Healthy Cookie Recipes

Slice-and-bake icebox cookies are the ultimate make-ahead treat. You can make a batch and bake as many as you like, saving the rest of the dough in the freezer. These simple swirled cookies are rolled in finely chopped pecans. They're mildly sweet—perfect for after dinner or paired with coffee.

These healthy strawberry-rhubarb bars are perfect for spring. Strawberries add sweetness to balance the tart flavor of the rhubarb, while a nutty topping adds delicious crunch.

These sweet, cinnamon-flavored apple bars are the perfect accompaniment for your afternoon cup of coffee or tea.

There are plenty of granola bar options at the grocery store, but they're also easy (and often healthier) to make at home. Feel free to vary the add-ins to your taste, swapping 2 cups of any combination of small (or chopped) dried fruit, nuts, seeds and/or chocolate chips for the dried cranberries and nuts in this version. We tested several sticky sweeteners, including maple syrup and honey, but found brown rice syrup held the bars together the best.

These blondies, made with whole-wheat flour and the bright and refreshing combination of raspberries and lemon, provide an invigorating snack for any time of day.

The dough in this easy dessert recipe does double duty--it creates a sturdy crust to hold all the gooey strawberry filling and also makes a crisp crumb topping. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream to take this to the next level.

This spin on snickerdoodles packs a bright lemony punch. The sugar on the outside creates such a crisp, sweet crust to contrast the soft, pillowy inside.

These one-bowl, no-bake energy squares ensure a quick way to refuel during long meetings, tough workouts or that mid-afternoon energy slump. Feel free to swap the blueberries for your favorite dried fruit and the pistachios for your favorite nut--but keep the maple syrup as is; we found using less than 1/2 cup resulted in crumbly bars.

This dark chocolate vegan mug cake is a brownie in a flash! It's moist and rich and made extra decadent with vegan chocolate chips melted on top.

Perfect meringues depend on totally yolk-free whites. The seemingly fussy step of separating each egg into a small bowl before combining them guarantees yolk-free whites for bakeshop-quality meringues every time. These crispy little morsels travel well and make great gifts too.

Sweetened with dates, these whole-grain bars provide energy and protein, thanks to nut butter. With just 5 ingredients you probably already have in your pantry, you can make these delicious, chewy brownies with no added sugar. Whip up a batch as a healthy dessert or for grab-and-go energy bars for a healthy snack.

Refrigerator cookies are a busy baker's dream: an easy dough you can keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, slicing off and making cookies as you “need” them.

These easy and classic cookies incorporate mild-tasting white whole-wheat flour for extra fiber and nutrients.

The batter for this healthy one-bowl brownie recipe is stirred together right in the saucepan used to melt the butter and chocolate--no mixing bowl needed and less cleanup for you. Using shredded zucchini in this healthy dessert recipe creates a tender, moist brownie with about half the amount of butter and sugar found in a classic recipe--and it's virtually undetectable in the baked brownies.

Make a batch of these easy homemade dried-fruit bars to tuck into your kid's lunchbox all week.

This carbohydrate-rich bar, full of nuts, seeds, fruit and oats, was adapted from Amy Harrison's prize-winning submission in the Plains (Georgia) Peanut Festival recipe competition sponsored by The Peanut Institute. It includes a little protein, and is a great grab-and-go pre-workout snack on mornings when you don't have time to digest a full meal.

People likely won't even notice that these delicately nutty, just a little chocolaty, blondies are gluten-free. They use quinoa flour, which you can find in well-stocked supermarkets and natural-foods stores, in place of all-purpose flour. To make your own quinoa flour, grind raw quinoa into a powder in a clean coffee grinder. (Adapted from Quinoa Revolution by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming.)

Most raw cookie dough isn't safe to eat, but this recipe for vegan edible cookie dough is designed to be eaten raw. Canned chickpeas and nut butter form the base of this dough, making it healthy too! In this recipe, we roll the dough into little bite-size balls, perfect for snacking. Keep a stash in your freezer for a healthy treat.

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.

Here's your new cookie jar staple. This recipe for classic oatmeal chocolate chip cookies gets a healthy boost with whole-wheat flour and uses less sugar and butter than traditional recipes. Don't hesitate to make a double batch--they're so satisfying they'll be gone fast.

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 lemon sugar cookies are simple and delicious. A light hand with sugar and a touch of lemon makes them not overly sweet or tart with a soft, chewy texture. They're perfect for pairing with coffee or tea or serving alongside ice cream.

Applesauce is the secret ingredient that keeps these yummy chocolate brownies dense and chewy even without all the butter you would expect to find. We've used whole-wheat pastry flour for added fiber and nutrients and loaded the brownies with plenty of chocolate chips to keep them rich and satisfying. You won't even miss the 20 grams of fat we've lost in the makeover.

Our classic oatmeal cookie recipe gets a flavor twist with coconut, white chocolate chips (which have a more delicate flavor than milk or dark chocolate) and tart dried cranberries. The result is a chewy, sweet treat that's sure to leave you coming back for more.