120 Healthy Holiday 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.

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Bitterness rating: 3/10. If the dough’s stickiness makes it difficult to work with, dampen your hands slightly before shaping it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Simple homemade dough provides the ideal base for a cookie made with naturally sweet ingredients. 

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.

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.

Dress up these almond-flavored meringue cookies by dipping half of each cookie in a glaze of melted chocolate.

Ideal for a hostess gift, potluck party or afternoon snack, this gourmet cookie combination will have you reaching for one more.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

Satisfy a sweet tooth in seconds. These decadent cookies are oozing with rich dark chocolate and creamy marshmallow. 

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.

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.

Store up to one week in an airtight container—if they last that long. We suggest keeping a dozen in the freezer for emergencies.

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.

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.

Finish off an Asian-inspired dinner with a tray of these delicious, easy-to-make cookies. 

Rolling the cookies in powdered sugar while they're still warm results in a deliciously sweet, snowy coating.

The favorite sandwich flavor combination comes together in these adorable preserves-filled cookies. Use any type of jam or preserves.

Whether you're welcoming kids home from school, baking a treat for a party, or enjoying an afternoon to yourself, these cookies are the just-right sweet you need. If you want to create colorful cookies, divide the icing into portions and use food coloring to tint it different hues.

This finalist for the Ultimate Reader Recipe Contest was developed by Christine Dohlmar of Valrico, Florida. "I love oatmeal cookies, so I did my best to come up with a low-fat version," she explained.

A mere one-quarter cup of butter yields crispy, light cookies and keeps calories in check. Dried strawberries lend fiber, color, and subtle sweetness. You can find them in larger supermarkets, or substitute raisins or dried cranberries. Because the dough is heavy, we used a sturdy stand mixer. You can use a hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar, then stir in the remaining ingredients by hand.

Think of these as a variation of thumbprint cookies. Vanilla butter cookies are filled with fruit preserves and drizzled with a powdered sugar glaze.

This cookie recipe contrasts the tartness of cherries with the sweetness of cocoa and chocolate chips for an elegant, delicious treat.

You can prepare and refrigerate these luscious bars a day or two in advance. They are actually easier to cut once they have been completely chilled.

With the honeyed flavor of dried figs, a sweet cream cheese layer, and a buttery, crumbly crust, these bars garnered our Test Kitchens' highest rating. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Originally appearing in our March/April 1993 issue, these gingersnap cookies created by Elizabeth Graubard of Palm Harbor, Florida, have stood the test of time. We swapped flavorful butter for the original's margarine and still love the snappy flavor and crisp texture.

You might find it hard to believe that these impressive cookies taste even better than they look.

These animal cracker cookies would make a great recipe to tackle with little kitchen helpers. Swapping white flour for a blend of white whole-wheat and oat flours provides fiber and a delightfully nutty sweetness that you aren't going to find on the supermarket shelf.

We loved this creative take on the traditional Rice Krispies bar. Green pumpkinseeds are also sometimes sold as pepitas. In humid weather, cool the bars in the refrigerator to keep them from becoming too sticky.

Dark brown sugar adds rich caramel notes to these cookies; turbinado sugar provides crunch.

Chewy oatmeal and crunchy walnuts can completely transform the typical lunch box chocolate chip cookie, adding new flavors and texture while subtly increasing the cookie's nutritional value.

Buttery and sweet with a hint of spice, these favorite cinnamon-sugar cookies, otherwise known as "snickerdoodles," are right for any occasion.

These bar cookies are also known as seven-layer bars. They take less than 30 minutes to make and call for just 8 ingredients, making Hello Dolly Bars the perfect dessert for taking along, well, just about anywhere.

Chocolate chips or cranberries might seem like the best part about these cookies, but it's really that each cookie is 75 calories.

Use real maple syrup for best results. These cookies may look like a seasonal treat but, they're so good that you'll want to enjoy them all year long.

Brown sugar and butter underscore the tawny sweetness of the almond toffee bits. What's not to love about these crunchy, chewy cookies?

