September 22: Apple Chunk with White Chocolate Cookies

Apple Chunk with White Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup (4.5 oz) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring
3/4 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats (not instant)
1/2 cup finely chopped green apple, such as Granny Smith
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/4 cup raisins
2 oz white chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line 2 baking sheets with nonstick foil or parchment paper.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a small bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until creamy. Beat in the applesauce. Continue beating on medium speed, scraping the bowl often. Add the egg, maple syrup, vanilla, and maple flavoring; continue beating until well mixed. By hand, stir in the flour mixture until incorporated. Stir in the oats, apple, walnuts, and raisins.
4. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for 10-13 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Let cool completely on a wire rack set over some paper towels. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds. Drizzle the white chocolate over the cookies.

I know you can't see the label but I bought...imitation maple flavoring! I know I'm ashamed too. It's the only thing the store had.

Dry ingredients

Addition of applesauce

Addition of syrup, maple flavoring, egg and vanilla

Addition of the dry ingredients

Addition of raisins and oats

Addition of apple

Addition of walnuts

Clearly drizzling is not a talent of mine!

Thoughts: I hate recipes that include drizzling. I now have tools to make it easier but honestly I was lazy and just wanted to get it over with. I didn't have pure maple syrup so I just used store bought syrup (it has maple in it, right?). Other than that, it was pretty easy. I used about 1/2 of a Granny Smith apple. I baked them for 11 minutes and they come out pretty soft. It only yielded about 20. It tastes like a spice cookie. We both liked it.