Cinnamon Oatmeal Apple Cookies(R T)

These are the rare lighter cookies that don’t taste like a punishment. No butter, no oil, no whole eggs, just rolled oats ground into pseudo-flour, real fruit, and whipped egg whites doing the lightening work. Four teaspoons of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg drive the flavor.

Apple juice concentrate or honey is the sweetener. Either one carries enough natural sugar to satisfy without piling on refined sugar, and the grated apple inside melts into the cookie as it bakes, releasing more juice and keeping the texture soft.

Whipped egg whites are the difference-maker. Folded in at the end, they give these cookies a delicate, almost meringue-edged lightness instead of the dense, dry texture low-fat cookies usually carry.

Pro Tips

• Beat the egg whites to firm peaks but not bone-dry, overbeaten whites won’t fold cleanly into the heavy oat mixture.
• Use date sugar instead of brown for an even higher-fiber, less refined version.
• Pulse the oats to a coarse meal, leaving some texture, finely ground oats turn these into oat-flour cookies and lose the chew.
• Watch carefully at the 12-minute mark, these go from soft-baked to dry in about 90 seconds.

Variations

• Sub chopped dates or dried cranberries for the raisins.
• Stir in ⅓ cup chopped walnuts for a crunchier, higher-protein cookie.
• Add a pinch of ground cardamom or ½ teaspoon of fresh ginger to the spice mix.