Post-Workout Candy Cane Cookies

These taste almost like a shortbread cookie, not too sweet. If you like a sweeter cookie you could always add a glaze to the top.

Ingredients
1 box sugar cookie mix
1/4 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1/3 cup softened fat-free cream cheese
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for surface
Red food coloring
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract

In a bowl, combine sugar cookie mix, melted butter, applesauce, egg, cream cheese, and flour; mix together to form dough. Separate dough into 2 equal portions and place in 2 different bowls. Add red food coloring gradually to 1 bowl of dough, kneading together until desired shade of red is created (this is messy). To second bowl of uncolored dough, add peppermint extract and knead together (also messy). Refrigerate dough for at least one hour.

Remove dough from fridge. On a floured surface, shape each section of dough into balls and then roll each ball into 1/4-inch-wide ropes, each about 6 inches long. For each cookie, carefully twist some of the red and white ropes of dough together and shape into a candy cane. Spread candy canes out on cookie sheets and bake on the top shelf of the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Nutrition info per cookie for PWO (makes 20 cookies):
152 calories
22.5g carbohydrates

These would be fun to make with kids!