Digital Editions Newsletters

Keywords

Include Ingredients

✕

Exclude Ingredients

✕

EatingWell Magazine Subscribe Now!

Healthy Cookie & Dessert Recipes

Find healthy, delicious dessert recipes including brownies, cakes, cookies, and pie recipes. Healthier recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Bev's Chocolate Chip Cookies

EatingWell reader Beverley Sharpe of Santa Barbara, California, contributed this healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe. She gave chocolate chip cookies a healthy update by cutting back on sugar and incorporating whole grains. To increase protein, Sharpe replaces the rolled oats with 1 cup almond meal.

Glazed Chocolate-Pumpkin Bundt Cake

You don't have to have pumpkin pie to still enjoy pumpkin and spice in a Thanksgiving dessert. Pumpkin helps keep this cake tender and moist while, delicate spices add the classic Thanksgiving flavors.

ADVERTISEMENT

Unicorn Cupcakes

Turn an easy vanilla cupcake recipe into an impressive mythical creature with just a couple marshmallows, a dash of sprinkles and a perfectly placed candle. Kids will flip for these unicorn treats, and you'll flip over how easy and quick they are to decorate. A birthday party win for kids and adults alike!

Flourless Honey-Almond Cake

Honey and almonds flavor this simple (and gluten-free) cake. It's lovely for afternoon tea or a spring holiday dessert. Be careful not to overbeat the egg whites--they should be white and very foamy, but not at all stiff or able to hold peaks. If you beat them too much, the cake may sink in the middle as it cools.

Vegan No-Bake Cookies

Almond butter and coconut oil melt together to bind these stovetop cookies without using any eggs. To take the flavor to the next level, try subbing in your favorite nut butter.

Confetti Birthday Cake

This simple two-layer cake has colored sprinkles baked right in for a fun surprise in every bite, just like a Funfetti cake. It's perfect for birthdays or any occasion that calls for a celebration. Look for naturally colored sprinkles in the baking aisle of your local natural-foods store or find them online.

Red Wine Chocolate Lava Cakes

These perfectly portioned molten cupcakes combine two of your favorite things--red wine and chocolate. When cut open, this easy yet decadent dessert oozes with a gooey chocolate center that pairs perfectly with the wine-and-chocolate ganache drizzled on top.

ADVERTISEMENT

Mini Molten Chocolate Cakes with Mocha Sauce

Pineapple Coconut Bites

Peanut Butter & Pretzel Truffles

Double Nut & Date Tassies

Bite-Size Dessert Recipes

Whether you’re hosting a party or just want to make a sweet treat, try one of these perfectly portioned bite-sized dessert recipes. They’re the ideal addition to a cocktail party buffet, since most can be eaten without a fork. Enjoy a little something sweet with these delicious dessert recipes.

Chocolate Souffle

Rustic Pear Tart

Quick "Cheesecake"

Strawberry-Black Pepper Tart for Two

Desserts for Two

End your dinner for two on a sweet note with our decadent dessert recipes for chocolate fondue, cheesecake, fruit crisp, puddings and more delicious desserts. These healthy dessert recipes are perfectly portioned to share, so you and your sweetie can healthfully indulge your sweet tooth.

Frozen Raspberry Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Blueberry Cupcakes

Dark Cherry Bundt Cake

EatingWell's Best Dessert Recipes

Make one of EatingWell's best dessert recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth!

Melon & Apple Granita

Strawberry-Rhubarb Quinoa Pudding

Grilled Nectarines with Mascarpone Cream

Healthy MyPlate-Inspired Dessert Recipes

These delicious dessert recipes make it easy to eat healthfully and in line with the USDA's MyPlate Guidelines. These healthy recipes meet the MyPlate guidelines for calories, portion size, sodium, saturated fat and added sugars. To make these recipes part of a complete meal, please refer to our serving suggestions included with the recipe.

Apricot-Strawberry Tart

Blueberry-Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

Upside-Down Cinnamon-Pecan Coffee Cake

Oatmeal-Peanut Butter Cookies with Dates

Healthy One-Bowl Dessert Recipes

Whipping up a homemade healthy dessert recipe for a picnic or potluck has rarely been so easy. Whether you’re in the mood for a fudgy chocolate brownie, berry-studded pound cake, chewy oatmeal cookie or a fruit-filled tart, you’ll find all you need for simplifying dessert right here.

Virgin Banana Piña Colada Pops

2-Ingredient Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream

Peanut Butter-Oat Energy Balls

Healthy Snacks to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

These treats are perfect for when you want something sweet and satisfying without any added sugar.

"Chocomole" Pudding

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Maple Sauce

Brown Sugar Peach Shortcakes

EatingWell Energy Bars

Sweet Dessert Recipes Without White Sugar

Delicious desserts are possible without using granulated sugar. Our healthy dessert recipes without white sugar are the perfect example! These alternates to white sugar shine in these healthy dessert recipes developed specifically with their unique flavor and texture in mind.

