Recipes: 12 Healthier Holiday Cookies You Won’t Feel Guilty About Eating
No matter your age, you’ve got to admit, Santa Claus is one impressive dude. You don’t see many other senior citizens traveling the whole world in one night to spread holiday cheer, do you? Exactly. And for that, he deserves the millions of cookies left out for him each Christmas Eve. But we’re a bit concerned that whole holly-jolly and round thing can’t be too good for him when he’s, like, hundreds of years old, so we just want to help him be a littleeeeeee healthy(er) this year. That’s where these cookies come in: We’ve found 12 healthier holiday cookies you can bake for Santa (or yourself) this holiday season, featuring all of the sweetness and none of the guilt.
Below, you’ll find everything from vegan thumbprint sugar cookies filled with jam to chocolate chip cookie cheesecake bars. Happy baking!
Vegan Thumbprint Cookies
Via With Food and Love
These cookies are grain-free, gluten-free and vegan (oh my!). Just stick a bit of your favorite jam in the middle of each one and you’ve got yourself one sweet treat.
Cinnamon Sugar Pillow Cookies
Via Chocolate Covered Katie
Cinnamon, sugar, cream cheese filling, and only 64 calories per cookie. Do I really have to say anything more?
Flourless Double Chocolate Cookies
Via Chelsea’s Messy Apron
This cookie has double the chocolate but half of the guilt. There’s no butter, white sugar, oil, or flour to be found in this recipe. And pssst: They’re gluten-free, too.
Healthier Gingerbread Cookies
Via Cookie and Kate
You simply can not have Christmas without gingerbread cookies. It’s just not the same. So if you know you’re going to have them, you might as well be as healthy as possible. This recipe substitutes coconut sugar for regular sugar and whole wheat flour for regular flour. Bet you can’t taste the difference.
Healthy Classic Monster Cookies
Via Amy’s Healthy Baking
Its hard to put monster and cookie in the same sentence without thinking about the cookie aficionado himself, Cookie Monster. But don’t worry, these cookies aren’t crazy, blue, or furry — just plain ol’ good.
Homemade Peanut Butter “Oreos”
Via Chocolate Covered Katie
I imagine someone somewhere puts out plain old Oreos, fresh out the pack, for Santa each Christmas. To them I say, bah humbug. Why not bake your own Oreo-like cookies with a healthier peanut butter-y twist? Santa would be so proud.
No-Bake White Chocolate Raspberry Protein Cookies
Via The Big Man’s World
If you’re feeling lazy this Christmas Eve, but want to leave out something extra special out for old Saint Nick, try these — they’re sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan and, best of all, no-bake. Just throw the ingredients together and mush them into cookie form.
Spiced Carrot Cake Cookies
Via Averie Cooks
Move over, grandma. These cookies take everything you love about a classic carrot cake (minus the cream cheese icing, sorry) and pack it into a 138-calorie cookie.
Healthy Soft Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Via Amy’s Healthy Baking
Who says December marks the end of pumpkin-flavored everything? Not this girl. These cookies will have you reminiscing about freshly fallen leaves and slightly warmer weather. You’re welcome.
Three-Ingredient Detox Cookies
Via A Clean Bake
If you’ve never heard of using cookies to detox, now you have. These fudge-y cookies are simple to make, featuring only three ingredients (!!): peanut (or almond) butter, cocoa powder, and bananas. The only downside is that they are a little ugly. But hey, its whats on the inside that counts, right?
Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Oatmeal Cookies
Via Running With Spoons
Vegan Santa, I’ve found you your new favorite dessert. These cookies are low on added sugar and big on banana-chocolatey flavor. Yum.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars
Via Margeaux Vittoria
Whenever you fuse two classic desserts together, you get yourself a Christmas miracle. And these are sugar-free and grain-free. Say whaaaat?
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