Healthy Cookie Recipes

The mix-ins in these homemade granola bars are inspired by ingredients commonly used in Middle Eastern cooking--dates, hazelnuts, pistachios, tahini and cardamom. But feel free to vary the dried fruit, nuts, seeds and/or spices to your preference. We tested several sticky sweeteners, including maple syrup and honey, but found brown rice syrup held the bars together the best.

You might want to keep a copy of this recipe in the pantry beside the cocoa for those moments when you crave a chocolaty treat. Cook this fudgy brownie in a mug in the microwave and it's ready in less than a minute!

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.

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.

This diabetic-friendly brownie recipe uses the classic flavor combination of chocolate and peanut butter to make a delicious dessert you'll want to make again and again.

Great for breakfast on the go! Golden roasted nuts, seeds and oats are enveloped by flavorful almond butter in these delectably chewy, no-fuss energy bars. Unrefined turbinado sugar adds a deep caramelly undertone. Feel free to use light brown sugar instead. Bars stored at room temperature will be softer than those that are refrigerated.

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

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.

This irresistible diabetic-friendly peanut butter cookie recipe contains no flour. For Christmas or special occasions, imprint them with cookie cutters to fit the season instead of the star-shaped cutter.

Cocoa powder and brown sugar make this easy drop cookie recipe taste like rich brownies.

These delectable bar cookies are great for holiday cookie trays, to bring out at casual gatherings, or just to enjoy with a cup of coffee.

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.

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 cardamom-spiced shortbread cookies were inspired by the Indian sweet kaju katli.

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.

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!

We gave no-bake cookies a healthy makeover, bumping up the peanut butter and cutting back on added sugar and butter. The result is a chewy, peanut buttery, oat-packed delicious cookie. It's easy to whip up a batch of these--only a few simple ingredients are needed to make these chewy peanut butter cookies and there's no baking required.

Holiday cookies don't get any cuter than these mini gingerbread houses that kids and adults alike will love. Use a mini gingerbread house cookie cutter to cut out all the parts (the kids will love helping with this part), then build the houses and let the kids go to town decorating. Line up your finished creations to make a gingerbread house village, eat them up or prop them up on mugs of cocoa for dipping and munching.

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.

The spelt flour in these ginger molasses cookies offers a chewy texture and a nutty flavor that shines with the ginger in this easy holiday cookie recipe.

For bigger hits of chocolate goodness, use chopped bittersweet chocolate in place of the chips. Hold on to the leftover pumpkin puree--it's yummy stirred into your morning oatmeal or yogurt.

Skip the granola bar options at the grocery store--they're easy to make at home! You can vary the add-ins to your taste, swapping 2 cups of any combination of small (or chopped) dried fruit, nuts and/or seeds for the chocolate, cherries and coconut in this version. We tested several sticky sweeteners, including maple syrup and honey, but found brown rice syrup held the bars together the best.

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.

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