Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

If your almond butter isn't room temperature (if it has been sitting in the refrigerator), either bring it to room temperature before starting the recipe or microwave it for 20-40 seconds, or until it is easy to stir.

Add all of the ingredients for the applesauce cookies to a food processor and process until a thick batter forms. The mixture will be thick and sticky but much wetter than regular cookie dough. This is normal. If you’re adding any solids (like nuts, dried fruit, or chopped apples) to the cookies, stir them into the batter now. Note: if you don't own a food processor, you can prepare this easy cookie recipe in a large bowl by mixing everything together well. If you go this route, I recommend allowing the cookie dough to sit for 10 minutes prior to baking.

Use a spoon to drop mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. The cookie dough doesn’t spread very much while baking and doesn’t change shape. For this reason, form the mounds of dough into circular cookie shapes or whatever final shape you’re going for. I like making 12 cookies, but you can easily make fewer large cookies for a more substantial healthy snack.

Bake cookies on the center rack of the preheated oven for 9-12 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown around the edges and appear set up.

Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool at least 15 minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet.