Applesauce Cookies

 

Faced with a need to use up some of the jars of applesauce I canned last autumn, I found a recipe in my very old Betty Crocker cookbook which was given to me as a wedding shower present. The cover is held together with black book binding tape and there are many stains and notes throughout the pages. The recipe is called Jubilee Jumbles, with the applesauce included in an alternative version. 

These are cake-y cookies, quite soft, and because of that they don't stay fresh for long. But they freeze well. The browned butter glaze adds another layer of flavour that goes well with the mild spice of the cookies. 

Applesauce Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups brown sugar (packed)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 cup applesauce

1/2 cup soft butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Stir together the dry ingredients (flour, brown sugar, salt, soda, cinnamon, and cloves). 

Add the applesauce, butter, eggs, and vanilla and mix together thoroughly. 

Stir in the raisins.

Drop dough by level tablespoons onto parchment paper lined baking sheet. The cookies should be about 2 inches apart. Bake 10 minutes or until almost no imprint remains when touched with finger. 

Cool on a rack, then spread with butter glaze.

Browned Butter Glaze

Heat 1/4 cup butter over low heat until golden brown. Mixture will foam. Watch carefully so as not to burn. 

Remove from heat and stir in 2 cups of icing sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in 2-4 Tablespoons of hot water until of spreading consistency.

Note: As the butter cools, the mixture becomes quite stiff and more water may need to be added.