Wilma's Apple Sauce Cookies

Wilma's grandchildren and great grandchildren have their favorite confections and baked goods that she joyfully made for them. My favorites were blueberry buckle and apple sauce cookies. One evening Scott and I were visiting my grandmother on Anita's birthday. Rather than look at old photographs, we went through her recipes. In a printed collection from Neebish Island, Wilma had contributed a recipe for tenderizing meat with instant coffee. I will never know how that one turns out. When I came across an edge-stained three by five index card with "Apple sauce cookies" written at the top, I paused. These were the cake-like, spicy, soft delicious handfuls of joy I remembered. Scott got to work right away making a vegan version while Wilma kept watch.

To replace the eggs, Scott has discovered that using commercial brand egg replacers like Bob's Red Mill or EnerG, the dry powder can be put directly into the dry ingredients of a recipe without first mixing with water. Add the liquid for the egg replacer egg in with the wet ingredients - in this case, the apple sauce. Flax seed eggs can also be used by taking 1 Tablespoon of flax seed meal and mixing it with 3 Tablespoons of water and allowing to sit for 5 minutes.

Absent from Wilma's notes are baking time, temperature, and yield. I set the oven for 350°F, and Scott found that 13 minutes allowed the cookies to set without burning. To check your cookies, insert a toothpick for doneness.

Wilma's Apple Sauce Cookies 

1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
1 cups unsweetened apple sauce
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda stirred into apple sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs (OR 2 flax seed eggs OR egg replacer eggs - add 2 Tablespoons dry egg replacer powder to the dry ingredients and 6 Tablespoons of water to the apple sauce)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups raisins
1 cup nuts (optional)

Drop from spoon.