Tasty and Healthy Holiday Cookie Recipes

 

The holiday season (and all of the delicious treats that come with it) can wreak havoc on your diet and your health. Even for those opting not to travel, or to hold smaller gatherings, the holiday season still finds ways to tempt just about everyone with its seemingly endless options of feasts, parties, snacks, treats, and desserts. From pies to eggnog to holiday cookies, it’s easy to pack on several pounds in just a few weeks.

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying some of the delicious treats that the holidays offer. But for those who want to enjoy some sweet treats while still trying to keep their eating regimen balanced, then having some tasty and healthy holiday cookie recipes can help.

Tips for Tasty and Healthy Holiday Cookies 

No matter what you make and eat this holiday season, try following a few basic tips to help keep your nutritional intake balanced, without having to say no to your favorite Christmas cookies.

  1. Use as many real food ingredients as possible. Many treats, especially cookies, are packed with white flour, refined sugar, and lots of butter. When possible, look for recipes where you can replace or amend those ingredients with alternative ingredients like almond butter, peanut butter, oats, almond flour, and maple syrup (or other non-sugar substitutes).
  2. Use other flavorful ingredients (like nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cinnamon) to amp up the flavor of your cookies instead of just sugar.
  3. Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar in any recipe. You can almost always use a little less than the recipe calls for (or replace some or all of it with a non-sugar sweetener like maple syrup or Stevia).

Tasty and Healthy Holiday Cookie Recipes

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

By balancing typical ingredients with almond butter, wheat flour, applesauce, and turbinado sugar, these delicious, soft gingerbread cookies cut way down on the most unhealthy ingredients found in most gingerbread cookies. 

For ingredients, you’ll need:

  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • ¼ cup almond butter
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • 2 tablespoons applesauce
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup wheat flour
  • Turbinado sugar (for garnish)

For the complete recipe and instructions, follow this link.

Chocolate Chip Pomegranate Cookies

It’s easy to forget to eat enough fruits and veggies during the holidays. This delicious recipe can help: the star of the recipe isn’t the chocolate, but the pomegranates, which come packed with natural immune-boosting vitamin C and antioxidants. Even better, the natural sweetness they add means that you don’t need to add any additional sugar to this recipe. 

For ingredients, you’ll need:

  • Pomegranate seeds and arils
  • Coconut flour
  • Baking powder
  • Salt
  • Banana
  • Oil
  • Vanilla extract
  • Unsweetened coconut milk (tetra pack)
  • Vegan chocolate chips
  • More pomegranate seeds to garnish

For the full recipe and instructions, read on here.

Replace sugar in any of your favorite tasty and healthy holiday cookie recipes with Better Stevia Glycerite, Stevia, or Sure Stevia Extract Powder, which are available from NOW Foods, NutraMedix, and Kal. Read on for more info!

Better Stevia Glycerite – NOW Foods

Better Stevia Glycerite from NOW Foods is an alcohol-free and a zero-calorie, low glycemic, natural plant-based sweetener that you can use as a healthy substitute for table sugar and artificial sweeteners in your favorite holiday beverages and foods.

Stevia – NutraMedix

If you’re trying to make healthier choices this holiday season, and especially if you’re someone who needs to ensure they maintain balanced blood sugar levels, then Stevia from NutraMedix is another great option to use in place of sugar in your tasty and healthy holiday cookie recipes this year. Stevia contains liquid stevia leaf extract concentrated in a base of mineral water and ethanol. Just add five drops to your favorite beverage or recipe (adjusted to taste)!

Sure Stevia Extract Powder – Kal

For a powdered Stevia option, try from Sure Stevia Extract Powder from Kal. This extract utilizes stevia leaf extract and unlike products that use the whole herb, it has no strong aftertaste, so you can enjoy all of stevia’s zero-calorie sweetening properties without the bitterness of many similar products. Use it to naturally sweeten all of your favorite holiday (and non-holiday) beverages and treats this holiday season.

FAQs

Is stevia a plant or a sweetener?

Both! Stevia can refer to the natural, non-sugar sweeteners that come from the Stevia rebaudiana plant itself (or its extracts).

Can I cook with stevia?

You can use stevia in a wide variety of baking and cooking applications, which is good to know during the holidays. Still, it’s good to keep in mind that in some baking recipes, replacing sugar with stevia could cause some unexpected results.

How is stevia sold?

You can buy stevia in many different forms, including powder, liquid extract, and whole-leaf. You can also find many food and beverages made with stevia.