Healthy Holiday Cookie Recipes

Healthy Holiday Cookie Recipes

This Sunday, December 4th, is National Cookie Day! And I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than by sharing some of my favorite cookie recipes--all with a healthy twist!

Like many people, I love baking  sweet treats to share with family and friends during the holiday season but I also want to be healthy. It’s challenging to maintain healthy eating habits, especially during the month of December. Below, find five cookie recipes that you can feel guiltless about. But first, a few basic tips that make every holiday cookie healthier--even ones not on this list!

• Halve the sugar in every recipe--most cookie recipes are alarmingly sweet and will still be delicious with half the sugar.
• Try grinding oatmeal to replace the flour in a recipe. This works especially well with drop cookies, and also for cobblers and crumbles.
• Replace butter and sugar with more wholesome alternatives. I like using dates to replace sugar and coconut oil to replace butter. Keep in mind that these alternatives will yield a less crisp cookie; perfect for drop cookies and less so for cut-out cookies. If you’re replacing the butter with coconut oil, but keeping the sugar, use white sugar instead of brown to retain more crispiness to your cookie.

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1. Almond Meal Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Coconut from Minimalist Baker

These gluten-free goodies don’t skimp on the chocolate, but still remain relatively healthy because they use dark chocolate instead of milk. For an even healthier spin, try using cacao nibs instead.
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2. Ginger Crinkle Cookies from Eating Well

These ginger cookies can be made with less sugar than the recipe calls for, since the cookies get a sprinkling of raw sugar at the end. Also, I like to add some fresh ginger to freshen up the cookie. This recipe is so simple and can be tweaked in so many ways, it’s truly a winner!
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3. Espresso Chip Meringues from Giada De Laurentiis on Food Network

Since meringues only use egg whites, not yolks, they contain less fat and fewer calories. Also, for people going through cancer treatment, meringues are light and delicate enough to not hurt their tender mouths as they undergo treatment.
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4. Iced Whole-Wheat Sugar Cookies from Cooking Light

These cookies are fun to decorate with your children, a holiday activity the whole family can participate in! The icing only uses a half cup of powdered sugar thickened with a dollop of greek yogurt--regular icing uses an entire pound of powdered sugar!
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5. Vegan Snickerdoodles from Sweet Cannela

These spicy and sweet snickerdoodles use ground flax seed instead of eggs to keep these cookies vegan. As well, almond milk replaces regular milk. They taste so great, no one will know that they’re vegan!