Low Fat Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies

These applesauce oatmeal cookies are one of my favorite healthier treats — simple to make, naturally lower in fat, and full of cozy flavor. They bake up soft and chewy with a cake-like texture, and the warm cinnamon and apple aroma makes the whole kitchen smell like homemade apple pie.

Made with basic pantry ingredients, these cookies are a lighter alternative to traditional oatmeal cookies, but still sweet and satisfying. Perfect for an afternoon snack, a light dessert, or a Weight Watchers friendly way to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Ingredients

• All-Purpose Flour – to make these cookies more wholesome you could substitute whole wheat pastry flour or white wheat flour. Both flours add a subtle nuttiness and a boost of fiber to your cookies without compromising too much on taste or texture. Because whole wheat flour absorbs more moisture you might need to add a little extra applesauce to prevent them from being too dry.
• Baking Soda – When combined with acidic ingredients (like applesauce), baking soda produces carbon dioxide, helping the cookies rise slightly and creating a soft, tender texture. It helps control the spread of the cookies, ensuring they don’t become too flat or dense. It helps control the spread of the cookies, ensuring they don’t become too flat or dense.
• Salt – balances the sweetness of the cookies and enhances the overall flavor. For most cookie recipes, fine-grained table salt or fine sea salt works best to ensure even distribution and consistent flavor.
• Ground Cinnamon – adds a warm, sweet-spicy flavor that complements the natural sweetness of the applesauce and oatmeal in these homey cookies.
• Ground Allspice – a warm, aromatic spice made from the dried berries of the Pimenta dioica tree, native to the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico. Its flavor profile is unique, combining hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, with a subtle peppery undertone. If you don’t have allspice consider adding a pinch of nutmeg for a warm, slightly nutty touch instead.
• Unsalted Butter – either unsalted or salted butter will work in this recipe since you are using such a small amount – just 1/4 cup melted – for the entire recipe.
• Light Brown Sugar – adds a warm, caramel-like sweetness and helps retain moisture, resulting in soft and chewy cookies.
• Sugar – more than just a sweetener, sugar contributes to the cookies’ chewiness and tenderness. It attracts and holds moisture, keeping the cookies from becoming dry and helps them turn golden while baking.
• Unsweetened Applesauce – adds moisture, sweetness and helps bind the cookies. There are lots of varieties of applesauce out there to choose from – smooth, chunky, sweetened, unsweetened, plain, and cinnamon-spiced. Select whatever applesauce you like best. I opted for unsweetened applesauce because it is a WW Zero Points food.
• Egg & Egg White – adds structure, moisture, and color while helping to bind the ingredients together so the cookies aren’t crumbly. Use 2 eggs in place of the egg and egg white if you prefer.
• Vanilla Extract – enhances the the overall flavor of these cookies.
• Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats – Rolled oats are larger, flakier and flat and less processed than quick oats, which will cook more quickly. Don’t use instant oats.
• Dried Fruit (currants, raisins or dried cranberries) – add chewiness and sweetness. Use whatever dried fruit you prefer and have on hand. I love both golden raisins and dried cranberries.
• Chopped Walnuts – add delightful crunch. Substitute chopped pecans, chopped or sliced almonds, or chopped cashews if you prefer.
• Optional Mix-ins – Lily’s Dark Chocolate Baking Chips (with no added sugar), Lily’s Peanut Butter Flavored Baking Chips (with no added sugar), mini chocolate chips, mini M&M baking bits, shredded or flaked coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.

How to Make Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies, Step-by-Step

Step 1: Gather and prepare all ingredients. Place one of your oven racks in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchments paper or silicone liners and set aside.

Step 2: In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice and set aside.

Step 3: In a large mixing bowl (affiliate link), beat together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer (affiliate link) on medium until well blended. Add the applesauce, eggs and vanilla and continue beating until the batter is smooth.

Step 4: Slowly stir the dry flour mixture into the applesauce mixture, just until incorporated. Stir in the oats, dried fruit and nuts. Chill the bowl in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the dough to firm up.

Step 5: Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets about 3 inches apart.

Step 6: Bake about 15 to 17 minutes, or until cookies are golden around the edges but still soft to the touch on top.

