Try this Caramel Applesauce Cookies recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream
- 1 (225 g) cup sugar
- 1/2 cup (102 g) shortening
- 1 cup (250 g) applesauce
- 2 cups (240 g) flour
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (100 g) packed brown sugar
- 1 cup (110 g) confectioners' sugar
- Carbohydrate 0.139864444268078 g
- Cholesterol 15.6181481480009 mg
- Fat 4.22282788885649 g
- Fiber 0.0179803698363128 g
- Protein 0.244688925804053 g
- Saturated Fat 2.63889181479464 g
- Serving Size 1 1 cookie (8g)
- Sodium 32.5305185146524 mg
- Sugar 0.121884074431765 g
- Trans Fat 0.306795518516861 g
- Calories 39 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer, mix sugar and shortening together until well combined. Add egg and applesauce. Mix well, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low, slowly add in dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of batter on lined cookie sheet. Cookies should be about ½-inch in diameter.
- Bake at 375° F for 8-10 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.
- While cookies are cooling, prepare frosting.
- In a medium saucepan, combine butter, heavy cream and brown sugar over medium heat. Stir occasionally until mixture just begins to boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Let the mixture cool and then stir in the confectioners' sugar.
- Using a spoon, spread frosting over cookies. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.
Why is the dough so wet? Unsweetened applesauce introduces a high volume of free water into baked goods, which prevents the flour from forming the rigid gluten network typical of drop cookies. Standard drop cookie dough can be rolled into balls, but this formulation yields a softer batter that requires a spoon to place on the parchment paper. Controlling that moisture determines whether the finished texture remains cake-like or turns soggy.
- Bake these at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for exactly 8 to 10 minutes, pulling them when the bottom edges show a pale golden rim rather than waiting for the tops to brown.
- Use smooth, unsweetened applesauce to prevent unexpected pockets of sugar and added liquid from altering the density of the batter.
- Allow the boiled butter, heavy cream, and brown sugar mixture to cool slightly before incorporating the confectioners' sugar to prevent the frosting from breaking or separating.
- Store baked and frosted cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days, placing parchment paper between the layers to prevent sticking.
Freezing works well for the unfrosted baked cookies if storage needs to extend beyond a few days. Thaw them completely at room temperature before applying a freshly prepared batch of caramel frosting.
