Apple Pancake Cookies

One of my goals this year is to eat local, seasonal produce as often as possible. I have been doing my research and have found only two farmer's markets nearby that are open in winter. (The rest of the markets open in May and June.) One is about 20 miles away, and the other is about 30. Though in the grand scheme of things, 20 miles is better than 200,000 miles!


I think why I am stalling on going to the closer one is that I have never been to a farmer's market before, and I am not familiar with the U-District in Seattle. I will have to see if I can find someone to tag along with me, and make a day of it!





Now, on to more serious matters: these cookies are truly amazing. They are light and moist, with a wonderful strong walnut flavor and big apple chunks. To me, they taste like eating little apple cinnamon pancakes (hence the name).





Apple Pancake Cookies
(adapted from The Golden Book of Cookies)

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup applesauce
1 Granny Smith (or other tart) apple
1 cup finely chopped walnuts




Preheat your oven to 375°F (170°C) and grease two cookie sheets.


Cream the butter and the sugars in a large bowl. Beat in the applesauce and egg until just mixed, being sure not to over mix. Slowly mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until well smooth.


Finely chop up the walnuts. I usually do this with a hand chopper - I do not use it often, but with nuts it is a real time saver. Peel and core the apple, chopping it up into small chunks. The size of the apple pieces is really up to you.


Add the apple and walnut pieces to the cookie mix.





Using two spoons, drop small balls (2-3 tablespoons) of dough onto the pre-greased cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Check on the cookies at 15 minutes to make sure that the bottoms aren't getting too dark.



Serve with milk! Keith also suggested that a drizzle of caramel would taste great on top of these.