Christmas Baking- Low Fat Gingerbread Cookies

Low Fat Gingerbread Cookies (http://www.skinnytaste.com/)

This recipe makes soft gingerbreads. Not the kind that break your teeth.

Here's the final picture. I call them Gingerbread Freaks because my icing piping skills kind of 'suck' and they all look a little freaky!

I made the dough the night before, so the next morning Mella and I had to pick a shape... what to choose....

She was such a helpful little elf with these cookies. Rolling the dough...

Cutting out the cookies... we chose the tradtional gingerbread man shape and a little teddy bear too.

After I had a piping nightmare, Mella tried to make them a little prettier with a few little sprinkles.

  

Ingredients:

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

For the Icing:

1 1/2 tbsp egg whites

1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 cup powdered sugar

pinch of cream of tartar

Directions:

For the cookies:

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.

For the icing:

Mix the egg whites with lemon juice.  Combine with powdered sugar, mixing well. If the icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar, if it's too thick add a drop of lemon juice.  Add to a piping bag to decorate cookies when cookies are cooled.

Servings:48

Calories: 66.2 , Fat:0.8 g, Carb: 14.9 g , Fiber:0.1 g , Protein:0.9 g , Sugar: 8.5 g