120 Healthy Holiday Cookies
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Stained Glass Window Cookies
We found that Jolly Rancher candies produced the brightest, most vibrant "stained glass." Be sure to use the original sweet candies, not the sour flavors. To crush, place each color in its own heavy-duty zip-top bag; crush with a rolling pin or meat mallet. You'll find sparkling sugar in craft or specialty stores, but you can also use turbinado sugar as a substitute.
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Almond Butter Snickerdoodles
When Michaela Rosenthal's daughter moved out, she left behind an unopened jar of almond butter. Unsure of what to do with the butter, Rosenthal was inspired to reproduce almond cookies she'd had at an Asian restaurant. It took several attempts, but the result is a satisfying and healthy version of the treat.
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Raspberry-Rosemary Jam Bars
Using fresh raspberries and making your own jam is actually pretty easy, and gives you a lot more control over the sugar content, which makes these desserts healthier, but also keeps them from being cloying or overly sweet. The real genius is in the rosemary, which adds a surprising adult twist on the taste—and will have guests asking you for the recipe.
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Five-Spice Cookies
Look for five-spice powder on the spice aisle or with the Asian foods in your grocery store. We love the sparkle of sanding sugar used to coat the outside of the cookies; you’ll find it in craft stores. Supermarket turbinado works well, too.
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Matcha-Chocolate Crackle Cookies
These crinkly dark chocolate cookies are a great alternative to iced sugar cookies: not cloyingly sweet, easy to make, and with no artificial colors or flavors. Matcha gives the cookies a light green color and an earthy, faintly grassy flavor.
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Roll-Out Holiday Cookies
This gluten-free recipe makes classic sugar cookies that are perfect for decorating to your liking with frosting and sprinkles. Shape them into pretty hearts for Valentine's Day, egg-shaped ovals for Easter, four-leaf clovers for St. Patrick's Day, and trees or stars for Christmas.
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Almond-Currant Linzer Cookies
For these easy linzer cookies, we like the more updated look of off-center cutouts—but you can go more traditional by keeping the cutouts centered.
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Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
You probably have everything on hand to make these chewy, chocolaty peanut butter cookies. To fit the cookies on a single sheet pan, divide cookies into 5 rows of 4. Pressing the cookies flat helps them bake quickly and get lovely crisp edges; otherwise they'll be too round and undercooked.
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Matcha Biscotti With Bittersweet Drizzle
Bitterness rating: 3/10. If the dough’s stickiness makes it difficult to work with, dampen your hands slightly before shaping it.
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Chocolate-Frosted Cookies
This recipe, reminiscent of the classic black and white cookie, is a quick and easy gluten-free option that everyone will love. In addition to adding whole grains, sorghum flour lends a nutty flavor that pairs well with bittersweet chocolate.
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Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies
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Chocolate-Hazelnut Thumbprints
With a double shot of chocolate and hazelnut flavors, kids and adults will rave over these filled cookies. The espresso powder is optional, but it intensifies the chocolate flavor.
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Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies
Based on the classic whoopie pie, these soft sandwich cookies provide all the pleasures of traditional carrot cake in a fun-to-eat package, including the thick, tangy cream cheese frosting—especially the cream cheese frosting.
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Iced Browned Butter Sugar Cookies
With nutty, caramel notes from browned butter and a fair bit of salt to balance the flavors, these cookies will become an instant favorite. You can roll out the dough right after combining all the ingredients—no chilling required. Look for pearlized sugar in gourmet markets or craft stores; the coarse crystals reflect light to give the cookies a sparkly, jewel-like appearance.
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Ginger-Lemon Pinwheel Cookies
These cookies are impressive and don't take as much finagling as you might think. The key is to chill the dough before rolling and slicing.
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Iced Gingerbread Biscotti
This biscotti recipe makes for a festive accessory to a cup of after-dinner coffee. It also makes a wonderful holiday gift! Be sure to let the cookie logs cool after the first bake so they slice cleanly and don't crumble.
