The Dish | Apple Ginger Cookies

It is apple season and these cookies say “fall!”  Soft and chewy and loaded with ginger flavor – they are my son Ted’s favorite. For an added treat, put a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two cookies to make autumnal ice cream sandwiches.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/2 cups brown sugar firmly packed
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1/2 applesauce
• 2 large eggs slightly beaten
• 1/4 cup crystalized ginger finely chopped
• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking soda
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. ground ginger
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup white sugar (for rolling finished dough)

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl stir together brown sugar, oil, applesauce, and eggs until blended.
• In another bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the crystalized ginger and the brown sugar mixture and mix until just until all the flour is incorporated.  NOTE: If you over mix the dough, the cookies will lose their cake-like consistency. 
• Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.  With your hands roll dough into 2 inch balls and roll in the white sugar.  Press the dough into small disks and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. 
• Bake for 8-10 minutes or just until the tops of the cookies crack and begin to brown. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.