Applesauce oat cookies with @cardboardcrafty

What can we use instead of an egg, all-purpose flour, or parchment paper if we don't have them?

If you don't have an egg use a flax “egg” (1 tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 tbsp water) in the wet-ingredients bowl, swap the 1 cup all-purpose flour in the dry-ingredients step for 1 cup gluten-free 1:1 baking blend, and use a silicone baking mat or lightly grease the baking sheet instead of parchment paper.

My dough is too crumbly or too sticky — how can we fix it so we can scoop and flatten the cookies?

If the stirred dough in step 7 is crumbly, add 1 tablespoon more applesauce at a time until slightly sticky, but if it's too wet add a tablespoon of flour at a time so the tablespoon or scoop can form rounded mounds that hold their shape on the baking sheet.

How should we change the tasks for younger children versus older kids?

Let preschoolers help pour the oats and stir the wet-into-dry mixture and press the mounds while an adult handles preheating and oven placement, and let older kids measure ingredients, use the tablespoon to scoop, and choose decorations like chocolate chips or sprinkles after the cookies cool.

How can we personalize or improve the cookies beyond the basic recipe?

Fold in about 1/2 cup of mix-ins (chocolate chips, raisins, or chopped nuts) into the combined dough before scooping, or after cooling decorate with icing and sprinkles and then share your finished creation on DIY.org.