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)

(Printable Recipe)

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