Apple Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

Why We Love This Recipe For Apple Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are the essence of autumn! I cannot help but swoon when I think of these cookies. They are the best I have ever made. Period. And that’s saying a lot coming from me.

Back in August a friend asked if I had a healthier oatmeal cookie here on Healthy Seasonal Recipes, and I was sort of shocked to realize that I didn’t have one. Shocked because oatmeal cookies are my absolute favorite cookies on the planet. How could this be?

I knew that when the fall crept in, it was time to get going on that oatmeal cookie recipe. But I wanted to make sure it was worthy of being my first and only oatmeal cookie. I mean… no pressure. So when the nights got cooler, the days started getting really annoyingly shorter… I knew it was time for that oatmeal cookie to happen.

I’ve been tinkering on them for weeks. I added in chewy bits of dried apple, crunchy walnuts and sweet creamy white chocolate chips. They reek of fall. (I mean that in a good way.) What I mean friends, is tell your ovens to buckle up… they’re about to get a cookie baking workout!

Key Ingredients for This Recipe

Walnuts

I decided to use walnuts in the flour mixture too. I ground them up with the flour to replace some of the flour. They add a nutty richness that really goes well with the maple. I tried it both with roasted unsalted walnuts and raw unsalted walnuts. Either is great, though the roasted walnuts have more nutty flavor.

Whole wheat flour

I also knew I wanted my oatmeal cookies to have whole-grain flour in addition to the oats. (Rolled oats are also whole grain.) I used King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour. It’s more mild in flavor than regular whole-wheat so it doesn’t detract from the flavor of the cookie.

Old fashioned oats

Oats is an obvious must when making oatmeal cookies. I like using the regular old fashioned oats from Quaker. I’d stay away from instant or quick oats as they might change the texture of the cookies.

White chocolate chips

White chocolate pairs really well with anything maple. Use any standard white chocolate chip from the grocery store, or chop up a white chocolate bar. If you don’t like white chocolate, use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips instead.

Dried apple and applesauce

I used a bit of applesauce to stand in for the extra butter, and they still stayed nice and chewy. They puffed up in an unexpected way in the oven, but then when they cooled, they looked more like a traditional oatmeal cookie.

I found the apples for these at two local health food stores, but a lot of large supermarkets carry them as well. Like these. Chop them into pieces about the size of a dime.

Butter

And then comes the butter!!! It had to happen. I wanted to make sure that these were really chewy and lately, I’ve been noticing that coconut oil and I don’t really get along that well. So I decided that one stick of butter wasn’t going to be a bad thing. Especially when divided among 4 dozen cookies.

Additional Ingredients

• 2 cups roasted unsalted walnuts, divided
• 1 cup whole wheat flour, preferably white whole-wheat
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• ½ cup applesauce

Step-By-Step Instructions to Make These Apple Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

Step 1: Preheat & grease baking sheets

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two large baking sheets with cooking spray.

Step 2: Grind walnuts

Grind 1 ¼ cups (3.75 ounces) walnuts in a food processor fitted with steel blade attachment until it looks like coarse meal. Add the white whole wheat, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt and process 10 seconds.

Step 3: Chop walnuts

Chop the remaining ¾ cup walnuts.

Step 4: Make butter mixture

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl on medium speed until creamy. Add the egg and beat until combined. Add the applesauce and beat until completely combined (it is okay if the mixture looks broken).

Step 5: Combine dry & wet ingredients

Beat the flour and walnut mixture into the butter mixture on low. Add the oats, the remaining ¾ cup chopped walnuts, white chocolate chips and dried apple and stir by hand with a silicone spatula until completely combined.

Step 6: Form cookies & bake

Drop heaping tablespoons onto one of the prepared baking sheet, leaving 1 ½ inches between each cookie. Moisten finger-tips and press the dough down slightly. Bake in batches, 1 sheet at a time until the cookies spread and set, 8 to 10 minutes. For a crisper cookie bake up to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet 3 to 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a cooling rack with a thin metal spatula.

FAQs and Expert Tips

Additional Cookie Recipes to Try

• If you grew up in New England, you’ve probably had a Soft and Spicy Hermit Cookies. The flavors of spice and molasses are just what this season ordered!
• Our Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies also have oats in them for a bit of nourishing chewy texture. Or for a more traditional oatmeal cookie with raisins, but without gluten, try these healthy oatmeal cookies.
• These Maple Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies are a twist on classic jam thumbprints. Also try these Healthy Jam Thumbprints they are almond and raspberry flavored!
• Our chewy Buckwheat Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Cookies have a twist of orange or bergamont wich pairs so well with the flavor of the chocolate.
• These Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies are perfect at any time of year!