Step 7: Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet (affiliate link) before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 8: Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

These cookies are a homemade treat I can feel good about indulging in every now and again. Since these low-fat cookies are chock full of good things like oats, applesauce, fruit and nuts, you can enjoy these cookies for breakfast without the least bit of guilt.

Well, I can! Especially since I cut back on the butter called for in the original recipe and substitute a bit more applesauce to make up for it. The recipe calls for currants or raisins, but I like to substitute dried cranberries instead.

There are lots of varieties of applesauce out there to choose from – smooth, chunky, sweetened, unsweetened, plain, and cinnamon-spiced. Select whatever applesauce you like best to make these old-fashioned low-fat oatmeal cookies. Whether you choose sweetened or unsweetened the WW Points in these cookies are the same.

And if you are sensitive to sugar, or just want to use less sugar in your diet, you can substitute your favorite low calorie or zero calorie sweeteners for the light brown sugar and sugar. I like Truvia (affiliate link), so I tend to use Truvia (affiliate link) Sweet Complete Brown, which has zero calories and measures, cup-for-cup like brown sugar. I also like Truvia Sweet Complete granulated and Truvia Cane Sugar Blend, which has 75% fewer calories than sugar. Keep in mind that substituting these ingredients may change the texture and flavor of these cookies and will also decrease the WW Points.

Before beginning to bake your cookies, always remember to position one of your oven racks in the center of your oven.

And always cool your cookie sheets completely before placing cookie dough on them to prevent your cookies from melting and spreading before they have a chance to bake.

How Many Calorie and WW Points in these Low Fat Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies?

According to my calculations, each cookie has a respectable 92 calories and 4 WW Points.

To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)

3 PointsPlus (Old plan)

If you like these easy oatmeal cookies made with applesauce, be sure to check out my other Weight Watchers friendly recipes including: Easy Breakfast Oatmeal Squares, Oprah’s Healthy Apricot Oat Bars, Healthy Banana Cookies with Oats & Chocolate Chips, Oatmeal Raisin Mug Muffin, Blueberry Maple Overnight Oats, Carrot Cake Oatmeal for One, Raspberry Oatmeal Muffins, Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Bread, Blueberry Oat Scones, Gluten Free Oatmeal Spice Bars, Banana Oatmeal Cookies, Easy Healthy Banana Oat Pancakes, Easy No-Bake Chocolate Cookies with Oatmeal + Peanut Butter, WW Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Cranberry Apple Oatmeal Cookies and Low-Fat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

If you’ve made these low fat Oatmeal Cookies, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.

Source: Mom’s Big Book of Cookies: 200 Family Favorites You’ll Love Making And Your Kids Will Love Eating (affiliate link) by Lauren Chatman

This video shows how to make no sugar added applesauce oatmeal cookies with raisins:

More Lightened Up Oatmeal Cookie Recipes for WeightWatchers

• 2-Ingredient Healthy Banana Oat Cookies: Quick and wholesome, made with just ripe bananas and oats — no added sugar or flour.
• Low Fat Blueberry Banana Oat Squares: A chewy baked bar filled with oats, banana, and juicy blueberries for a naturally sweet (affiliate link) treat.
• No Bake Banana Oat Cookies: Easy no-bake cookies with oats and banana, perfect for a healthy snack or dessert without turning on the oven.
• Raspberry Oat Bars Made Lighter: Sweet-tart raspberry filling layered with a crumbly oat topping — a classic bar cookie made Weight Watchers friendly.
• Flourless Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: Chewy, protein-packed cookies made without flour, combining oats, peanut butter, and chocolate chips.
• Instant Pot Deep Dish Oatmeal Raisin Cookie: A fun twist on a favorite — a soft, shareable oatmeal raisin cookie baked right in the Instant Pot (affiliate link).

Helpful Articles for WeightWatchers

• A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding the WeightWatchers Program
• A Comprehensive List of Articles & Tips for WeightWatchers
• What Foods Should I Eat in a Day on WeightWatchers
• WeightWatchers Zero Points Foods List
• WeightWatchers Friendly Meal Plans
• Why We Are More Motivated the Closer We Get to Our Goals – Another powerful WW Weekly Workshop Topic.