An Apple a Day

The old saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away", still has meaning. Apples are a healthy and tasty food which are rich in nutrients including vitamins, antioxidants and fiber. The medieval English saying "Eat an apple before going to bed - make the doctor beg for his bread" recognized apples as preventative medicine. This month is a good time to remember that as we celebrate National Apple Month - actually 3 months - September, October, and November.
The magazines are full of apple ideas and recipes, and I found several I wanted to try. This cookie recipe has been a hit at church board meeting, a friends visit, and the home cookie jar. I adapted the recipe from Taste of the South magazine. The original was very crumbly. My version is a bit less fragile, but because of the amount of brown sugar it does draw moisture in this humid weather (rain at last!), and crumble. I tried keeping them in the freezer to reduce this, it must have worked, because all the cookies disappeared from the freezer container leaving no crumbs!

Apple Butterscotch Oat Cookies
2/3 cup all-vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (or half AP, half whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
1 1/2 cups chopped cooking apple, such as Braeburn
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine shortening, butter, and brown sugar; beat at medium speed with a heavy-duty mixer until fluffy. Add egg, beating until combined. Add vinegar and baking soda. Gradually add flour, salt, and apple pie spice, beating until blended. Add oats, chopped apple, butterscotch chips and walnuts, mixing until blended. (dough will be stiff)
Using a cookie scoop, scoop about 3 tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, placing cookies 2 inches apart so dough can spread.
Bake cookies about 12-13 minutes until edges are golden brown and centers are set. Remove from oven and let cook on baking sheet about 5 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.