I don’t know about you, but we’ve gotten lucky here in NorCal with the weather turning cooler, the rain thankfully coming to help kick out the drought, and weekends that aren’t ridiculous with heat. I’m used to cooler ends to October so this is heaven – also heaven that it’s sweater and legging season for real! What’s better than sweaters and leggings? Apples and cookies of course! The best of all worlds with these moist and flavorful vegan and gluten-free Chewy Apple Cookies.

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Don’t ask me why I’ve been on a cookie frendzy lately, but it is probably because of the holidays. And not wanting to eat all the candy that is around everywhere. It’s inevitable though, right? You just can’t help it to snack sometimes. In comes the healthier version of the sugar-bombs that are calling our names. They are healthier, but I could still eat them all right off the pan, all in one go. And OMG these cookies are so amazing dunked in coffee! It’s like all of the wonderful things in life wrapped together when dipped! These cookies turned out chewy, in the fluffy way. The dried apples were amazing, and made me want to get a food dryer to make my own! I won’t because their expensive and I don’t have anywhere to put one, so Whole Foods bulk bin is fine. But I have leftovers, and I want to make something else with them now!

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Start by mixing your dry ingredients in a medium-size bowl – notice the two different flours? When I was at WF getting the apples I also stopped into the bulk everything-else aisle and saw the quinoa flour. I have only seen it on Amazon or other online places, not in a store, and it was relatively cheap so I got some. Cookies are the best place to try new flours – not as hard to mess up (although I certainly can). My coconut oil didn’t soften fast enough for me, so I put all the wet ingredients into a microwave safe bowl and let it go until the oil was just melted, then mixed it all together. Dump the wet into the dry and mix a couple times then add the apples and finishing combining it together. The batter will be sticky as you spoon the portions onto the baking sheet, so beware. Then just bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Enjoy!

Chewy Apple Cookies, 24 cookies

1 C Quinoa Flour
1 C Almond Meal
1 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Ginger
3/4 C Coconut Sugar
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted
1/2 C Unsweetened Applesauce
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 C Dried Apple Bits

1. Set oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix the flours, baking soda and powder, and spices in a medium-size mixing bowl.
3. In a smaller bowl add the oil, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla and pop in the microwave until oil is just melted. Mix well.
4. Pour liquid into dry mix and mix a little. Add the dried apples and mix until combined.
5. Spoon out small portions onto baking sheets and bake 12 minutes. Batter will be sticky when spooned.
6. Let cool then enjoy!