Healthy Apple Pie Cookies

Apple Pie Cookies in wooden bowl with apples and oatmeal in the background.
Prep Time: 
55 minutes prep time
Number of Servings: 
Makes 12 cookies
Recipe Source: 
The Vegan 8 by Brandi Doming ($25.99, Oxmoor House, 2018)

Ingredients

  1. 1 cup gluten-free old-fashioned oats, not instant
  2. 1 12 tsp ground cinnamon
  3. 12 tsp ground allspice
  4. 14 tsp ground nutmeg
  5. Pinch of fine salt
  6. 1 12 cups freeze-dried apple pieces
  7. 1 cup whole raw almonds, or your favorite nuts
  8. 6 Tbsp pure maple syrup
  9. 5 Tbsp roasted creamy almond butter

Directions

  1. Add oats, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt to a food processor, and pulse a few times to evenly incorporate spices. Add dried apple pieces and almonds, and pulse a few times to break them up into smaller pieces but not into a meal. Add syrup, almond butter, and 2 tablespoons of water, and process until mixture comes together in sticky, thick clumps. You will need to stop and break up mixture and press it back down a few times. It is ready when you can press mixture together and it is no longer dry and crumbly. Place food processor bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm mixture up a bit before rolling it into balls.
  2. Preheat oven to 375°. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
  3. Once mixture is chilled, scoop 2 tablespoons of batter at a time into your hands and roll into balls. If dough is still too sticky, chill for another 30 minutes. Place cookies a couple of inches apart on prepared pan. You should yield 12. Press each cookie down to 12 inch thick.
  4. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cookies have a nice golden-brown color on top. Bake less for a chewier texture or longer for a more crisp texture.
  5. Cool cookies on pan for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. They will firm up as they cool. Keep extras sealed in an airtight container or seal-top bag for up to 3 days.

Notes

  • If you use walnuts or pecans, those nuts have a higher oil content and will make the batter more moist, so you may not need all the water. Start by adding just 1 tablespoon.
  • To make these cookies nut free, substitute the almonds with raw sunflower seed kernels and the almond butter with sunflower seed butter.
  • Be sure to use freeze-dried apples and not fresh apples in this recipe.
  • These cookies are mildly sweet. Since they are meant to be a snack and not an indulgent cookie, they’re especially fabulous as snacks in kids’ lunches.
Nutrition Info: 
Per Cookie: 256 Calories, 6 g Protein, 40 g Carbohydrates, 7 g Fiber, 10 g Total fat (1 g sat), 26 mg Sodium, ★★ Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), C, E, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium