I’m fully aware that pumpkin is the international flavor of fall, and I’m partially on board.  Maybe I’m the only one out there who isn’t totally crazy about it, but I think it’s just ok. I’ve liked baking with it, but I definitely don’t seek out the lattes or other fancy drinks, nor do I even like pumpkin pie (which I finally tried twice this holiday weekend) . The exception – Kyle’s mom makes the MOST amazing pumpkin cheesecake, which I was thankful made an appearance at our Thanksgiving dinner.

Growing up I would ONLY eat green apples. While they’re still my apple of choice, I love honeycrisp, but am too cheap to buy them often.

Anyhow, my recent fall-themed focus has fallen on the apple. True, apples are great all year round, but fall highlights them – I’ve been jealous of all the family apple orchard pictures which have flooded my Facebook feed lately.  We sadly didn’t get to an orchard this year. I thought about making it a Thanksgiving outing with my parents, but we did that last year when they visited so I felt lame suggesting it again when my real motivation was solely to get a freshly baked apple fritter – fat kid at heart!

I got 16 large cookies out of this batter – 4 others had to go on a different tray.

Grocery store apples have filled the void, and I’ve used them in a few recipes so far. For now, I bring you Apple Oat cookies. These may be the best cookies I’ve made so far this month (if I say so myself)! I had a vision in mind – a thick, sweet oat cookie with chunks of apple – and this totally worked. AND I wrote it all down! Successful baking trial! Enjoy:

• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1 whole egg
• 2 TBSP vanilla extract
• 1.5 cups oats
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 3 TBSP coconut flour
• 2 TBSP oat flour
• 1 TBSP cinnamon
• 3 tsp sweetener (can start with 2 tsp, and taste to see if you want more)
• 1 tsp brown sugar (I used stevia brand)
• 1 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Put chopped apple and wet ingredients into bowl, mix together.
3. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Batter should be fairly thick and sticky.
4. Place spoonfuls of the batter on a greased tray, or silicon baking mat.
5. Bake for 14 minutes, remove and allow to cool on trays before storing.
6. EAT. I found they tasted better as they cooled… and they would be amazing with toppings like whipped cream, ice cream, chopped nuts….

I made these on Wednesday evening, then we trained shoulders on Thursday morning, so I like to think the few I ate just helped fuel a stronger delt workout… right?

Big pieces of apple make these cookies perfect!

I also made an apple French Toast baked casserole over the weekend, which was really good, but not perfect.  I need to try it again with a few small changes (and make note of what goes into it) before I can share it. Stay tuned for this – it was a great breakfast which you can make in advance – perfect when you have guests over the weekend.