Healthy Cookie & Dessert Recipes

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

This riff on the Thanksgiving favorite combines a traditional pumpkin pie filling with swirls of sweetened cream cheese. And since it's only Thanksgiving once a year, we've topped it all off with a buttery spiced-pecan topping. This easy pie recipe will please anyone at your table this holiday.

This custard filling is what takes this buttermilk pie recipe to the next level. It tastes like a panna cotta with a bit of attitude from the tang of the buttermilk and a generous sprinkling of cranberries on top.

Who knew a pie recipe could taste so good? Homemade chocolate pie is a must-have at many holiday gatherings and this one will set a new bar. The velvety filling is lightened up by swapping in some cornstarch for some of the egg yolks traditionally used for thickening. The pairing of bittersweet chocolate with the nutty amaretto flavor is pure almond joy that's only better topped with cinnamon-spiced whipped cream (included!).

This homemade apple pie recipe has a simple and classic flavor, with fresh apples, spices and butter that's been sizzled until it's brown and nutty. The top crust is where you have the opportunity to add a touch of pizazz. Here we suggest cutting the dough into leaf shapes for an autumnal motif, but you could cut any shape you want.

The "magic" ingredient in the filling of this pie (and many gooey baked goods) is sweetened condensed milk, which delivers that craveable texture. This pecan pie recipe without corn syrup is a wonderful Thanksgiving dessert. A little bourbon adds its complex, oak-aged perfume to the sweet mix but, if you prefer, vanilla extract tastes great too.

For this pie's filling we call for fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, but store-bought (not frozen) works well and may even give you more brightly colored results. The Italian meringue topping is made by beating hot sugar syrup into egg whites that are already beaten to stiff peaks. It's a bit more effort, but the meringue holds its shape longer.

This easy slow-cooker pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap-and-walnut crust is full of all your favorite fall flavors. Cooking dessert in the slow cooker frees up oven space, making this healthy dessert perfect for entertaining. It might just bump your regular old pumpkin pie off the Thanksgiving menu. To make this recipe gluten-free, swap out the regular gingersnap cookies for gluten-free gingersnaps.

These healthy, gluten-free cookies are so deliciously soft that they almost melt in your mouth! Notes of honey add a nice touch to both the cookie and icing--and pair deliciously with the pumpkin and spices. This pumpkin cookie celebrates fall and tastes indulgent, but is filled with good-for-you ingredients. Be sure to let the dough stand and hydrate for easier handling. Almond flour (aka almond meal) can be found in the gluten-free section of large supermarkets and natural-food stores.

A dump cake recipe is exactly what it sounds like--you simply dump all of the ingredients into a pan and bake. There isn't a step where you stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture; instead, it goes into the baking pan in three stages and the result is a pudding-like cake with a streusel-like topping. The two parts together are delicious (and you'd be hard-pressed to find an easier fall dessert)!

Indulge your PSL obsession with these pumpkin spice cookies. Instant espresso powder gives these soft, cakey cookies a subtle yet recognizable coffee flavor. Spread with cream cheese frosting (with more pumpkin pie spice flavors) and sprinkle with cinnamon to finish. And, go ahead, drink a pumpkin spice latte while you eat them for the full PSL experience. After all, it's only fall for so long (though we'd eat these cookies year-round). To make these cookies kid-friendly, simply omit the espresso powder.

These pretty little two-bite almond and pear tarts are perfect for party buffets, especially in the fall when pears are in season. Thinly slicing the pears lets you roll up the tarts more neatly, giving you a bakery-worthy presentation. If you have a mandoline, this is a good time to pull it out. Cold puff pastry is important to ensure you get irresistibly flaky results. Want to make this easy, healthy dessert gluten-free? Just swap in gluten-free puff pastry, found in the freezer section of most grocery stores. And don't forget to use an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend to roll it out!

Deliciously warm spiced cake layers are rolled together with slightly tangy cream cheese frosting. This pumpkin jelly roll tastes decadent, but each serving is under 200 calories and has less than 20 grams of sugar. Don't be intimidated by this jelly roll--so long as you work quickly while the cake is warm, it's hard to mess it up or crack the cake.

This old-school, comforting dessert will remind you of something your grandmother might make. Although the dough is healthier, thanks to whole-wheat flour, the pastry still comes out flaky and tender like a traditional dough would. The apples are the perfect texture and melt in your mouth, and the cream-yogurt mixture is the element that completes this dessert. Be sure to buy smaller apples; a bag of snacking apples--like the ones you would buy for your kids--are the perfect size for this recipe.

Slightly sweet, tender pears are paired with a lovely vanilla-, cinnamon- and orange-infused golden syrup. The (literal) icing on the cake is a dollop of creamy vanilla yogurt in the bottom of the bowl. This very elegant dessert is also calorie-conscious and brimming with fiber. If you want to dress up your poached pears, they can be topped with a variety of items, like granola, crushed cookies, chopped nuts, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Put down that cookie scoop! Baking one giant cookie in a skillet saves time and produces craveable results: a cookie that's crispy on the edges and oh-so-soft on the inside. This easy dessert is sure to please your family and friends.

This creamy strawberry-mango nice cream is a delicious healthy ice cream alternative. It's all fruit, dairy-free, vegan and contains no added sugar. And this three-ingredient dessert is super-fast and easy to prep. Serve it as a snack or light dessert on the hottest days of the summer--or any time you want a refreshing treat.

Get all the tropical flavors you love in a piña colada in this creamy dairy-free dessert. This ice cream alternative gets its sweetness from pineapple and coconut and is just as delicious with or without the optional rum. Either way, it's sure to put you in a beachy state of mind--not bad for a treat that takes just 10 minutes to whip up in your food processor.

Popsicles take a boozy turn with these ginger, lime and vodka ice pops inspired by a classic Moscow Mule cocktail. These simple ice pops have only 47 calories per pop and take just 5 minutes to prep--just remember to stick them in the freezer at least 8 hours before you're ready to serve them.

How can you go wrong with the combination of apples and caramel, especially in a fall dessert? This caramel-apple cake recipe is surprisingly easy to make and requires just 20 minutes of active time--not bad for a such a good-looking treat! We call for white whole-wheat flour in this recipe; it has a milder flavor than regular whole-wheat flour and more fiber than all-purpose flour, so it's perfect for making healthier baked goods.

This crock pot apple cobbler couldn't be easier: just spend 15 minutes prepping the apple mixture and cake topping, then let the slow cooker take care of the rest. We like the mixture of Honeycrisp and Fuji apples, but you can use other apples, such as Gala or Pink Lady, or add some Granny Smiths for tartness. Just steer clear of softer apples like Macintosh or Golden Delicious, which will get too mushy in the slow cooker. The apples release their juices, which marry with the sugar to create a delicious caramelly sauce, while the topping puffs up and takes on a lovely brown color. This simple fall dessert is delicious as-is or with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.