These Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies are soft and chewy cookies. easy to prepare in 10 minutes with minimal ingredients. They are filling, low in calories, and low in sugar but packed with oats to keep you full and keep your sugar cravings at bay.
While the whole recipe is just below, don’t miss all my tips further down, including ingredient swaps, my cooking tips, and step-by-step shots!
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Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies
These Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies are soft and chewy cookies. easy to prepare in 10 minutes with minimal ingredients. They are filling, low in calories, and low in sugar but packed with oats to keep you full and keep your sugar cravings at bay.
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Servings: 6 cookies
Calories: 94.2 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cups Quick Oats - (note 1)
- ½ cup Applesauce - (note 2)
- 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup - (note 3)
Optional – pick one or all for extra flavors
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon - (note 4)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly oil with oil spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir quick oats, applesauce, and maple syrup. Add cinnamon and vanilla extract if used.
- Stir with a rubber spatula until everything is well combined and a wet batter forms.
- Oil your hands with mild-flavor oil, grab 1 1/2 tablespoons of cookie dough – it's wet, but should stick together if you squeeze gently and roll into a ball. Place the ball on the baking sheet. Lightly oil a small square of parchment paper. Place the oiled side on top of the cookie dough ball, and use a flat tool (jam jar lid) to press and rotate. This will flatten the cookie into a nice, round, flat shape.
- If the sides of the cookies crack a bit, use your oiled fingertips to pat and reform a round circle. The cookies won't expand or change size in the oven. The shape you give now is the shape you get at the end.
- Repeat the step above until all the cookie dough has been shaped – I made 9 cookies in total.
- Bake the cookies on the center rack of the oven at 350°F (180°C) for 15-20 minutes until the sides of the cookies get lightly golden brown. The timing depends on the texture you like. After 15 minutes, they are soft. After 20 minutes, they are drier and chewier. They won't crunch as there's no added crystal sugar.
- Let the cookies cool down on the baking sheet for 10 minutes at room temperature, then for 20 minutes on a cooling rack.
- Eat plain, or dust cinnamon on top, or drizzle some royal icing.
Notes
Note 1: Rolled oats make the cookies fragile; they fall apart. That’s why I recommend quick oats. If you don’t have it in store, make yours. Add rolled oats to a food processor, pulse 2-3 times to break the rolled oats into smaller pieces. Measure now. Gluten-free use quinoa flakes, or gluten-free certified quick oats if available.
Note 2: You can use sweetened applesauce or mashed banana.
Note 3: To boost the cookie sweetness, you can swap for the same amount of peanut butter or sunflower seed butter to remove the added sugar and add protein.
Note 4: Recommended for flavor. You can also use pumpkin pie spices or apple spices.
Nutrition Booster: Since the cookies are flat, you can’t add thick chopped nuts, or if you do, keep the cookie thicker. It means they will also be softer in the center. For flat cookies, add flat seeds like 1/4 cup hemp seeds for proteins, or sesame seeds, or sunflower seeds.
Oven Mode: I use the fan-forced (convection) mode. If you have to use conventional mode, I recommend increasing the temperature by 25°F (15 °C). The baking time should be the same, but it might take a few more minutes.
Storage: The cookies store well at room temperature in a sealed box for 2 days, or 4 days in the fridge, or 1 month in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature the day before.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 94.2kcal | Carbohydrates: 19.3g | Protein: 2.5g | Fat: 1.3g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Sodium: 1.6mg | Potassium: 96mg | Fiber: 2.1g | Sugar: 6.2g | Vitamin A: 6.9IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 19.9mg | Iron: 0.9mg | Magnesium: 50.9mg | Phosphorus: 83.8mg | Zinc: 0.6mg
Ingredients and Substitutions
This paragraph gives you all my tips about picking the right ingredients. For the full recipe with measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post!Go to Full Recipe
You only need 3 simple ingredients to make this recipe. Here’s how to pick and swap them.
- Quick Oats – This is the main ingredient that gives the cookies their structure and a soft, chewy texture. Using quick oats is key because they absorb moisture easily and help the cookies hold their shape.
- Applesauce – This ingredient provides natural sweetness and moisture while acting as a binder, so you don’t need eggs or oil in the base recipe. You can also use mashed banana for a sweeter result.
- Maple Syrup – This liquid sweetener adds a subtle sweetness and helps to bind the ingredients together.
How to Make Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies in Pictures
Carine’s Baking Tips
Let me share a few more tips for a perfect applesauce oatmeal cookies.
- Boost Flavors – Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract or cinnamon to the cookie dough to give your cookies an extra boost of flavor.
- Add Texture – To make the cookies thicker and add more texture, you can stir in 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts, pecans, or dried cranberries.
- Melted Topping – For a sweet topping, place a few chocolate chips on top of the warm cookies right after they come out of the oven. The residual heat will melt them.
- Serving Suggestion – Serve these cookies with a dollop of peanut butter yogurt dip for a healthy and satisfying snack.
Absolutely fabulous recipe , I added cinnamon and ginger powder to it and some seed mix on top . Loved by the whole family . Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes x
Thank you ! I love your idea of adding ginger, yum!
Thank you!