The initial recipe called for 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, but I wanted to make them a bit healthier so I swapped out the oil for unsweetened applesauce. In my opinion, the swap doesn't change the taste at all, although it does make the cookies slightly chewier. My taste testers certainly didn't complain!
I was making these for Valentine's Day, so I made a few of the cookies much larger than the others, baked them, and after letting them cool for 2 minutes I used a heart-shaped cutout to turn these into a fun Valentine's-themed dessert. I topped the cookies with powdered sugar and they were ready to serve!
One thing I love about cake mix cookies -besides how easy they are to make- is that you can make an endless number of variations. You can use any type of cake mix to bake cake mix cookies. This time I used devil's food cake, but I also love using yellow cake mix, and I'm guessing that red velvet cake mix would turn out equally delicious. You can also mix in any toppings that suit your fancy - I love to use M&Ms and chocolate or peanut butter chips, but nuts or dried fruits (such as Craisins) would also be good.
(Healthier) Cake Mix Cookies
Ingredients:
1 box of your favorite kind of cake mix (I used Devil's Food Cake)
1/2 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (or other toppings of choice, including nuts, candy pieces, or dried fruit)
Powdered sugar for topping (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix ingredients together in a large bowl until well blended.
3. Drop rounded tablespoons of cookie dough onto ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake cookies for approximately 8 minutes, until the edges start to brown.
5. Let cool, and enjoy!
*Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies
