Healthy Halloween Cookie Recipes

Classic chocolate chip cookies get a fall update by mixing in pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice. Not only are these pumpkin cookies even more flavorful than regular chocolate chip cookies, they're also oh-so-soft and cakelike. Use chocolate chunks for big gooey bites of chocolate or opt for mini chocolate chips to ensure a bit of chocolate in each bite.

These lightened-up ghostly Halloween cookies are scary cute! Serve these meringue cookies as-is for a fun Halloween treat, or use them to top a Halloween cake. When making meringues, make sure that your bowl and beaters are clean and that there is not a trace of yolk in the egg white; the smallest amount of fat will prevent the egg whites from forming meringue. Depending on the humidity in your kitchen, the baking time might vary considerably. Check to make sure your cookies are crisp throughout before removing them from the oven.

These easy apple-cinnamon fruit bars make a big batch--perfect for fall potlucks and parties.

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

The deep flavors of molasses, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg make these wholesome pumpkin cookies delicious without the addition of butter--and they lend themselves beautifully to the inclusion of whole-wheat flour. They are also the perfect texture for a sandwich cookie--fill them with a slightly sweetened cream cheese frosting.

These sweet sugar cookies have an appealing cracked top and a chewy middle.

These chewy oatmeal cookies are full of shredded carrots and raisins.

Better than their store-bought cousins, these bars have a richly flavored fig filling, with a little bit of crispness to the crust.

The bars will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Dramatically dark in color, these chewy bars are studded with dried tart cherries.

Here, graham cracker crumbs, dates and nuts are folded into beaten eggs and sugar to make a wonderfully chewy bar that's much lighter than traditional recipes.

These delicious blueberry treats feature moist fruit filling with a crunchy topping made with the same dough as the crust.

Packed with dried cranberries and low-fat granola, these firm bars are excellent travelers, full of complex carbohydrates, vitamins and trace minerals.

Cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg add lots of flavor to these rich pumpkin cookies.

If these devilishly chocolaty cookies don't get gobbled the day they are baked, store them, well-wrapped, in the freezer.

This bake-sale bestseller deserved a fix. It was easy to cut the yolks from the filling but trickier to slim down the shortbread crust. We managed to trim the overall fat by half and maintain the tender crust. These are best served the day they are made.

Full of oats, nuts and raisins, these chewy oatmeal raisin cookies can be enjoyed any day of the week.

Here we use reduced-fat cream cheese in place of some of the butter to lower the fat in this version of the classic chocolate chip cookie.

In this healthy snickerdoodle cookie recipe, ginger, allspice and nutmeg combine with cinnamon to make this the best snickerdoodle you've ever had. The cookies get their signature look and texture from a little food science--baking soda makes them rise and cream of tartar prevents the sugar from binding together and causes the cookies to collapse and wrinkle.

These crunchy and crispy chocolate graham crackers have a tiny bit of spicy ancho chile on top. Oat flour makes them extra tender and tasty. Eat them plain or drizzled with a little melted chocolate. Depending on how thin you roll the dough, the crispness of the baked graham crackers will vary. If yours are not as crunchy as you like after they are completely cooled (especially the ones in the center that might be a little thicker), place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 325°F for about 15 minutes. Let cool and check again for crunch.