Mad Dash Cookies

Why would you ever make any kind of chocolate chip cookies that weren't the original Toll House recipe? It's simply the best.

However.

Last night I had a craving for a cookie and I wanted it NOW. I didn't want to set out the butter to warm to room temperature (I don't have a microwave), and, well, I really didn't want a ton of calories, and I didn't want to make a huge batch because I don't need them around the house all weekend, but I NEEDED A COOKIE.

So I made a "mad dash" into the kitchen and threw these together. And I think they turned out pretty dang good, if I do say so myself. Not back for a late night gluttonous craving and a strange desire at low-ish fat.

Sneakily healthy. Kinda.

Mad Dash Cookies
ie modified Toll House Cookies

1/4 cup room temperature butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1+ cup rolled oats
a handful or two of chocolate chips
a handful of golden raisins

Beat butter until smooth, add sugars.  Mix in applesauce (applesauce mixes in better if you cream the butter and sugars first). Add egg and vanilla.  Beat in baking soda, salt, and flour, 1/3 cup at a time.

At this point you've essentially made a half batch of Toll House cookies, but with half the butter traded for applesauce (I keep small portion-sized containers of applesauce around for baking. They come in 1/2 cup containers, so you get to eat the other half while baking!). Now comes the fun part - adding whatever the hell you want. Sometimes I add as many oats as I can and still have the dough stick together, but I wanted more of a fattening feel to these guys, so I just poured in some, mixed, then poured in a bit more until I got to the consistency I wanted. Then I added a handful of chocolate chips (and then another, but don't tell). My raisins were all stuck together so it was hard to judge how many I broke off into the dough, but I'd guess maybe 1/2 cup or so. Mix it all together and adjust mix-ins to your heart's content. I thought about adding craisins, too, but thought that was going to cover up the gluttonous nature of a chocolate chip cookies, so I left them out.

Bake at 350 for 9 minutes and 30 seconds. Don't let the applesauce fool you - these guys  need about 30 more seconds than they look like they do. Otherwise you cookies are a bit gooey. Which is fine, if that's what you're going for. But I'd suggest the extra 30.

Makes 24 cookies.  Less if you eat as much cookie dough as I did.

YUM.