Now that Thanksgiving has passed, I'm getting into the holiday spirit with some festive, fun, and healthier takes on some of our favorite Christmas treats. Since we had a birthday this week, I thought it would be fitting to bake up some confetti cake mix cookies, but with holiday colors, of course!

And by birthday... I mean for my kitty-fur-baby-boy, Orion.

My four year old was pretty adamant on doing something for our kitty's first birthday. So, confetti cookies for all! Well, except for the cat, obviously. He got some new toys to play with while my daughter and I baked these cookies up.

Yep, there he is... in all his birthday belly-up glory.

What a shameless ball of puff and fluff!

I healthified and lightened these cookies up by using an organic all natural cake mix, subbing out some oil for apple sauce, and using a lot less sprinkles. But, don't worry! As you can see - they turn out pretty colorful and tasty, even with the minor adjustments that I made.

Of course, you can always used a different color of sprinkles for any other holiday theme or party theme I just chose to go with Christmas colors since that's the next holiday coming up!

Oh, and my wonderful peppermint spatula? A gift from my mother-in-law last year or the year before. Thanks Jill!

These cookies turned out light; crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. A perfect lighter take on a fun holiday classic. They go quickly though, so be forewarned.

I think my little one ended up eating about three of them before I knew it!

Skinny Holiday Confetti Cake Mix Cookies
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 29 • Size: 1 Cookie • Calories: 91.2 • Fat: 3 g • Carb: 14.5 g • Fiber: 0.4 g • Protein: 1.3 g • Sugar: 1.1 g • Sodium: 116.5 mg

Ingredients:
1 Box (15.3 Oz.) Yellow Cake Mix (I used an organic brand; Madhava.)
1 Tsp. Baking Powder
2 Whole Large Eggs
3 Tbsp. Canola Oil
3 Tbsp. Unsweetened Applesauce
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 C. Jimmies (Sprinkles)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Combine the cake mix and baking powder in a large bowl together until well blended.

In a smaller separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, apple sauce and vanilla extract.

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture until none of the dry mix is remained in clumps.

Lastly, fold the sprinkles in carefully.

I used jimmies in my cookies (rather than nonpareils) to keep the mix from taking on the colors of the sprinkles so quickly.

Scoop the dough out onto the prepared baking sheet using a 1" scoop or about 1 tbsp. to measure.

Place in the oven to bake for about 9 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to brown.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer carefully to a wire rack to cool. 

Serve warm or place in a sealed container to enjoy for up to a week!