Healthy Winter Dessert Recipes

These spiced molasses cookies have added applesauce to help keep the cookies moist, and whole-wheat flour and oats to incorporate whole grains.

This cake was inspired by the one of the most popular Jamaican desserts, sweet potato pudding. Traditionally, raw shredded sweet potatoes are used, but we found that sweet potatoes sold in the U.S. don't provide the same texture as those in Jamaica. Instead, we mix mashed sweet potato with eggs and flour to get a slightly different, but equally delicious, cheesecake-like result.

Serve this dense, fudgy pudding cake with vanilla frozen yogurt.

The “secret ingredient” in these coconut-infused blueberry cupcakes--mashed potatoes--gives the cake great texture, almost like pound cake. The fluffy frosting is just fun. Because it's low in calories and fat, you can spread or pipe a generous amount on top of each cupcake to make them look extra festive. The frosting stiffens as it stands, so be sure to put it on the cupcakes right after you make it.

Crisp, moist and chewy, this cookie created by Georgene Egri of Walnut Creek, California, has the essential ingredients for the holidays: citrus, nuts and cranberries. These cookies travel well for gift-giving and lunchboxes.

This simple dessert works any time of the year, but its flavors will be the best and brightest in the winter when oranges are at their peak.

When you have a craving for a comforting dessert, try this pudding cake, which forms its own rich-tasting sauce as it bakes. The coffee flavor is subtle, but it adds complex depth to the cake's flavor.

These sweet-tart cranberry-orange bars are a great addition to a holiday cookie tray or cool weather grab-and-go treat.

This creamy sweet potato pie recipe is seasoned like a pumpkin pie with plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg and gets nice ginger flavor from the gingersnap crust. For the best results, roast sweet potatoes in the oven; in a pinch, microwave them instead.

Sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb are whirled together in this chilled soup. Serve it as a starter for an early-summer supper.

This pudding-like gluten-free coconut cake recipe gets its amazing flavor and texture from pureed oranges. Sour oranges (aka Seville oranges) are ideal in these healthy coconut cakes because of their acidity and thin skin, but most citrus fruit will work. Coconut flour is high in fiber and absorbent, making it a great choice for moist desserts. Almond flour adds fabulous texture and nutty flavor. Look for gluten-free flours in natural-foods markets.

Pears are simmered in a blend of tart pomegranate juice and sweet dessert wine with gorgeous garnet-red results. The pears are served with the reduced poaching liquid and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds. A striking finale to any festive meal, garnish the pears with toasted slivered almonds and a touch of tangy Greek yogurt.

This pomegranate float recipe, which uses low-calorie pomegranate-flavored seltzer, pomegranate juice, vanilla frozen yogurt and fresh blueberries, is a refreshing, fruity twist on a malt-shop ice cream float. Combine ingredients just before serving.

These healthy chocolate cupcakes get a soft, moist texture from their not-so-secret ingredient: beets. The beets act as a natural red food dye, plus they bump up the fiber. Use red beets to give the cream cheese frosting a vibrant pink hue.

This classic orange marmalade is a pretty gift for the holidays.

Instead of cantaloupe, you may also use Persian, Crenshaw or casaba melon in this refreshing ginger-infused soup.

Warming the berries enhances their flavor and makes a pleasing contrast to the cool orange slices. Fresh pineapple can stand in for the oranges.

Rich, creamy, vanilla bean-flecked pudding tempers the tart-sweet pomegranate compote. Pick out small, festive glass dessert dishes for this pretty parfait.

Our Test Kitchen created this showpiece cheesecake to celebrate one of winter's brightest gifts: the orange. It is exceptionally rich and creamy-tasting, but lower in saturated fat than a traditional cheesecake. The secret is to replace most of the cream cheese with pureed cottage cheese. Be sure to let the food processor do its job and process the cottage cheese until it has a silky texture.

An unusual combination of ingredients make a delicious dessert or a healthful afternoon break.