10 Healthy Christmas Cookies

Here are my top 10 delicious healthy Christmas cookies perfect for your holiday cookie tray, from soft gingerbread to peanut butter balls: each with a lightened-up spin that tastes amazing!

Easy thumbprint cookies

Are you looking for healthy Christmas cookies for your cookie tray? Here’s the thing: I’m all about the occasional dessert splurge. But at the same time, I love making healthy dessert recipes with nutritious ingredients because my body feels so much better afterwards (aka, no sugar crash!).

For me it’s not about bland substitutes: it’s about using nutrient-dense alternatives that make treats taste just as satisfying as traditional versions. So here is a list of my favorite healthy Christmas cookies that taste indulgent using ingredients I feel great eating! Everyone in my family goes crazy for them, and they’re perfect with healthy hot chocolate or mulled cider.

What Makes Healthy Christmas Cookies

I’ll be honest with you: the term “healthy cookies” isn’t my favorite. Cookies aren’t health food, and I’m not here to pretend they are. I 100% subscribe to eating Christmas cookies as a treat! However, I’ve found there’s a real difference between a cookie that leaves you feeling sluggish with a stomach ache, and one that satisfies without the crash.

When I develop healthier Christmas cookie recipes, I focus on three key strategies:

  • Use nutrient-dense ingredients. I like to incorporate nutrient dense ingredients to counteract the typical butter, all-purpose flour, and refined sugar. Almond butter, peanut butter, oats, almond flour, and maple syrup all make appearances in these healthy Christmas cookie recipes.
  • Leverage big flavors without relying on just sugar. These recipes use spices and natural flavors, like chai spices in my snowball cookies, or bold gingerbread spices and molasses in our soft gingerbread cookies.
  • Use just enough sugar. For every Christmas cookie recipe I make, I adjust the sugar content so that it tastes not too sweet but just right.

My Top Healthy Christmas Cookies

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

First up in my favorite healthy Christmas cookies are these soft gingerbread cookies! In this healthier version of gingerbread, almond butter stands in for much of the butter, wheat flour adds heartiness, and a bit of applesauce helps keep them soft. This gingerbread cookie recipe is finished with turbinado sugar instead of icing, which is a more natural sugar (plus, it’s much easier than icing!).

Almond Thumbprint Cookies

These almond thumbprint cookies are made with almond flour, homemade berry jam, and sweetened with maple syrup. If you’d like, add our easy powdered sugar glaze, which takes them from good to amazing! With just the right chewy texture from the almond flour, these cookies are one of my favorite healthy Christmas cookies.

Healthy Peanut Butter Buckeyes

Buckeyes are a classic Christmas treat of peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate. Instead of the traditional butter and sugar, this healthy buckeye balls recipe uses Medjool dates and peanut butter. Dipped in a little chocolate, these little bites taste very similar to the original, but without the sugar crash afterwards!

Chai Snowball Cookies (Russian Tea Cakes)

These almond snowball cookies one of my favorite healthy Christmas cookies: they’re naturally gluten free, made with almond flour and cozy chai spices! The cardamom is the star here; it’s what gives chai spice its familiar zing. Even though they’re made entirely of almonds, these cookies are light and fluffy.

Chocolate Bark

One of my top healthy Christmas treats for a tray is chocolate bark! This one is sweet and salty, with a confetti of colorful ingredients that are all whole foods. It’s the best fun treat that makes a great gift. I use cranberries, pistachios, coconut and sea salt for the toppings, but it’s totally customizable based on your preferences.

Peppermint Meringues

These stunning meringues are the ideal healthy Christmas cookies: they’re filled almost entirely with air! A mix of sugar, egg whites, and air, they’re a great treat when you’re looking for a little sweet. When adding the red stripe, look for natural food coloring if you can find it.

Iced Applesauce Cookies

These apple sauce cookies are so moist and irresistible, and perfect for the holidays if you add red and green icing! The applesauce makes them ultra moist, and they’ve got a little oatmeal to balance the sweet. They taste like a lighter version of an oatmeal cream pie!

Date Snickers

This date snickers recipe is a delicious, homemade healthy treat made simply from Medjool dates, peanut butter, and chocolate! They’re great to keep on hand for snacking or a Christmas cookie tray, and fit many diets (including gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan).

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

These vegan peanut butter cookies are soft but perfectly crumbly, and salty sweet. Decorated with the classic criss-cross pattern, they’ve got a sparkle of sugar. And a chocolate icing drizzle makes them look even more fun. How are they a healthy Christmas cookie? They're made with just enough coconut oil and sugar so they're just rich enough.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Homemade peanut butter cups are perfect on a Christmas cookie tray! This recipe uses tempered dark chocolate to surround a delicious peanut butter filling. The filling has maple syrup and a hint of powdered sugar. To bring in complexity, I add some allspice and vanilla extract.

Pecan Butter Millionaire Bars

These pecan butter millionaire bars have 3 layers: shortbread, caramelized maple pecans, and chocolate! The shortbread layer is flour, coconut oil, and maple syrup. Instead of a caramel layer, nutrient rich pecans are caramelized with a bit of maple syrup, then blended into a pecan butter. It's one of my favorite healthy Christmas cookies every year.

When I make a holiday cookie tray, I try think about contrasts: different textures, flavors, and visual appeal. Think about including something chocolatey, something with nuts, something light and crispy, and something chewy. This collection gives you all those bases covered.

I also think about dietary restrictions; my son is lactose intolerant, so this is something I pay close attention to! Having options that are naturally gluten-free (like the snowball cookies and meringues) and vegan or dairy-free (like the healthy buckeyes, date snickers and vegan peanut butter cookies) means everyone can enjoy something from your tray.

Serving These Healthy Christmas Cookies

These healthy Christmas cookies pair well with healthy hot chocolate or hot apple cider. You could also pair them with Christmas cocktails or any of my favorite holiday drinks.

I like to arrange them on a large platter with small cards identifying which cookies are gluten-free, vegan, or contain nuts. This helps guests navigate their options without having to ask!

Storage Notes

Most of these cookies store well for several days to weeks, depending on the recipe. Room temperature works for the gingerbread cookies, applesauce cookies, thumbprint cookies, and snowball cookies: just keep them in an airtight container with parchment paper between layers.

The peanut butter balls, date snickers, chocolate bark, and homemade peanut butter cups are best kept refrigerated or frozen.

Print

Healthy Gingerbread Cookies

10 Healthyish Holiday Cookies | A Couple Cooks
Print Recipe

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These soft gingerbread cookies use almond butter to replace most of the butter, wheat flour for a few extra nutrients, and applesauce to keep them soft.

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 8 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 33 minutes
  • Yield: 25 to 35
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • ¼ cup almond butter
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 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)

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, add 1 egg, ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup molasses, ¼ cup almond butter, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and 2 tablespoons applesauce; vigorously whisk to thoroughly combine.
  2. To the wet ingredients, stir in 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoons allspice, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour, and ½ cup wheat flour until well combined. Turn out onto plastic wrap and form into a rough ball; cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour, or overnight.
  3. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  4. Flour a flat surface and a rolling pin, then roll out the dough ¼-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out gingerbread men, about 25-35 total. Place gingerbread men on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
  5. Bake about 8 minutes, until puffed and slightly firmed. Let rest on the pan for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Store covered at room temperature for several days or freeze for several months.

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Sonja Overhiser
December 01, 2025 at 12:54PM

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