Apple Molasses Cookies
Enjoy the crunch of walnuts and oatmeal with the flavors of apple, molasses, and spices in these cookies. For simple cookies with less sugar, you can omit the icing and still serve a delicious treat the whole family will enjoy.
Prep dough: 40 minutes Chill dough: 1 hour to 24 hours Shape: 25 minutes Bake: 10-11 minutes Bake at: 350° Spread icing: 20 minutes
Makes: 2 dozen cookies Difficulty: easy
Ingredients:
Cookie Dough:
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup (107g) dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (51g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon molasses
1 1/4 teaspoons Boiled Cider or thawed apple juice concentrate (see "tips")
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
Parchment paper
Cooking spray
Apple Icing:
1 cup (112g) powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon Boiled Cider or thawed apple juice concentrate
Directions:
To make cookie dough: In the small work bowl of a food processor, pulse oats to a mix of chopped and oat flour. Set aside. Finely chop the walnuts and set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cardamom.
In a separate large bowl, use an electric mixer at medium speed to cream butter until whipped, about 30 seconds. With the mixer running, gradually add dark brown sugar and granulated sugar and then beat about 2 minutes more. Add molasses, Boiled Cider or apple juice concentrate, and vanilla extract, and beat until combined. Add egg and beat until yellow just disappears.
Stir flour mixture by hand into butter mixture in 2 parts. Add oats and stir together. Add walnuts and stir together. Dough will be stiff. Cover and chill dough for 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead).
Pre-heat the oven to 350°.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop 1 1/2 tablespoons cookie dough (#50 cookie scoop) and place on baking sheet with 3" space between dough rounds. If using a tablespoon to scoop, roll the dough into a ball. If using a cookie scoop, place on baking sheet with flat side down. Spray the bottom of a drinking glass with cooking spray to prevent sticking and flatten the top of each dough round.
Bake for 10-11 minutes at 350° until cookies are lightly browned on the sides, but still very soft in the center. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
To make icing: Sift powdered sugar into a small bowl. Add milk and Boiled Cider or thawed apple juice concentrate and stir to combine. If icing is too stiff to spread, add a very small amount of milk. Spread icing on completely cooled cookie tops and let set until very hard, about 1 hour.
Store cookies in airtight tin for 4 days with layers separated by wax paper. Cookies will keep frozen for up to 3 weeks.
Tips:
- You can replace individual spices with 1 teaspoon apple pie spice.
- "Boiled Cider" is apple cider boiled to syrup consistency and sold by the King Arthur Baking Company. If you don't keep any type of apple flavoring on hand, you can replace with an equal amount vanilla extract.
- If you chill the dough for more than a few hours, allow to sit at room temperature until it just softens to scooping consistency, about 30 minutes.