Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

We love strawberries with cool whip in the summer so when I stumbled upon a recipe for Strawberry Shortcake cookies I just couldn't resist (recipe link below). Of course I had to try my best to ruin them by making cutting the recipe in half and making them fat free. The result was delicious (Mike ate 5 of them within 20 mins of them coming out of the oven) though the texture was definitely not the same as the original. Here's how I did it...

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

1 cup strawberries, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup fat free half-and-half

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or baking mat.
2. Mix strawberries, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of sugar and set aside.
3. In large bowl, combine lemon zest, vanilla, 1/4 cup sugar in bowl with hands. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and stir. Stir in applesauce. Add half-and-half and stir. Fold in strawberries.
4. Drop rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets. Bake about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Original recipe: http://www.bakedperfection.com/search?updated-max=2011-08-14T21%3A08%3A00-04%3A00&max-results=3


AEM