The recipe below is not my Mémére's recipe, in fact it pales in comparison. Unfortunately as I age I try to avoid excessive fats and cookies when made well and with love are full of butter fat, which while I love cookies made with butter, my doctor is not a fan of me enjoying them.
Also fibre is a big deal when you start to go grey and this recipe delivers a good cookie with a ton of fibre, not a child's favourite cookie by any means but I like them and that's all that counts.
1 cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup white sugar
2 egg whites
2 whole eggs
1 ⅓ cups unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups whole wheat or multi-grain flour (bread flour makes them chewier,
my preference)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg, fresh ground is best
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
¼ cup Raw or Turbinado sugar
Preheat oven to 350° F
Place brown sugar, white sugar, egg whites, whole eggs, applesauce and
vanilla in a large bowl and mix well for 2 minutes.
Place flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg into a separate
bowl and whisk ingredients together. Add to the egg/applesauce mixture. Mix for
2 minutes to incorporate all the ingredients together.
Once flour is mixed well add the oats, walnuts and the sunflower seeds
to the mixture. Mix well.
Dampen your hands with water and roll balls of dough into golf ball or
smaller sized balls.
Place on greased cookie sheets or line cookie tray with
parchment paper.
Flatten cookies with a wet fork. This is important! Because the cookie
dough has no butter in it, the cookie will come out of the oven the same
thickness or size as it went into the oven.
Sprinkle a large pinch of Turbinado sugar over the top of the cookie before baking.
Bake for about 12 minutes, or until slightly brown at the edges.
Serve with milk, fruit and enjoy the heck out of them. Not mémére's cookie for sure, but nothing will ever be...
Makes 4 dozen or so, depends on the size of yer balls ma'am...
Note: These cookies will be very moist, unlike cookies made with butter. The applesauce lacks the fat that normally allows the cookies to age and not go bad. When cooking with applesauce you need to ensure you do not store these in a cookie jar with a tight fitting lid.
Keep them in a bowl open to the air and freeze surplus until required. Thaw in a bowl at room temperature.
Keep them in a bowl open to the air and freeze surplus until required. Thaw in a bowl at room temperature.