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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 can’t do any of the carb free/sugar free thing either. It would be total torcher! These look amazing! Have a fabulous day!

    Reply

  3. I feel your pain. I just posted and referred to my 7 annoyance pounds that I would like to think is muscle weight, but is, in fact, buttercream and cookie dough weight. I would probably still go with the muscle thing if it wasn’t for the fact that my jeans aren’t fitting in places that I’ve never had issue with before!

    It’s kind of like that silly e-card that says “That moment when you realize your muffin top has become a pound cake ” – so true and so very, very, sad:(

    Reply

  4. I am seriously laughing my butt off! And you TOTALLY need to treat yourself to a little retail therapy! Just wait till your finished with your cleanse though or the only place you will see at the mall is the bathroom!

    Oh…and these cookies look amazing! Anything with Peanut Butter is a win in my book!

    p.s. its a great cleanse…

    Reply

  5. Not only did I hear the line, I saw the scene in my head. LOVE that movie and can recite it.

    True Story. My sister called me one day all kinds of excited. She just had to tell me about the traffic stop she made. (She’s a State Trooper) She got out of her car, walked forward and literally heard in her head, “Hey! That’s a Lotus Esprit!”

    She wanted to ask if “this baby corners like it’s on rails” but unfortunately that would not have been professional AND would not have been appreciated since she had to tow the car and ARREST the driver.

    Reply

    1. OMG I totally laughed out loud when I read that. That’s awesome. (Well, not for the guy that got arrested, obvi.)

      Reply