Heatlhy Oatmeal Raisin Applesauce Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Applesauce CookiesThese cookies are perfect for your little toddler who loves cookies, but you want to make sure is getting a healthy balanced diet.  I would make these for my toddler’s play group and I would not feel bad about letting them eat a few (although I tend to make them a little smaller, perfect for toddler hands).  All the parents loved them and would always ask me for the recipe, so here it is:

1 1/4 C applesauce (in place of butter)
3/4 C firmly packed brown sugar
2 C honey (in place of refined white sugar)
1 egg (or 1/4 C egg substitute)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 C wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3 C Oats

1 1/2 C Raisins

Pre-heat your oven to 375°F degrees. Grease your cookie sheets with a flour based spray (I use Crisco’s with Pillsbury Flour spray) – normally you would not grease your cookie sheets for regular oatmeal raisin cookies, but since we are using apple sauce instead of butter, you will need to grease them (with a flour based spray).  In a large mixing bowl, combine applesauce, brown sugar and honey.  Mix together until fluffy. Slowly mix in your egg or egg substitute and your vanilla and almond extracts. In a separate bowl, fork or whisk together your wheat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Slowly add your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients.  Mix in slowly so that you do not get the flour mixture everywhere.  Mix well. Hand stir in your oats, then your raisins. Take a teaspoon or a cookie dropper and drop cookie dough about an inch and a half apart onto your prepared baking sheet. Bake cookies 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies and 10 to 11 minutes for crisp cookies. Remove from the oven and let your cookies cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet before removing them to a wire rack.

Baking cookies is a fun activity that your toddler can help with.  My toddler loves to add in each ingredient into the mixing bowl.  Not only is this fun for them and they feel like they are helping, but it also helps with numbers and counting.  Whenever we would take these cookies to playgroup, my toddler would always shout out that he made them himself. 

*Note – These cookies may turn out slightly sticky/wet feeling, due to the replacement of applesauce for butter and honey for sugar.