This recipe is an adaptation of Italian amaretti. It calls for macadamias, but hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, or pine nuts would also be good. Using nuts in baking allows you to incorporate their heart-healthy fats—and satisfying texture. If you are sensitive to ginger, use the lower end of the called-for range.

Given that both chocolate and coconut are not as bad as once thought, and given that they taste mighty good together, we made a batch of these toasty, chocolaty treats to celebrate. Like all sweets with few other nutrients, though, they are treats—perfectly healthy every once in a while.

"My grandkids love these cookies because they're nice and big, with lots of chocolate chips. They're easy to freeze—just wrap individually in heavy-duty plastic wrap, and store in a zip-top bag," said reader Marie Rizzio.

Letting the dough rest at least 24 hours before baking allows the spices in this handmade version of the classic German cookie to mellow and meld.

This decadent-seeming chocolate biscotti recipe is actually pretty healthy and features good-for-you ingredients like whole-wheat flour, flaxseed, and unsalted almonds.

Pepper may sound like an odd ingredient for a cookie, but it complements the other spices well (although you can omit it if you prefer).

Don't substitute marzipan for the almond paste, because it's a bit too sweet for this buttery, lightly spiced cookie. Look for the almond paste in tubes, such as Odense brand, or in cans, like King Arthur brand.

These cranberry-oatmeal bar cookies strike a nice flavor balance: not too sweet and not too tart. Be sure to zest the orange before you squeeze the juice.

When shaping these buttery cookies, do not try to form perfectly smooth balls. If the dough is handled too much, the cookies will become heavy and dense.

Humble ingredients in these cornmeal-based cookies yield a light, subtly spiced sweet treat. The touch of lemon is a "refreshing surprise," says one reviewer.

We love these thick, satisfying cookies as humble as peanut butter cookies but not as crumbly. Dried cranberries provide a slightly tart counterpoint to the macadamia nuts' richness. The dough is somewhat sticky; chilling it briefly makes handling easier.

Roasted sesame-seed paste and dark sesame oil deliver a deep, nutty flavor. A touch of corn syrup and cornstarch ensure crispness.

By using vanilla bean and extract, you’ll get double the vanilla flavor in these meringue cookies.

Store these frosted cookies between layers of parchment paper or wax paper to keep them from sticking together. You can bake and freeze the cookies up to a month in advance; bring the cookies to room temperature before frosting them.

These cute little cookies will be a hit for any occasion. Wrap them up in a sweet little box as a gift or arrange them on a platter for a light dessert treat.

This cookie was given outstanding ratings by readers. Bake up a batch and find out for yourself what all the buzz is about.

Standing the cookies eliminates the traditional step of flipping them halfway through baking. Chocolate lovers can stir 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips into the batter or dip half of each cookie into melted chocolate.

A small square of these rich bars is enough to satisfy a dessert craving. The flour and oats mixture is somewhat dry after combining, but it serves as both a solid base for the soft butterscotch chip layer and a crumbly, streusel-like topping.

Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and rich and delicious all the way around is how readers rate these brownie-like cookies. Need we say more?

These easy chocolate oatmeal drop cookies are crisp on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside. Chocolate minichips disperse better in the batter, but you can use regular chips.

Our Test Kitchens staffers found that using a serrated knife works best for cutting the rolls after the first bake time. If you're a fan of dried cranberries, they make a great substitute for dried cherries.

These decadent cookies are a lightened version of an often calorie- and fat-laden favorite. One thing this recipe doesn't skimp on: flavor.

You can make these ahead of time and store them in an airtight container, but they're best served warm.

Bourbon, cranberries and walnuts for just 114 calories per serving? Pass another scrumptious cookie, please! 

These simple cookies give just the right amount of sweet to satisfy your craving. Make a few batches, and freeze some to enjoy throughout the season.

Bizcochitos are anise-flavored drop cookies that originated in New Mexico. Prepare the dough in advance, and refrigerate up to three days. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to three days. Omit the aniseed if you don't care for its licorice flavor.

These cookies will keep for a week in an airtight container. Keep them on hand to offer unexpected visitors.

