I’m weak.

I broke down today and…made cookies. Not just one batch but two and I am thinking about making a third.

Okay I know what your thinking “Wow, when she gives in she really gives in and then proceeds to go completely overboard.”

Well yes as I said before I am weak, but I don’t think I went overboard and I have 3 words to prove it to you: Small. Batch. Baking.

As I showed you yesterday my kitchen was full of innocent looking foods just begging to be bad and become an ingredient in a baked good. Because of the sheer number of possibilities I couldn’t decide what to bake. A “normal” cookie recipe makes enough cookies to feed an army and since Luke is gone (not that he’d eat many if her were here) and monkey doesn’t really get to eat cookies I didn’t want to become an army of one and eat 5 dozen cookies by myself. So I whipped up enough cookie dough to make about 8 cookies. Easier said than done right, well no it is surprisingly simple and I am proud to say that both batches came out wonderfully.

Seriously, I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner. Small batches are the answer to all of my baking problems and now if Luke gets a craving for brownies maybe I’ll just make him a brownie or two instead of an entire pan that I would inevitably end up eating all by myself.

So without further ado I present to you the first of my two successful cookie recipes today:

8 cookies worth of pure deliciousness. The picture doesn’t do it justice…my food photographer is out of town, but trust me these little darlings are delicious and since the recipe only makes 8 you don’t have to feel guilty about making them. I call that built in portion control…not that I am telling you to eat 8 cookies, you could share them you know.

Ingredients
2 1/2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons applesauce
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon well beaten egg or egg substitute
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup all purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)
1/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degree.

Place butter, applesauce, sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a medium sized mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer on medium speed. Add the egg and beat until mixed.

In separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon nutmeg and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir well. Add in the oats and raisins and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.

Drop by mounded teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet to make 8-10 mounds of dough. Bake until the cookies are golden brown, about 16 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and cool on wire rack.