Simple, consoling, and warm with fall spices, healthy sweet potato cookies are an autumn afternoon spent sipping hot cider (or Mulled Wine) with your beloved grandmother, or your affectionate cat. Unless your cat isn’t affectionate, in which case you should invite your best friend over instead. If your cat and your best friend are one and the same, then that’s twice the sweet potato cookies with chocolate chips for you. Move over pumpkin because today we are giving the spotlight to sweet potatoes. In my humble opinion, sweet potatoes are grossly overlooked when it comes to fall baking for a few reasons:
Like pumpkin, sweet potatoes have a naturally sweet taste, add fantastic moisture to baked goods, and boast a lovely hue. Unlike pumpkin, sweet potatoes are easy peasy to use fresh. Sorry pumpkin, I love you, but starting with a from-the-ground pumpkin is a real piece of work. (My advice? Stick with a can when making Healthy Pumpkin Cookies or Vegan Pumpkin Muffins.)Hands-off oven roasting transforms the firm sweet potato into a soft, sweet baking material with an amazingly robust caramelized flavor (I’m looking at you, Sweet Potato Brownies).
These easy sweet potato cookies are part of my permanent cookie rotation from October through January. I love to tuck a few into holiday cookie boxes (along with these Chocolate Ginger Cookies) for friends and family while saving a few dozen in my freezer for personal snacking all season long.
How to Make Sweet Potato Cookies
Spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and coriander, these easy sweet potato cookies are sweetened with applesauce and finished with a generous sprinkle of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
The Ingredients
Sweet Potato. Roasted, mashed, and caramelized, sweet potatoes lend flavor, moisture, and sweetness to these tender cookies. (If you’re team sweet potato, you’ll also love my Sweet Potato Pie.)Flour. A combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flour keeps the cookies soft while sneaking in a bit of wholesome whole grains.
Applesauce. Adds natural sweetness and moisture while also reducing the fat content of these cookies. (Applesauce is also my secret to these Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies.)
Oil. Keeps these healthy sweet potato cookies moist and tender.Brown Sugar. The one true soulmate to sweet potatoes everywhere. Brown sugar adds sweetness and subtle molasses flavor and helps the cookies’ exterior caramelize and crisp in the oven.Eggs. For tenderness and moisture.Cinnamon. Paired with cloves and coriander creates the perfect fall spice blend for these easy sweet potato cookies.Vanilla. Enhances and smooths out the flavors.Chocolate Chips. Because I love you…and chocolate. (For further proof of my love for chocolate, see these Dark Chocolate Cookies.)
The Directions
Storage Tips
To Store. Sweet potato cookies may be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 5 days.To Freeze. Freeze baked cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and enjoy as desired.
Recommended Tools to Make Sweet Potato Cookies
Stand Mixer. If you’re into marathon holiday baking, a stand mixer is well worth the investment.Potato Masher. I bet you never thought you’d need one of these for a cookie recipe!Baking Sheet. This set of sheet pans are my absolute favorite for baking and easy sheet pan dinners.
I can see it now: You, me, my grandmother, and soft sweet potato cookies with chocolate chips. Care to come for a cup of tea (or Healthy Hot Chocolate)?
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