Drizzle the icing in whatever patterns you like. For a Halloween treat, use a toothpick to create spooky webs.

These mouthwatering ginger and spice cookies are as irresistible as the ones we loved as kids. For an easy, make-ahead cookie, shape the dough into 1 1/2-inch-diameter logs, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze. When ready to bake, defrost the dough for 20 minutes, cut it into 1/2-inch-thick slices, and bake as directed.

A version of this milk-worthy cookie is a perennial best seller at the Winkler Bakery in the preserved Moravian village of Old Salem, North Carolina. Roll the dough as thin as possible to achieve a properly light, crisp texture.

An anzac biscuit is an Australian cookie ("biscuits" down under) and is sure to be a hit.

Though these delicate cookies have a crisp outside, they are soft inside, making them the ideal bar cookie in our book.

Package these crunchy cookies in a gift box with a pound of your favorite coffee beans. Look for almond paste in your supermarket's baking aisle, and for best results, don't substitute marzipan, which is sweeter and more finely textured, in place of the paste.

The dense base layer is like a rich, fudgy brownie, so don't overcook it or the dessert bars will be dry. Refrigerating the mint bars allows the chocolaty top layer to set properly. You can make the dessert up to one day ahead. For a more grown-up taste, you can also use dark chocolate chips for some or all of the semisweet chocolate chips in the glaze.

This simple mix-and-drop dough comes together in minutes and may not even require a shopping trip, thanks to its pantry-friendly ingredients.

This is one of the best chocolate-chip cookies you'll ever make—and it doesn't scrimp on chocolate. Making chocolate chip cookies with applesauce is the secret to soft and chewy cookies without a lot of fat.

Macaroons almost always have nuts and egg whites in the ingredient list. This rendition also features intensely sweet dried figs. Be sure to remove and discard the hard stems of the figs before chopping them.

You can make these cookies a day or two before the party and store them in an airtight container. But be warned--these are so good, you should probably stash them somewhere out of sight so you don't eat them all yourself.

These cookies have a slightly fudgy texture. They are baked, then cooled for 1 1/2 hours in the oven (don't forget to turn it off).

"Mashed ripe banana adds sweetness and flavor to these chocolate chip cookies," said reader and recipe developer Cathy Brixen. "I found I could reduce the usual amount of sugar and butter."

Enjoy the classic combination of chocolate and peppermint all year long in this simple, yet oh-so-good cookie recipe.

If you're not a fan of raspberry jam, try substituting your favorite preserves.

With dried apples and caramel candies in every bite, our less-than-100-calorie oatmeal cookies give you the flavors of fall year-round.

The combination of tender cake flour and sturdy all-purpose flour produces delicate cookies. The dough will be crumbly after you've combined all the ingredients but will hold its shape once molded in a tablespoon measure and turned onto a baking sheet. You may need to add one to two additional teaspoons of ice water to the dough to achieve the crumbly consistency.

For your next gathering, bring these delicate, crisp cookies out on a tray at the end of the evening with little to-go cups of coffee—a great send-off from a successful party.

Bake three cookies at a time so they'll be soft enough to shape. Tuck your message into the cookie while shaping. If the cookies become too brittle, return them to the oven for a few seconds to soften.

"I'm originally from the South, and Moon Pies, as they are called, were a special treat," said recipe developer Susan Kwun. "I started looking for a recipe to make my own when I moved to New York, but the closest I could come to them was a recipe in a New England cookbook. My lightened adaptation can be made ahead of time and frozen for up to a month if the cookies are tightly wrapped. Make sure to have the cookies ready when the marshmallow filling is made—the filling firms up quickly as it cools."

Sweet treats made from sesame seeds are common to Makar Sankrat/Pongal celebrations. Traditionally, these cookies are made by encasing the filling in the dough and dropping them into hot oil to fry. This version, similar in concept to a thumbprint cookie, is baked and just as tasty.

These delicately spiced shape-and-bake cookies are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Store extra cookies in an airtight container.

