Healthy Applesauce Cookies
on May 15, 2017, Updated Aug 22, 2024
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Healthy Applesauce Cookies are the perfect breakfast for a busy morning. They are delicious and so easy to make your kids can help with them in the kitchen.
These simple and wholesome cookies are made with whole grains and natural sweetener. Not only are they nutritious, but they are also perfect for enjoying as part of an easy breakfast on a busy morning or as a healthy treat in a lunch box.
While you’re in prep mode, make a batch of Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Energy Balls, a few Fruit-on-the-Bottom Yogurt Cups, and these Snacks in a Jar so you have easy and healthy breakfasts and snacks all week.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This recipe is easy to follow and perfect for beginner bakers and little helpers.
- Filled with whole grains, natural sweetener, and are dairy-free.
- Fun way to get kids involved in the kitchen.
- Perfect addition to lunch boxes.
Recipe Ingredients
- Applesauce, unsweetened
- Coconut oil
- Egg
- Honey
- Oats, uncooked
- Whole wheat flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Ground cinnamon
- Chocolate chips
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Healthy Applesauce Cookies
- Step #1. Put all of the wet ingredients in a bowl and stir them together well.
- Step #2. Add the dry ingredients and mix until they are incorporated.
- Step #3. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Step #4. Put the cookie dough in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Step #5. Place rounded tablespoons of dough about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.
- Step #6. Bake at 325 degrees for 11 to 13 minutes, remove from the oven and let the cookies cool 5 minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. This step is very important. Don’t skip the chilling time because the whole grains in this recipe (oats and whole wheat flour) need some time to absorb the liquids before being baked.
I use old-fashioned oats in these cookies but you could use quick-cooking oats as well (also called one-minute oats). They are rolled oats that have been cut up more. Avoid instant oats if you want to maintain the whole grains in this recipe.
Yes. Using a one-to-one gluten-free flour blend is the best way to make them gluten free. Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur Baking Company both have great blends. You might be able to replace the flour with oat flour but I haven’t tested it yet.
Let the cookies cool completely, put them in an airtight container, and store in the freezer for up to three months. You can take a few out and let them thaw on a plate on the counter as you want them.
Expert Tips
- Use a cookie scoop to ensure evenly baked cookies.
- Store cookies in an airtight container (once they are cooled) for three to five days or freeze for up to three months.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat so they are easier to remove after baking.
- If you want these cookies to be gluten-free, make sure to check all the ingredients you are using are gluten-free, especially the rolled oats.
More Cookie Recipes to Consider
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Healthy Applesauce Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 cup uncooked oats
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1-2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325℉. In a large bowl, add the applesauce, coconut oil, egg, and honey, and mix to combine well.
- Add the oats, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir to combine well. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Refrigerate the dough for 10 minutes (this give the oats a little time to absorb some of the liquid).
- Use a cookie scoop or two spoons to place a rounded tablespoon of dough on a parchment or baking mat lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned and the center is set.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes.
Video
Notes
- Don’t skip the chilling time, the whole grains in this recipe need some time to absorb the liquids before being baked.
- If you have cinnamon chips, they are really good in this recipe.
- I have tried this with gluten free flour and it worked well with a 1-to-1 gluten free baking blend. Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur Baking Company both have good blends.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature once they have cooled or freeze for up to 3 months.
I made this with oat flour instead of wheat flour 1:1 and monkfruit sweetener 1:1 and they turned out awesome! My recipe made 30 cookies using a cookie scoop. Same baking time and I’m at 5,000 ft. I did chill for 10 minutes and chilled dough between baking sheets. Delicious!!!
Made this recipe with baby food (apple, pumpkin, and carrot) and withheld the chocolate chips. It came out so good and perfect for my little toddler!!
Such a great idea! Thank you for sharing what worked!
Made this recipe with baby food (apple, pumpkin, and carrot) and withheld the chocolate chips. It came out so good and perfect for my little toddler!!
Followed the recipe except replaced chocolate chips with walnuts, cranberries, and candied ginger. The taste was good but found the texture a little odd. Seemed wetter than usual even though I baked them for almost 30 minutes.
Boo, I’m so sorry. Did you use whole wheat flour? The dough is still about the consistency of normal cookie dough…
Easy to make and really tasty!
Is your calorie amount calculated with 1 or 2 cups of chocolate chips?
With 1.5 (not sure why I picked that…) lol
Just made these but used spelt and a bit of buckwheat flour instead of wheat flour, a mix of whole grains instead of oats and sunflower oil instead of coconut oil which I didn’t have. Thankfully there are kids in the house that will eat these fast or it would be a problem x)
That sounds SO good! Thank you for coming back to let us know what worked for you, that’s so helpful.
I made these today and I have to hold myself back from eating the whole batch lol. I did make several changes; I used an extra egg (long story), omitted the coconut oil (too much sat. fat), and since I didn’t have premade applesauce I made my own with some plain simmered apples. My applesauce was mashed instead of pureed so it left some apple chunks, they tasted great in the finished cookie! I added pumpkin pie spice, chocolate and butterscotch chips, and flax seeds. Overall they were very soft and chewy but held together well, had a great light apple sweetness, and were super easy to make! Currently very happy and full : -)
Those changes sound AMAZING! I’m totally going to try it with chunky homemade applesauce, that’s such a great idea. Thank you for sharing the tips and tricks with us.
I love all the healthy ingredients that this recipe called for. I made these cookies with granola though. They were delicious, but I would have liked them crunchy. Is there anyway I could have done that? I will definitely use this recipe again ….hopefully crunchy though!!
Without much oil or butter in this, the crunch is going to be hard to get. You might want to lower the cooking temperature by 25 degrees and then bake them for a longer time to see if they’ll crisp up for you.
Will almond meal or flour work ok instead of wheat flour? Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I’m not positive but I think that it would. I’d definitely say it was worth trying!
Do you think you could freeze batches of these?
I only do if they are on a single layer, if you put them in the freezer with layers of parchment in between, or if you freeze them individually and then place them frozen into a zipper topped baggie for storage. You just don’t want them to stick together when freezing, they’d be so annoying to get apart!