100-Calorie Christmas Cookies

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

This healthy shortbread cookie recipe uses white whole-wheat flour instead of white flour. The light-colored flour is mild in flavor, adding nutrients without overpowering the classic shortbread taste. These cookies are easy to make, so they're perfect for a holiday cookie swap or afternoon tea. These cookies are also wonderful to bake with small kids because they'll love poking the buttonholes in the shortbread dough.

These healthier pecan butter cookies are made with whole-wheat pastry flour and plenty of nuts.

This healthy sugar cut-out cookie recipe uses white whole-wheat flour, honey and lemon zest to make a delicious cookie perfect for decorating. Pull out all your cookie cutters and decorate these adorable cookies with natural decorating sugar and icing.

Use these meringue mushrooms to decorate any yule log cake. The recipe makes enough to decorate your serving platter and have plenty left over for each serving of cake.

Biscotti are always sweetly welcome dippers for coffee or tea, but you can see how well they accompany cold favorites when you serve them with sorbet.

These cookies boast a bright, zesty filling and spicy aroma. They make a large batch and are extremely convenient, since you can make the logs of cookie dough ahead, then pull them out of the freezer and slice and bake as many cookies as you need. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

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.

We love how the ground flax adds a nutty flavor and the brown sugar caramelizes on the outside of these thumbprint cookies. Fig preserves make this cookie special; other fruit preserves could be used as well.

A no-bake, make-ahead treat, this perfect combination of fruit and nuts is a nutritious and delicious mouthful. Rolling them in shredded coconut gives them their festive look.

These brownies are a high-energy treat you can pack in your lunch bag or tuck into your fanny pack when you are out walking. Wrap cooled brownies individually for fast picnic assembly or lunchbox fill-ups.

Registered Dietitian Mary LaRock flavored these phyllo rolls with orange and dark chocolate for a winning cookie that will be a lovely addition to any holiday cookie platter.

Coconut oil stands in for butter in this dairy-free, eggless cookie recipe for completely mouthwatering gingerbread cut-outs. Decorate cookies with a simple vegan icing or sanding sugar.

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.

This healthy cinnamon-sugar snickerdoodle thumbprint cookie recipe has an added bonus: chocolate filling! With slightly crispy edges and a chewy, chocolaty center, these snickerdoodle cookies are the ultimate crowd pleaser.

Delightful with fruit, these crisp golden slices also make a charming partner for a morning caffe latte.

These luxurious macaroons studded with pistachios and dried cranberries hail from food stylist Katie Webster. She made them three years ago when she was a personal chef for a gluten-intolerant client, then began selling them to a grateful crowd at her local farmers' market. Although you can concoct them with either sweetened or unsweetened coconut, we find that the unsweetened packs a more coconutty wallop. For a variation, substitute chopped crystallized ginger and mini chocolate chips for the pistachios and cranberries.

This recipe for the famous pretzel-shaped Scandinavian cookie has been remade so it's lighter but still just as tasty.

These diabetic-friendly chocolaty macaroons are low in sugar yet sure to satisfy your sweet-tooth.

These cream cheese-based sugar cookies are flavored with almond paste. They're beautiful right out of the oven but try one of our decorating ideas for added pizzazz.

Spelt flour's earthy flavor is a good companion to the warm spices and molasses in these cheerful cookies. Play around with the glaze and decorations to vary the look of the batch.

Suit your taste by using your choice of almond or mint extract for these crisp cookies.

This crispy-on-the-bottom-and-chewy-on-the-inside gluten-free cookie recipe is a twist on a traditional Italian holiday treat, pignoli, or pine nut cookies. Look for almond paste--a mixture of ground almonds and sugar (available in tubes or sometimes tubs)--near other baking supplies in well-stocked supermarkets or specialty stores. Sweeter marzipan doesn't work well in these cookies.

There is no need to wait for December to enjoy crisp sugar cookies in fanciful shapes. Capture the spirit of fall by baking maple leaf- or pumpkin-shaped cookies. And when the festive season arrives, have fun with holiday shapes like stars and wreaths. Use the Cinnamon-Sugar Topping for crisp cookies that make perfect teatime treats or finish with Decorator Icing for more elaborate cookies (see Cookie-Decorating Tips, below).