This skinny version has about half the fat of the regular version because much of the butter is replaced with unsweetened applesauce. Genius! I made some of them a little less skinny by adding (store-bought!!) frosting.

Skinny Gingerbread Cookies (via Skinnytaste)

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup dark molasses
• 3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar and applesauce until smooth. Add the egg and molasses, mix well.
In another large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and spices. Add to sugar and molasses mixture, stirring well. Divide the dough into two flat balls; cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously dust the surface of your working area with flour before rolling out the dough. Work with one ball of dough at a time, keep the other refrigerated while you do so. 

Roll the dough out to 1/4 or 1/8-inch thickness, sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough if it’s a little sticky. Cut the gingerbread with a cookie cutter shape of your choice. Place cookies 1 or 2 inches apart on a silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Did you know those were snowflakes? I guess the title gave it away. But I had to play a little charades with Kevin to get him to figure it out. They kind of look like puzzle pieces. I actually made a double batch of this dough so I may do some experimenting & getting fancy tomorrow. We shall see.

I think Boyd is waiting for Santa Claus!!! Either that or scoping out the neighborhood dogs for hotties.

Today’s workout: 4.2 miles in 31:22 – that’s a 7:28 pace.

We are so lame going to the gym on Friday nights. We just hit up the apartment gym because we were that lazy. I was a special breed of lazy where I decided to run faster so I could hurry up and get home!! I ended up doing my own little interval workout. I ran quite a bit at 8.5 mph and above, including a bit at 10.1. I was drenched when I finished. I need to keep pushing myself because I’d eventually like to be able to break under 7 minute miles for short-middle distances.

Kevin spotted this antler-decked mini van in the parking lot today!! Do you like it??! I can’t help but love it. So nerdy & wonderful.

Favorite cookie cutter shape? I thought I had a gingerbread man somewhere, but no luck today. Who knows? Might be in storage. I liked the snowflake one a lot. Perfect medium cookie size. Wedding gift!!

Would you deck out your car? Yes. I’ve already told Kevin I want a bumper sticker so I can recognize our nondescript vehicle in parking lots. I think antlers would be even more helpful with that!!!!

Today was Cookie Friday #24!! Last week’s Cookie Friday: White Chocolate Cherry-Almond Shortbread Cookies.  Looking for some cookie inspiration? You can find all the Cookie Friday posts here or click on the Recipe tab.