ADVERTISEMENT

Mini New York Cheesecakes

Double Nut & Date Tassies

Pineapple Coconut Bites

Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches

The Most Adorable Tiny Desserts

Mini versions of your favorite dessert recipes make a perfectly portioned treat.

Classic Cherry Crisp

Choose sweet or tart cherries for this fruit-forward dessert. Look for both in late summer, when cherries are at their peak.

Blueberry-Swirl Buttermilk Ice Cream

This gorgeous homemade ice cream is a showstopper, thanks to bold swirls of blueberry syrup that cut through tart buttermilk-yogurt cream.

Mango Tiramisù

This healthy take on a classic Italian dessert is far from traditional, thanks to ripe mangoes, agave syrup, and a creamy yogurt filling.

Grilled Prosciutto Peaches

We love these salty-sweet grilled peaches anytime the fruit is in season. Stuffed with goat cheese and honey, they work as a side, appetizer, or even dessert.

Key Lime Mason Jar Cheesecakes

These mini mason jar desserts are not only adorable; they also keep portion sizes in check! These beauties can be prepped in under 20 minutes.

Buckwheat Crepes with Strawberries, Rhubarb & White Chocolate

Buckwheat flour gives these whole-grain crepes a nutty flavor and makes this dessert naturally gluten-free. Stuffed with lightly spiced, cooked rhubarb and fresh strawberries, the crepes are a head-turner when they get a drizzle of white chocolate sauce.

Raspberry Clafouti

Clafouti [kla-FOO-tee] simply means a batter-and-fruit dessert, but who doesn't love a fancy French name? Here, we pair fresh raspberries with vanilla bean and almond extract for a simple yet elegant version.

Raspberry-Lemon Chiffon Icebox Cake

You can use a mix of berries as the topping for this classic summertime dessert-we like combining regular raspberries, golden raspberries, and blackberries. Look for golden raspberries at farmers' markets or farm stands at the height of summer.

Almond Cookie Tart with Peaches & Berries

Consider this easy gluten-free fruit tart recipe your year-round secret dessert weapon. It serves a crowd, making it perfect for entertaining. Here we top it with summer stone fruit and berries, but try sliced persimmons and pomegranate seeds in the fall or citrus suprêmes come winter.

Watermelon with Lime

A hit of lime zest and crunchy salt flakes on ripe watermelon is an addictive, salty-sweet way to enjoy a refreshing and hydrating snack. Pair it with a few pistachios for a protein boost.

Chocolate-Covered Banana Ice Cream Bars

Chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream pops get a vegan upgrade with this healthy copycat recipe. Vegan chocolate forms a shell around creamy peanut butter and banana nice cream garnished with your favorite toppings, like chopped peanuts or shredded coconut.

Strawberry Shortcake Cake

Sweet strawberries are nestled between layers of sponge cake and a cream filling in this easy cake. We add nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt to whipped cream to lighten up the filling and give it a little tang.

"Chewie" Cookies

Star Wars fans, this is the cookie for you. These fun and festive "Wookiee" cookies are perfect for a theme party or movie viewing. Almond slivers are arranged over melted chocolate to look like Chewbacca's belt.

Han Fro-Yo

Get into the Star Wars spirit with this healthy and delicious party treat. This 3-ingredient banana ice cream uses activated charcoal to make the frozen yogurt a striking black color to look like the carbonite Han Solo is frozen in.

Vegan Carrot Cake with Coconut Cream Frosting

Classic carrot cake goes vegan in this easy recipe, and gets covered with coconut whipped cream to replace the traditional cream cheese frosting. A mixture of flax and water makes a sturdy substitute for eggs in this vegan cake. Plus, sweet crushed pineapple helps to make this cake delicious with less added sugar.

Granola & Yogurt Breakfast Popsicles

These fun yogurt pops studded with fresh berries make a great on-the-go breakfast for a busy morning--perfect for kids and adults alike.

Mug Brownie

You might want to keep a copy of this recipe in the pantry beside the cocoa for those moments when you crave a chocolaty treat. Cook this fudgy brownie in a mug in the microwave and it's ready in less than a minute!

Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Almond flour provides the base for this tender gluten-free cake that is filled with carrots, spices and just a hint of coconut. Look for almond flour in the gluten-free baking section of most major supermarkets or natural-foods stores.

Cinnamon Roll Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Here we take all the warm, delicious flavors of cinnamon buns and roll them into a cake smothered with a sweet cream cheese frosting. It's best enjoyed fresh out of the oven.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

These moist and delicious cupcakes take on a hint of the tropics thanks to pineapple and coconut. Traditional cream cheese frosting is usually made with regular cream cheese and butter. This version is lightened up by substituting a combination of reduced-fat cream cheese and low-fat Greek yogurt.