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Butterscotch Reese’s Pudding Cookies are FULL of butterscotch flavor without a ton of guilt – they’re made with a combination of butter and applesauce to cut down on the fat. That way you can add more Reese’s peanut butter cups!
Skinnier Butterscotch Reese's Pudding Cookies on blue plate

I’ve never been one for fad diets. I’ve never been good at them either.

Atkins? NO WAY. Carbs are my life.

Paleo? Ha. No refined sugar? I might die.

Weight Watchers…tried it. Some success. But, calculating and counting is so boring. And way overrated. And it’s not fair my husband got extra points just for being a man. I mean, what the heck? They get paid more AND they get more WW points? So. Not. Fair.

But, it has recently come to my attention that my weight is getting out of control.

First, the weather cooled off. And I tried to wear pants.

Second, I weighed myself. Big mistake. Big. HUGE.

{And, if you just read that last sentence and wanted to follow it with “I have to go shopping now” I love you a little bit more.}

Since regular “dieting” is out (I’ll never stick to anything), I decided on a 48-hour cleanse to kick start me and get me…well…cleansed. (The Dr. Oz one, to be specific.)

I can do anything for 48-hours. I think.

Today is day 1.

I’ll keep you posted.

I’ve already had to pee waaaaay too many times. But that’s probably TMI.

Let’s talk cookies instead. Since I can’t eat them, I’ll share them with you.

Skinnier butterscotch reese's pudding cookies on a paper towel with reese's cups and more cookies on a plate behind it

Now, I’m calling these Skinn{ier} Butterscotch Reese’s Cookies. Not skinny. Skinnier.

I took out some of the butter, and replaced it with applesauce. (Never fear, the butterscotch takes over and you can’t taste the apple!)

But then I filled the cookies with two cups of chopped mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

So…skinnier.

Oh, and insanely good. Did I mention that?

Because these have less fat you can eat lots of them.

Skinnier butterscotch reese's pudding cookies on a blue decorative plate with mini reese's cups

That’s proooobabbbly what got me into trouble in the first place, methinks.

Excuse me. I have a Pineapple/Pom/lemon drink that is just calling my name. I’d rather have that than cookies any day!

{HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA}

Check out all my other pudding cookie recipes!

Skinnier Butterscotch Reese's Pudding Cookies on blue plate

Butterscotch Reese’s Pudding Cookies

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Butterscotch Reese’s Pudding Cookies are FULL of butterscotch flavor without a ton of guilt - they're made with a combination of butter and applesauce to cut down on the fat. That way you can add more Reese's peanut butter cups!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Yield 24 cookies
Serving Size 1 cookie
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Ingredients
 

  • 1/4 cup butter softened
  • 1/2 cup applesauce or 1-4 ounce single serve package
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 3.4 ounce package butterscotch instant pudding
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 2 cups mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups chopped
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Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Whisk together baking soda and flour and set aside.
  • Cream together butter, applesauce and sugars. Add the pudding package and beat until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in chopped Reese’s.
  • Scoop into 2 tablespoon size balls and place on your cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 112kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 82mg | Potassium: 40mg | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 80IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 0.7mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Dorothy Kern

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Skinnier butterscotch reese's pudding cookies on a blue decorative plate with recipe title in text below plate

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Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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67 Comments

  2. I am a diet fad junkie…but I never seem to finish them. I am interested in the cleanse…I can do anything for 48 hours too:-) But then I would probably fill up on cookies as soon as the cleanse was over, so big fail for me!!! Let me know how it goes!!! I’ll be eating cookies while I wait for you:-)

    Reply

  3. Um, we should be best friends. Because anyone that can justify suggesting that a recipe containing 2 cups of peanut butter cups is skinny-ish is most definitely welcome in my home. {And while you’re here, can we pretend that Nutella should be listed among nutritionally approved “nut butters”? K, thanks.} 😉 Not to mention, I absolutely had a Pretty Woman flashback when I first read your sentence! These look so tasty. Thanks for sharing & best of luck with your cleanse!

    Reply

  4. I love that these are skinnier–yes, that’s a thing. And yes, that makes them healthy. As for fad diets, I am awful at them. Could never do Atkins or juice cleanses, but when I try to eat healthy or diet, I inevitably fail miserably. Sigh. I was meant to eat cookies forever.

    Reply

  5. hahahahaha 🙂 Let me know how it goes! I looked it up to make a grocery list for today’s shopping trip– I didn’t make it past reading the first meal before I shut the lap top. Sorry… I guess I’m a poor excuse for a cleanse-buddy. :/ I DID eat spaghetti squash for dinner though… that kind of counts, right??

    These cookies look amazing! I LOVE butterscotch in the fall. And Peanut Butter Cups… well, YES PLEASE all year round 🙂

    Reply

    1. It’s been okay today actually, the foods been okay. And I haven’t felt extra hungry. Tomorrow, different story I bet!

      Reply