Do you ever wake up completely not in the mood for the tasks that face your day? I was having one of those days. I woke up tired; it had been a busy week. I kept finding myself falling behind on some of the "To Do's" I had assigned myself and to top it all off, I had signed up to bring snacks to all the hungry kids at our Awana program. Do you all know what Awana is? It's a church program that helps teach children about our savior Jesus Christ and serving others while showing the Lord's love. Both of my girls attend the Awana program. Eden is in the cubbies class that my mother in love teaches and Grace is in the Sparks class which I, along with my sister Jewelissa teach. Josh leads the games and after games, the kids have snacks before heading home.
So I had signed up for snacks this particular Thursday and I did not feel like baking anything. Our homeschooling school day had started about 35 minutes later than I would of liked and the idea of baking cookies just seemed daunting. I just plain out didn't feel like it. But as I was going over some of Grace's school work and drinking my morning cup of coffee, the clouds parted showing off a vibrant blue and the sun suddenly spilled through our dining room and living room windows and I instantly felt renewed. Living here in the Northwest can get dreary in the winter. A lot of the time it is just a bunch of grey skies and constant drizzle. (Which can make taking foodie pictures very hard with not enough natural light.) As my energy and mood lifted up I remember thinking to myself, this is exactly what Awana is not about! How can you serve others when down in the dumps and unmotivated? So I got to work baking the cookies and as I was adding ingredients and listening to the girls, I felt better and more motivated! It's amazing how doing something for other people can instantly make you feel better.
These cookies are a bit involved, but well worth all the work that goes into them. All the kids thanked me over and over for them. My husband couldn't stop eating them, and one of the mom's asked for the recipe! This was a great cookie pick for our Awana kids and helpers because it fed a lot of mouths and we still had enough leftover for Josh's lunch the next day and for snacks for my girls!
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
For the Cookies:
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 cups applesauce
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves. Set Aside.
Cream sugar and shortening together. Add eggs and applesauce-mix well. Add in dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Drop small spoonfuls of batter onto greased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.
Caramel Frosting:
6 TB butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups powdered suar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, heavy cream, and brown sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture just begins to boil; remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Let cool, then stir in powdered sugar. Spread frosting over cooled cookies.
