[mimsyborogoves]

You know how you can throw a can of diet soda, pumpkin, applesauce, canned pineapple, etc in with a box of cake mix and it comes out almost exactly the same, just without the calories from the oil/eggs? Is there a way to make cookies like that?

[emilym]

Not soft, buttery, chewy cookies. The softness/chewiness of cookies is a direct result of butter in the recipe. You could always sub coconut oil, or canola oil, but you'd still need to use a lot of fat to create that type of effect in a cookie.

However,

1. If you're okay with crunchy, crispy cookies, then, yes, it's possible to leave fat entirely out of the recipe.

2. Also, instead of baking a "chewy cookie," you might look at baking more of a "cake-like cookie." In that case, yes, you can substitute applesauce/pumpkin/etc for the fat in the recipe and still get the same result.

[nelie]

I'm not a food scientist but I know a few things...

1) Soda - provides lift, much like baking soda but also provides some depth of flavor and moisture.
2) Applesauce - a common oil replacer, generally it is recommended that you only cut oil in half to retain as much of the original texture as possible
3) Pumpkin - an egg replacer. There are many other egg replacers such as bananas, flax seed, etc.

If you are looking for cookies that are 'healthy', I'd recommend looking through Chocolate Covered Katie's blog. She does a lot of recipes that would contain things to reduce sugar/oil.
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/

[amandie]

Originally Posted by mimsyborogoves

You know how you can throw a can of diet soda, pumpkin, applesauce, canned pineapple, etc in with a box of cake mix and it comes out almost exactly the same, just without the calories from the oil/eggs? Is there a way to make cookies like that?

Normally for cake mix cookies, I use about 1/2 cup oil and 2 eggs for a 18.25 oz box of cake mix, so perhaps you could add just enough liquid (diet soda, applesauce, etc) then make drop cookies?

I've experimented trying 1/4 cup of oil, 1/4 cup applesauce and 1 egg white- turned out great! The cherry chip is my fave.

I'd try a very small batch of cookies at once in case it doesn't work out and makes a mess all over the oven. Good luck!

[Psychic]

I don't know about cookies, but I know you can make delicious muffins with just a box of Devil's Food Cake and Canned Pumpkin.