Healthy Cookies - Santa Approved!

Santa may be known for his love of cookies, but after visiting millions of homes in one night, he’s had far too many sweet treats. This Christmas, try giving Santa a healthier cookie that’s both delicious and nutritious. These cookies are easy to make, packed with flavor, and better for you. If we want Santa to come back every year, we have to keep him healthy. We always encourage making extra so you can enjoy them too! 😉

Ultimate Healthy Gingerbread

Easy classic gingerbread cookie recipe full of traditional cozy flavors — but no refined flour or refined sugar! These cookies are soft, sweet, and low calorie too.

Calculated for the recipe as written, using butter and excluding the icing.

Ingredients FOR THE COOKIES

1 cup + 6 tbsp (165g) white whole wheat flour (measured like this)
¾ tsp cornstarch
¼ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg, room temperature
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup (60mL) molasses (not blackstrap!)
1 tsp vanilla crème stevia (see Notes!)

Ingredients FOR THE ICING (optional)

10 tsp confectioners' style erythritol (see Notes!)
2 tsp nonfat milk (or adjusted to achieve your desired consistency)

Instructions

To prepare the cookies, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Stir in the molasses and vanilla stevia. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Transfer the dough to the center of a large sheet of plastic wrap, and shape into a 1”-tall rectangle. Cover the top with another large sheet of plastic wrap. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
Leaving the cookie dough between the sheets of plastic wrap, roll it out until ⅛” thick. Lightly flour your cookie cutter, and press it into the dough, making sure each shape lies as close to its neighbors as possible to minimize unused dough. Peel the unused dough away from the shapes, and place them onto the prepared baking sheets. Reroll the unused dough, and repeat.
Bake the cut out cookie dough at 325°F for 8-10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To prepare the icing, stir together the confectioner’s style erythritol and milk in a small bowl. Spoon into a zip-topped bag, and snip off the corner. Pipe onto the cooled cookies.

GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends will work as a substitute for the white whole wheat flour. For the best results, make sure your gluten-free blend includes xanthan gum!

DAIRY-FREE OPTION: Use the coconut oil option or stick-style vegan butter, and use your preferred non-dairy milk in place of the nonfat milk.

🍪 Best Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie

Healthy spin on the classic chocolate chip cookie! No eggs or butter needed!

Calculated for the recipe as written.

Ingredients

1 cup oat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar
4 tbsp white sugar or additional coconut sugar
1/3 cup chocolate chips or more if desired
- semi sweet or dark chocolate chips for extra antioxidants
1/3 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp vegetable or melted coconut oil
3-5 tbsp milk of choice, as needed

For a refined sugar free option, choose coconut sugar, evaporated cane juice, or date sugar. Xylitol works for cookies with no sugar, although the results are a bit more puffy and less chewy.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 380 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients and mix very well.
Add wet, and form into a big ball. Then make little balls from the big one.
- For soft cookies, refrigerate until cold (otherwise, just bake right away).
Bake 9 minutes. Remove from oven when they’re still a little undercooked, then it’s important to let cool 10 minutes before removing from the tray, as they’ll continue to cook while cooling.
They should have spread out, but every now and then they might not (climate plays a huge role in baking), so just smush down with a spoon if needed.
- You can also choose to make extra cookie dough balls and freeze them to bake at a later date. For softer cookies, store in a lidded plastic container. For crispier cookies, store in a lidded glass container.

Delightfully Healthy Snickerdoodle

Naturally clean eating, low fat, and low calorie recipe.

Calculated for the recipe as written.

Ingredients

FOR THE COOKIES

1 cup (120g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour
¾ tsp cream of tartar
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon (see Notes!)
⅛ tsp salt
1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup (96g) coconut sugar or light brown sugar

FOR THE COATING

¼ cup (48g) coconut sugar or light brown sugar
1 tbsp (6g) ground cinnamon (see Notes!)

Instructions

To prepare the cookies, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the sugar. Add in the flour mixture, stirring until incorporated. Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
To prepare the coating, mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl until completely combined and no lumps remain.
Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Using a spoon and spatula, drop a small amount of the cookie dough into the coating. Carefully rock the cookie dough back and forth in the coating. (Do not touch the cookie dough with your hands until it’s fully coated!) Once fully covered in coating, roll the cookie dough into a sphere between your palms, and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough and coating. (Optional: Gently flatten the cookie dough as a spreading “head start” for cookies that are thinner!)
Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the warm baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Notes:

Not all gluten-free flour is created equal and can produce different outcomes.
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour. Oat flour (gluten-free, if necessary!) may also be substituted, but be very careful when measuring it because it tends to be more absorbent than wheat-based flours.

Too much flour will make your cookies turn out cakey and dry, rather than soft and chewy. If you can’t incorporate all of the flour into your cookie dough, then stir in room-temperature milk (any kind will work!) ½ teaspoon at a time until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated.

GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, use as follows: ¼ cup (30g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, 3 tablespoons (21g) coconut flour, and ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will work as well, if measured like this.

VEGAN, DAIRY-FREE + EGG-FREE OPTION: Use coconut oil or stick-style vegan butter (I like this one and this one). In place of the egg, substitute 1 ½ teaspoons of Ener-G (I whisk this into the dry ingredients!) + 2 tablespoons of warm water + an extra ½ tablespoon (7g) of coconut oil or vegan butter.

Make some cookies, make some memories, and have a Merry Christmas!

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