These cookies are a snap to make and delicious. Gluten lovers and non-vegans will love them too.
Preheat the oven to 350° F/180° C with two racks close to the center. Set aside two cookie sheets covered in parchment.
Mix the peanut butter, sugar, apple sauce, and vanilla until well combined.
Roll the batter into small balls. If desire, roll the balls in sugar to coat them. Press them down with the tines of a fork, in a cross-hatch pattern. If filling with Nutella or chocolate chips, make a small indentation in the center of the cookies with the back of a teaspoon. Sprinkle with flaked salt if using, or add 1-2 chocolate chips in center/
Bake for 8-10 minutes. If topping with Nutella, add the Nutella when the cookies come hot out of the oven. If the Nutella is too thick to easily dot in the center, warm it slightly in a microwave or in a double boiler or bowl over simmering water.
Let the cookies cool to room temperature before moving to a wire rack or plate.
Here is a quick-and-easy method for making homemade unsweetened applesauce.
I rolled my dough balls in sugar but decided that didn't make much of a difference to the finished result. If you love crunchy cookies, you could get that effect by rolling them in demerara (natural) sugar. Otherwise, you can skip the sugar coating.