foodperson.com

I think I’ve reached the acceptance phase of my winter grief, after awakening this morning to 4 inches of new snow on the ground. I put on my boots and walked the dog, arriving home thoroughly soaked after our usual 1 mile trek. The precipitation is coming down as slush. I put on dry pants and socks, and toweled the dog off well.

I’ll have to think of something to bake. It’s a nice diversion, warms up the kitchen, and makes the house smell nice. It worked during yesterday’s gloom. In fact, not only did I bake something, but I at last found a use for some apples that had been sitting in the refrigerator for, well, months. These were gorgeous apples, perfectly golden organic Golden Delicious that I bought in the absence of local apples last year. Despite their appearance, I wonder whether they were stored wrong because their flavor didn’t seem quite right and the texture was soft and mealy. Yuck. But I couldn’t bear to throw them out, and I wasn’t sure how they’d do in a tart or such.

Yesterday, the solution presented itself. I quartered the apples (rather than peel and core them), tossed them in a heavy pan and, after they were reduced to mush, separated the flesh from the rest with a food mill. The applesauce tastes great, as it turns out, which is nice, because my plan was to use the applesauce to make cookies.

I modified an old newspaper recipe, chiefly by substituting oatmeal for part of the flour. Missions accomplished: apples put to good use, kitchen warm, house fragrant and cookies await.

Applesauce-oatmeal cookies

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 cup flour (see note)
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats (see note)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1. In mixing bowl blend butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add egg; beat well. Mix in applesauce.
2. Stir in nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves.
3. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add mixture and oats to sugar mixture, and stir until blended.
4. Drop by tablespoons onto greased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes at 425 degrees, until lightly browned. Makes 3-4 dozen.

NOTE: These are nice, cakey cookies when made with 2 cups flour, no oats. This was the first time I’d made these cookies with homemade applesauce or with oats. One or the other ingredient no doubt was responsible for yielding too moist a dough, almost more like a muffin batter. I baked one pan with it that way, which worked OK, although they spread a little more than I wanted and the edges were crispy. For the rest of them, I added just enough more flour and oats to get a dough that was firmer but still soft. I preferred the resulting, better-risen cookies. They’re still nice and cakey, but with added texture. I assume these, like previous batches, will be even better after a day or two, as the applesauce keeps them moist and the spice flavors develop.

Meanwhile, the snow continues to come down.