Walnut Applesauce Cookies are perfectly spiced, moist, cake-like cookies filled with chunks of walnuts and a hint of fall spices. They’re sure to fill your kitchen with the heavenly scents of fall baking and smiles faces.
For all you amazing fall bakers out there, these Walnut Applesauce Cookies are for you!
They are so delicious, moist and are a cake-like cookie. The applesauce makes these yummy cookies so moist and the bits of walnuts and hint of nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon make them so rich and warmly inviting!
After baking a batch of these cookies your home will smell SOOO good!
WHERE DID THIS RECIPE COME FROM?
I have to give credit for this recipe to my cousin, Jana. She’s a great cook and baker!
Decades ago my mom’s sisters and mom (my grandma) put together a family cookbook with all their favorite recipes. With eight kids in her family, there were a lot of awesome recipes.
That cookbook has become one of my go-to cookbooks because the recipes are family favorites.
In 2010, Jana’s mom, my aunt, revamped the family cookbook and opened it up for new recipes to be added.
All of my aunts and their daughters were able to add their favorite recipes alongside the old favorites. Jana included her Applesauce Cookies recipe in the new edition.
The first time I made her recipe, I made it exactly as she wrote it. It was delicious but of course, I’m a little nuts so I had to try it with walnuts.
The next time I made them, I added walnuts. Holy moly they were amazing!!
Let’s just say they’ve made it onto the top 10 list for my family’s favorite fall treats.
HOW TO MAKE APPLESAUCE COOKIES?
These Walnut Applesauce Cookies are really easy to make.
They’re ready for the oven in under 10 minutes and bake in about 10 minutes. An amazing fall dessert in under 30 minutes earns a gold star in my book!
This recipe comes together very quickly.
Cream together the wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients. Then fold in the walnuts.
Bing, bang, boom!
3 steps and you have yourself a delicious cookie batter ready for the oven. It might actually only take 5 minutes to mix up these walnut applesauce cookies.
Once they’re mixed, use a scoop to keep the cookie size as consistent as possible. This help the cookies bake evenly.
I used this size 40 scoop for these cookies. It makes each cookie about a 4- to 5-bite cookie.
You can use a smaller scoop but make sure to adjust your baking time accordingly. Smaller cookies will bake faster.
Once I have the cookies scooped and spaced on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet, I press a few walnut pieces on the top.
That’s what I call pretty-a-fiying the cookie. 😉 It also serves as a warning to those that may be allergic to nuts. The last thing anyone wants it to trigger a nut allergy reaction.
EASY PEEZY, ALMOST DONE!
By the time you pull the cookies out of the oven, your home will smell like fall deliciousness!
My girls are following me like a puppy ready to pounce at the first sight of a fallen crumb.
Before enjoying, let these moist cookies cool on a rake for a few minutes especially before you let the little ones have one.
Clearly, they will be extremely hot right out of the oven but they also need a little time to cool and set (less likely to crumble and will stay moister). 🙂
HOW DO I STORE THESE COOKIES?
If you’re lucky enough to have extras (or if you were smart and doubled the batch 😉 ), store leftover cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
What’s your favorite fall dessert? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
LOOKING FOR MORE DELICIOUS FALL RECIPES?
- Easy Roasted Tomato Soup – made with fresh tomatoes with a hint of cream.
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars – layers of nuts, cheesecake, and pumpkin cheesecake
- Gourmet Caramel Apples for $1.50 or less – easy, cheap and gorgeous!
- Maple Pumpkin Bars – with an amazing whipped maple frosting.
Here’s the full printable recipe and directions. Enjoy!
Walnut Applesauce Cookies
These Walnut Applesauce Cookies are perfectly spiced, moist, cake-like cookies filled with chunks of walnuts and a hint of fall spices.
Ingredients
- 1 cup shortening
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 4 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 2 cup walnuts, chopped plus additional for top of cookie
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cream wet ingredients (shortening, eggs, applesauce, vanilla) and sugar together.
- Add dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, spices).
- Fold in walnuts.
- Using a scoop (I like to use a #40 scoop like this one. It's about 1 3/4 Tablespoons) to portion cookies. Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Top each cookie with a few walnut pieces (optional).
- Bake at 375 degrees F. for 10-11 minutes until lightly golden brown on top and around edges.
- Let cool on cookie sheet for a couple minutes before moving to wire rack. Enjoy!
Notes
If making smaller cookies, adjust bake time. smaller cookies will bake faster.
OP: 9.26.18 Updated: 9.26.19
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Does anyone have a recipe for applesauce walnut, raisin cupcakes
Can black walnuts be substituted for the English variety?
Hi Jim!
Yes, you should be fine to substitute black walnuts for the English variety. To my knowledge, black walnuts will have a bolder flavor which will make these cookies so yummy! The walnuts are my favorite part about these cookies. I’d love to hear how they taste with the black walnuts.