"I love chocolate and cherry flavors together, and I found great dried cherries from Maine for this recipe. I also used bittersweet instead of milk chocolate: Not only does it have less sugar, but it has a deeper flavor, too," said reader and recipe developer Marcie Dixon.

Experimenting with unusual ingredients can produce an irresistible batch of cookies. In this recipe, caramel and popcorn pieces create the ultimate combination of salty-and-sweet—in cookie form! 

Sugar, spice, and everything nice, that's what these classic cookies are made of. If you're not already sold, these cookies are low in calories and easy to make.

Triple the peanut butter, triple the fun! With creamy peanut butter, crispy peanut butter-flavored cereal, and roasted peanuts, we pack plenty of decadence into these ooey-gooey treats. We like the lightly-sweet crunch of Barbara's Peanut Butter Puffins, which is also lower in added sugars.

Look for almond meal—also known as almond flour—in health-food and specialty stores. Bake the cookies ahead, and freeze up to six months in an airtight container, with wax paper between layers. Thaw and dust the cookies with powdered sugar just before serving.

In step 2, you'll get best results if you keep dough portions chilled and work on only one portion at a time.

Our delicious citrus cookies will be gone quicker than you can pull them out of the oven.

These no-bake bars come together quickly with common pantry ingredients. Make sure the cereal is well crushed (try packing it in a sealed zip-top plastic bag and using a rolling pin) so it incorporates into the peanut butter mixture.

Look for canned almond paste alongside other baking ingredients at your market. Take these chewy cookies on your next picnic. Serve with iced chai tea.

This recipe was given a 5-star rating by readers. After your first crunchy bite, you'll know why.

Sweet, spicy, and salty—what more can you ask for in a cookie? At just over 100 calories per cookie, these treats are bound to become a quick family favorite.

Coarse-grained sea salt does not melt into the batter, so you experience a crunchy burst with every bite. Use any other nut you like in place of peanuts.

Make these cookies up to a week in advance, since they freeze well. Dried fruits are available in most supermarkets and health food stores.

Cutting and stacking the dough creates alternating stripes of vanilla and chocolate pieces. For pinwheel variation, stack the two (12 x 8-inch) dough rectangles on top of each other, and roll up into a 12-inch-long cylinder as if you're making cinnamon rolls. Chill the roll before slicing.

To freeze leftovers, layer cookies between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container. Thaw about 30 minutes before serving.

For a variation on this crisp Italian cookie recipe, substitute orange for lemon and semisweet chocolate chips for chopped white chocolate. Take time to chop a white chocolate candy bar for this recipe; white chocolate morsels contain no cocoa butter.

A combination of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper gives these chai cookies a taste reminiscent of Indian spiced tea. The fine texture of powdered sugar helps them retain the characteristic shortbread crunch.

The light and fresh flavor of these cookies, along with the fantastic texture courtesy of yellow cormeal, make these an interesting and unexpected choice for your dessert spread.

These oversized cookies are more like muffin tops, but calling them cookies makes them seem a bit more indulgent. They're chock-full of exercise-friendly ingredients like dried fruit and nuts. They're ideal with a glass of skim milk for breakfast after a morning workout.

Alfajores, these crisp wafer cookies, are filled with caramelized sweetened condensed milk. Although you often can find a full-fat version of this product at Hispanic markets, we've made our own lower-fat version.

You can mix these incredibly easy, fudge cookies right in the saucepan. When freshly baked, these thin cookies have crisp edges and chewy centers. You can make them with either Dutch process or natural unsweetened cocoa powder; we opted for the latter.

Four types of chocolate make these cookies an extra-special treat for the chocolate lover in your family.

Use pantry staples and a flavorful vanilla bean to create these delicate cookies. Make them up to five days in advance, and store in an airtight container.

Kahlúa makes a subtle, yet delicious appearance in this chocolate chip cookie recipe. No liqueur? Simply substitute strong freshly brewed coffee.

Macaroons are a European confection especially popular at Passover. Here, the use of pecans adds a taste of the American South.

This classic spice cookie is a delicious addition to your cookie collection.