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.

Editors' Picks

Bev's Chocolate Chip Cookies

88
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.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Spritz Cookies

1
It's time to break out your spritz cookie press for these festive Christmas spritz cookies! These easy Christmas cookies can be decorated with sprinkles or flavored with citrus, spices or sweet sugar glaze. And if you're looking for healthy cookies, these fit the bill thanks to whole-wheat pastry flour that keeps their texture soft while giving them a boost of fiber. For ideas on how to dress up these spritz cookies even more with different flavorings or a glaze, see Tips below.
By Ivy Odom

Cinnamon Roll Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

1
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.
By Hilary Meyer

Vegan No-Bake Cookies

3
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.
By Hilary Meyer

Boot Tracks

26
Patti Anderson, a professional quilter, had never entered a cooking contest before she took our challenge. This quick, no-fuss, chewy chocolate cookie is made on your waffle iron. No need to haul out the big mixer, you can mix the batter with a small hand mixer or even by hand. Kids love these!
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Snowy Peaks

These flourless chocolate treats look like tiny snow-capped mountains. Made with a blend of almonds, coconut and chocolate, they are gluten-free and have a rich, decadent flavor.
By Dorie Greenspan

Almond Flour Cake

5
This light and fluffy almond flour cake is flavored simply with almond extract and orange zest. Whipped egg whites give this gluten-free cake a light texture. Serve with fresh seasonal fruit and whipped cream.
By Laura Kanya

Sweet Potato Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze

1
This sweet potato pound cake started out as a way to use up leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner, but quickly became its own reason to make sweet potatoes. The cake gets better as it sits, so it's a great make-ahead candidate for any occasion.
By Stacey Ballis

Cranberry Crumble Bars

8
These cranberry-orange bars freeze well. Make a batch on a free afternoon and pop them in the freezer so you'll always have a healthy dessert on hand when company calls.
By Summer Miller
Advertisement

Holiday Baking

7 Easy Christmas Cookies to Make This Season
The holiday season wouldn't be complete without some festive cookies to nosh on, but sometimes you're too busy to spend hours decorating Christmas cookies. Luckily, these easy Christmas cookies take no longer than 45 minutes of prep time, so you can have traditional holiday cookies on hand—think: sugar cookies, ginger crinkles and thumbprint cookies—without forgoing an entire afternoon.
How to Make Mini Gingerbread Houses
Perch these adorable cookies on a mug of cocoa or red-wine hot chocolate for the ultimate holiday treat.
How to Throw an Amazing Cookie Swap (That Even Your Vegan and Gluten-Free Friends Can Enjoy)
Diabetes-Friendly Christmas Cookie Recipes
Win the Holidays with These Snowman Meringue Cookies
Pumpkin Brownies

These healthy pumpkin brownies are packed with mini chocolate chips. Warming spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves pair well with the chocolate for a seasonal twist on a classic dessert. The batter will be thick, so be sure to spread it an even layer for even baking.

All Healthy Cookie & Dessert Recipes

Fried Apple Pie Rolls

16
In this healthy take on apple pie, egg roll wrappers stand in for pie crust, saving you calories and the headache of rolling out dough. We like to use Granny Smith apples because they hold their shape and provide tart balance to the sweet filling. Try dipping these handheld crispy treats in whipped cream.
By Breana Lai Killeen, M.P.H., RD

16 Thanksgiving Desserts You Can Make Ahead of Time

From pies you can store in the refrigerator to cakes that can be wrapped and ready days in advance, these desserts are easy additions to your Thanksgiving menu.
By Danielle DeAngelis

Strawberry-Chocolate Greek Yogurt Bark

17
Lightly sweetened Greek yogurt gets studded with fresh strawberries and chocolate chips then frozen so you can break it into chunks just like chocolate bark (but healthier!). This colorful snack or healthy dessert is perfect for kids and adults alike. Use full-fat yogurt to ensure the creamiest bark possible.
By Carolyn Casner

Peanut Butter-Oat Energy Balls

10
Sweet, sticky dates act as the glue for these no-bake energy balls. Perfect for hikes or during sports, this healthy snack travels well. For the best flavor and texture, use Medjool dates--the largest and most luscious date variety. Look for them in the produce department or near other dried fruits.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Streusel

3
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.
By Hilary Meyer

Berry Chia Pudding

3
Chia seeds are a good source of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, plus they have fiber, iron and calcium. Here they're mixed with a fruity base and refrigerated until the chia seeds expand to form a thick, creamy texture similar to tapioca. Pudding for breakfast? We're in.
By Carolyn Malcoun

