Healthy Makeovers for Your Favorite Holiday Cookie Recipes

YouBeauty.com
Make the sweetest season a little bit healthier.
Make the sweetest season a little bit healthier.

It's no secret that the holidays are notorious for expanding your waistline. One of the biggest culprits: all of those delicious sweets! But the truth is, your weight doesn't have to succumb to the sugar-filled and calorie-laden treats. Making smart ingredient swaps can help you still enjoy your holiday favorites-minus the morning-after guilt.

MORE: 11 Guilty Pleasures to Keep You Healthy in 2014

We gave three favorite baked goods a healthy makeover just in time for the holidays:

Oatmeal Cookies
You don't need butter and white sugar to make soft and delicious cookies. Instead, use ripened fruit (such as bananas) and oil for a healthy, sweet baking combination, suggests YouBeauty Culinary Expert and chef Jim Perko.

Better-for-you recipe (makes 36 cookies)

Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
½ cup canola oil
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup walnuts-toasted, chopped
¼ cup pecans-toasted, chopped
¼ cup prunes-dried, pitted, no sugar added, chopped
1 cup raisins-yellow or red
2 cup plain, old fashioned oatmeal

Instructions:
In a large mixing bowl, add and mash bananas with hand masher, then combine and mix in canola oil, vanilla, walnuts, pecans, prunes and raisins. Add oatmeal and mix all ingredients together until well mixed. Using a 1-ounce scoop, measure and drop on to parchment-covered cookie sheet. Slightly push down with fingers to lightly flatten. Bake at 350° F for 20 minutes. Remove, let cool and serve.

Nutrition (per cookie):

  • 80 calories

  • 0 mg sodium

  • 0 g saturated fat

  • 5 g sugar

Recipe developed by and courtesy of the Cleveland Clinic.

QUIZ: Are You Eating For Your Beauty?

Chocolate Bark
This tasty dessert is just what it sounds like: a slab of regular chocolate and calories. Instead of making the usual sugar-filled treat, use dark chocolate to increase your intake of beauty-boosting antioxidants called flavanols and mix in toasted nuts for some healthy fats, recommends Perko.

Better-for-you recipe (makes 35 servings; ½ ounce serving size)

Ingredients:
10 ounces dark chocolate-70 percent cocoa bittersweet chocolate
2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
½ cup toasted walnut pieces
½ cup toasted pecan pieces
½ cup toasted almond slices

Instructions:
Combine chocolate and espresso powder. Place over a double boiler, heating on a low flame while stirring until chocolate is ¾ melted. Then remove from heat and stir until smooth. Next, mix in the toasted nuts. Spread mixture on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Chill until set (about 30 minutes). Break into pieces and serve.

Nutrition (per serving):

  • 70 calories

  • 15 mg sodium

  • 2 g saturated fat

  • 4 g sugar

Recipe developed by and courtesy of the Cleveland Clinic.

MORE: The Health and Beauty Benefits of Dark Chocolate

Chocolate Chip Cookies
If there's one cookie you can count on being at every holiday party, it's the classic chocolate chip. This year, wow your friends and guests with this tasty recipe from Dawn Jackson Blatner, R.D., author of "The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life." This one uses canned pumpkin (use up those leftover cans sitting in your pantry from Thanksgiving!) and coconut oil instead of butter, as well as flaxseeds for a slight nutty and healthy touch. Bonus: These cookies are vegan, gluten-free and just one cookie is considered an excellent source of vitamin A.

Better-for-you recipe (makes 18 cookies)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed soaked in 2 tablespoons warm water
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, at room temperature/liquid
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life brand)

MORE: Eat Pretty Over The Holidays

Instructions:
Make flaxseed/water mixture (it will become sticky/gel-like in 5 minutes). With an electric mixer, combine oil and brown sugar until creamy. Beat in pumpkin, vanilla and flaxseed/water mixture. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients: almond meal, oat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Then stir in mini chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking dish with parchment paper. Bake 14 to 16 minutes, until golden/firm. Allow to cool completely.

Note: Store cookies in refrigerator for up to 7 days or freeze them.

Nutrition (per cookie):

  • 110 calories

  • 7 g fat (4 g saturated, 0 g trans fat)

  • 50 mg sodium

  • 9 g sugar

- by Abigail Cuffey