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Lemon, Lavender, and Poppy Seed Cookies
Simple homemade dough provides the ideal base for a cookie made with naturally sweet ingredients.
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Salted Chocolate-Topped Shortbread
These whole-wheat cookies have the expected “short” texture of classic shortbread, plus an irresistible buttery flavor. Cultured butter is worth seeking out here; the richer flavor really comes through in a cookie like this where the butter is front and center. You can also use regular unsalted butter for a still delicious but slightly less complex flavor.
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Chocolate-Peppermint Thumbprints
Using tahini in the filling instead of heavy cream helps keep sat fat in check. And tahini’s subtle flavor won’t overwhelm the chocolate in the way many nut butters might—though cashew butter would be a good, mild substitute if you have it on hand.
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Chocolate-Dipped Almond Meringues
Dress up these almond-flavored meringue cookies by dipping half of each cookie in a glaze of melted chocolate.
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Coconut, Lime, and Macadamia Cookies
Ideal for a hostess gift, potluck party or afternoon snack, this gourmet cookie combination will have you reaching for one more.
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PB, Banana, and Oat Cookies
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Espresso Crinkles
Lightly coat your hands with flour to make rolling the dough into balls easier. The dough freezes well. Freeze the dough after step 1, thaw in the refrigerator, then proceed with step 2. The powdered sugar coating gives these cookies an appealing cracked finish. Serve with coffee to echo the espresso.
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Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
Add some color to your cookie tray with these jam-filled thumbprints. This recipe could also be your healthy alternative for the next school party.
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Pine Nut Cookies
Almond paste is an ingenious way to flavor, tenderize, and sweeten our Pine Nut Cookies because it won't cause spreading like excess sugar or warm butter will.
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Mexican Spiced Shortbread Cookies
"The inspiration for these sinfully rich-tasting cookies combines my obsession with shortbread, dulce de leche, and a restaurant cream cheese dessert," said reader and recipe developer Jennifer Brumfield.
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Grapefruit-Campari Bars With Shortbread Crust
Treat yourself to a sophisticated riff on lemon bars. This grown-up treat embraces the bitterness in both grapefruit and Campari, balancing the flavor with a rich, buttery shortbread crust. When we create our healthier desserts, we think about where the fat will be best used—we strategically place it where it will make the most difference. Here, a good amount of butter goes into the whole-wheat crust to give it an irresistible shortbread-like texture. Just be sure to lightly pat the crust in place; if you press too hard and compact it into the baking dish, it will become dense and tough.
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Rocky Road Cookies
Satisfy a sweet tooth in seconds. These decadent cookies are oozing with rich dark chocolate and creamy marshmallow.
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Raspberry Linzer Windowpane Cookies
These beautiful raspberry cookies are easy to prepare. Cut them into shapes—round, rectangular, or even star-shaped. You can reroll the dough scraps, but chill them first.
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Coconut Macaroons With Bittersweet Chocolate and Pistachios
Sweet and chewy coconut macaroons have always been an easy favorite for anyone following a gluten-free diet. We jazzed up these naturally gluten-free beauties by dipping them in bittersweet chocolate and studding them with salty pistachios.
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Chocolate Chip Cookies
Store up to one week in an airtight container—if they last that long. We suggest keeping a dozen in the freezer for emergencies.
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Mexican Chocolate Cookies
These cookies—bittersweet chocolate that mellows the ground peppers' heat--earned our Test Kitchens' highest rating. They're lovely after dinner with a few last sips of red wine.
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Chocolate-Hazelnut Meringues
Make up to two days ahead, and store in an airtight container at room temperature. The chocolate and hazelnut coating adds textural interest to these airy, sweet treats.
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Orange, Sesame, and Honey Cookies
Finish off an Asian-inspired dinner with a tray of these delicious, easy-to-make cookies.
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Anise Tea Crescents
Rolling the cookies in powdered sugar while they're still warm results in a deliciously sweet, snowy coating.