love the use of maple syrup in the icing, and your choice of craisins. I'll bet my boys would like these too. As for starting school soon??? I am relieved to say that we're not at that point yet . . . a month from now I'll be in the same boat.

    :) Jane

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  7. The cookies look wonderful, Susi. I love the changes you made to the base recipe. Oatmeal cookies are among my favorites, so I hope I'll be able to try these soon. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  8. Ohhh! These look amazing :) I love the frosting drizzle; it's the perfect final touch.

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  9. mmmmmm, oatmeal cookies. The cookies look great and definitely something I want to try soon. I love how the drizzle on top makes them look so festive.

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  10. Hallo liebe Susi,

    Nur zu Deiner Info.Ich moechte auf keine Fall, dass Du mich falsch verstehst! Ich denke nur immer, dass wir als foodblogger und auch in die Restaurants die wir besuchen sollten, als Consumer eine Responsibility haben. Ich sah Dein Comment bei" I want to have seconds'. Ich bin mir sicher , dass die meisten Menschen nicht darueber Bescheid wissen. Woher auch. Das wuerde ja den Business der Fischverkaeufer zerstoeren.
    Well, Ich habe meinen Kommentar drangehaengt.


    Susi said...

    Oh that does look delicious! I'm definitely making this one soon!
    July 14, 2010 4:36 PM

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    ReplyDelete
  11. These look soooo good!! Just the thought of apple, cinnamon and oats is a winner in my book!! YUM!

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  12. When I went to school with your daughter she always used to bring us yummy treats. I kind of miss it. :) So I decided to follow your blog to recreate all the yummyness Janine used to bring to school.

    -Amanda

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  13. Amanda - that is really sweet of you! I hope you find some inspiration on my blog :o)

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  14. I have found a lot of recipes lately that call for 'kosher' salt...including this one. I'm not familiar with kosher salt...can regular salt be substituted?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Anonymous, thanks for stopping by my blog :o) Kosher salt does not have the additives like regular table salt, especially when iodized and to me it has a "cleaner, less metallic taste". Depending on the brand the grain size is a lot bigger as well then regular table salt. One of my preferred brands is Diamond Chrystal Kosher Salt. If you choose to use regular table salt, I would reduce the amount to 1/8 tsp. Hope this helps!

      Delete
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