Hello rain, I’ve been missing you. To be honest, I’ve been missing snow. You know, that light dusting of powder across everything. But since it’s above freezing rain, you’ll do. Any excuse to stay inside and bake cookies. For those of us that really do follow through, and bake on every possible occasion (*cough) the cookies can take their toll. Or rather, the butter, sugar, and little bits of chocolate that find their way in. So occasionally —and only just occasionally— I mix it up. A little applesauce here, a little less sugar and butter over there. In my belly.

Cue pillowy soft, cakey applesauce spice cookies. They’re not pretty, that is until you drizzle and sprinkle. And then they’re practically spiced snowflakes, perfect for rainy weather that just shy of a snowfall. Recipe lives here.