Diabetic Carrot Cake

6
With this luscious take on an all-time favorite, you can fit this low-sugar cake into a diabetic meal plan with style.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

13
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.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake

34
This easy-to-make chocolate cake is dark, moist, and rich, and it's made with healthful canola oil and whole-wheat flour. Plus, it only dirties one bowl! It's not quite as easy as boxed cake mix, but our simple 3-step recipe gives you an entirely homemade cake in about an hour.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

7
Kids and adults alike will love this easy peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe, which--unlike most cookie recipes--doesn't call for flour. These gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are soft and chewy and, with only five simple ingredients, they can easily be whipped up by young chefs and enjoyed as an after-school treat. They're also perfect for a holiday party or for a cookie swap.
By Ivy Odom

Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

9
This recipe takes oatmeal cookies up a notch with its cinnamony, buttery, delicious take on a much-loved classic dessert.
By Carolyn Casner

Custard Pecan Pie

While every bit as delish as the classic pie, this one has less sugar. Cane syrup, a toasty alternative to corn syrup or molasses, sweetens the pie along with brown sugar. Because the filling for the pie is wet, we brush the crust with egg white and par-bake it to create a barrier to prevent sogginess.
By Virginia Willis

Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie

10
While pumpkin pie deserves respect as a Thanksgiving icon, it's fun to shake up tradition. Surprise your family and friends with a frozen pie this year--it just might become one of their holiday favorites. No need to let them know how easy it is.
By Kathy Farrell-Kingsley

Lemon-Blueberry Bars

8
Sweet and tangy, these satisfying bars are great for dessert, a snack on the go, or as a treat tucked into a child's brown-bag lunch. Plus, they're packed with everyone's favorite antioxidant superfood: blueberries.
By Carolyn Casner

Breakfast Lemon-Blueberry Oatmeal Cakes

2
A cross between muffins and baked oatmeal, these oatmeal cakes are perfect for an on-the-go breakfast or snack. If you prefer to use fresh blueberries, they're an equal swap for the frozen in this recipe. You can also make a double batch and enjoy one during the week and store the other batch in the freezer to savor later.
By Sara Haas, RDN

Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie

Some sweet potato pies call for boiling these root vegetables, but here they're roasted to concentrate their flavor. This helps the earthiness come through, which we enhance with the nuttiness of browned butter. The overall effect is a sweet potato pie that's more complex and a little less sweet.
By Virginia Willis

Fresh Apple Squares

5
One batch of dough does double duty as both the crust and streusel topping to make one of the easiest desserts around.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Crispy Peanut Butter Balls

5
All you need are four simple ingredients to make healthier crispy peanut butter balls that kids and grownups will love. Make this easy recipe for a bite-size treat, on-the-go snack or easy homemade gift. You can swap the peanut butter for almond butter or even sunflower seed butter if you need a nut-free snack for school.
By Devon O'Brien

Baked Cinnamon Apple Slices

1
These baked cinnamon apple slices have just the right level of tenderness and bite and a gooey apple caramel that forms at the bottom of the pan. Enjoy this healthy dessert spooned over ice cream, with biscuits or served over yogurt—the options with these are endless!
By Melissa Gray

Sweet Potato Pie with Cream Cheese Swirl

4
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.
By Stacy Fraser

Lemon-Blueberry Poke Cake

1
This lemon-blueberry poke cake is tender and light. Holes are poked into the cake after baking to let the tangy-sweet glaze seep in.
By Carolyn Casner

Apple Crisp

2
There's nothing like this old-fashioned apple dessert recipe to top off a good dinner. It's low in calories and can be made even lower if prepared with sugar substitute.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Pumpkin Pie Crisp

This cozy dessert features all the flavors you know and love in a pumpkin pie, but without the hassle of rolling a crust. The creamy pumpkin filling is complemented by the warm spices in the pumpkin pie spice blend and maple syrup. Oats and pecans add a lovely crunch to the topping. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
By Jasmine Smith

Apricot-Sunflower Granola Bars

1
Easy to make at home, these nut-free granola bars can be adjusted to your taste preferences. Simply vary the add-ins to your taste, swapping 2 cups of any combination of small (or chopped) dried fruit, seeds and/or chocolate chips for the apricots and seeds in this version. We tested several sticky sweeteners, including maple syrup and honey, but found brown rice syrup held the bars together the best.
By Breana Lai Killeen, M.P.H., RD
Load More
Advertisement
© Copyright EatingWell. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.eatingwell.com