39 Healthy Cookie Recipes Every Dessert Lover Will Want (2024)

If you have some serious baking plans this weekend, consider swapping your sweets for some healthy cookie recipes. What you sacrifice in not-so-healthy ingredients you can still make up for in chocolatey, nutty goodness that the whole family will love. These health-ified cookies are all easy and tasty picks, from vegan to keto, to gluten-free and refined-sugar free. Bring them to your next potluck, give a batch as a gift, or just satisfy your sweet tooth *any* day of the week for a guilt-free fix.

What is the healthiest cookie to eat?

Cookies with less sugar or healthier ingredients like fresh fruit will naturally be healthier than sugary, chocolatey cookies, but there are hacks and swaps you can make to any cookie recipe to make it healthier. Keep reading to find out more.

Which cookies are best for weight loss?

Cookies with filling ingredients — like oatmeal and nuts — are best for weight loss. When you're fuller for longer, you might not have the same unhealthy food cravings!

Are oatmeal raisin cookies healthy?

Yes, oatmeal raisin cookies are healthy (thank goodness!). Because of the ingredients, this treat has at all – complex carbohydrates, protein, and fiber.

Are oatmeal cookies healthier than chocolate chip?

Yes, oatmeal cookies are generally healthier than chocolate chip cookies. Oatmeal cookies tend to have more protein and fiber to fill you up quicker.

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Make-Ahead Tropical Oatmeal Cookies

Wake up to paradise with these chewy yet crispy oatmeal cookies, studded with pineapple, mango, and white chocolate chips in every delicious bite. (via Brit + Co.)

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Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

As self-appointed cookie aficionados, we have a few tricks up our sleeves here at B + C. This nutritious batch is sweetened with honey and made from oats, almond butter and – believe it or not – chickpeas. Bet you didn't think healthy cookie recipes could taste so good. (via Brit + Co.)

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3-Ingredient Vegan + Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Rich and chewy cookies made simply with peanut butter, almond meal, and maple syrup mean everybody wins, no matter their dietary needs. (via Brit + Co.)

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Cacao Raspberry Pistachio Cookies with Coconut Oil

These cookies use cassava flour, which is different than regular wheat flour, but still provides that same fluffiness that we love in a cookie. Plus the chocolate-raspberry-pistachio combo cannot be topped. (via Chef Bai)

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Chocolate-Dipped Almond Butter Cookies

Dipping cookies into melted chocolate is a *special* kind of therapy. The only thing that's more fun? Eating them when they're done, especially when they're sweet and salty and have just six ingredients. (via Physical Kitchness)

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Healthy Coconut Macaron Thumbprint Cookies

These delicious thumbprint cookies are made with shredded coconut, coconut cream, and maple syrup, and are ready to eat in just 30 minutes! (via The Endless Meal)

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Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you’re trying to avoid dairy or grains, opt for healthy cookie recipes that are flourless like these chocolate chip cookies that are delicious and oh-so easy to make. (via Feel Good Foodie)

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Coconut Snowball Cookies (No bake)

With shredded coconut, coconut milk, and a smidgen of your fave sweetener, these sugar-free, no-bake bites just seem too good to be true. (via The Big Man's World)

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Vegan Shortbread Cookies

Made with almond flour and milk and vegan butter these shortbread cookies are delightful with *or* without the icing. Those rose petals though! (via Two Spoons)

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Healthy Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

These 5-ingredient, gluten-free cookies have an almond-butter base, but the addition of lots of chopped dark chocolate makes them taste less like almond cookies, and more like wonderfully nutty chocolate chip cookies. (via Kirbie's Cravings)

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Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

These baked bites are just the right treat to hit the sweet spot! They’re loaded with tons of nutritious ingredients that also come together to create that idyllic chewy, creamy, and lightly sweet cookie that *actually* satisfies. These are definitely worth adding to your list of healthy cookie recipes. (via Feel Good Foodie)

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Paleo Sugar Cookies

This paleo recipe is perfect for healthier holiday dessert decorating. (via Olive You Whole)

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Healthy Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies

If you've been missing Girl Scout cookie season, look no further than this better-for-you Tagalongs recipe! Each one is gluten-free, vegan, and has *zero* refined sugar. (via Rachel Mansfield)

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Sweet Potato Cookies

The natural sweetness in these healthy cookies means no need for refined sugar. So, get to mashing up some sweet potatoes and throwing them in these guilt-free treats! (via Live Eat Learn)

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Keto Tahini Cookies

These delightfully sweet cookies are made with tahini, eggs, nuts and sugar-free chocolate for the keto fan. (via Cilantro Parsley)

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Vegan Gingerbread Cookie Bars

'Tis the season for gingerbreadeverything. These best-of-both-worlds bars are great for a healthy twist on a holiday cookie that works for every season! (via Salt & Lavender)

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Healthy Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies with Granola

We're *all for* breakfast cookies, and these pack a healthier punch with just a bit of applesauce and honey for sweetness, plus granola, slivered almonds, and coconut for a crunchy-chewy texture that will wake you right up. (via Food Faith Fitness)

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Healthy Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies

If you need a sweet yet healthy snack, these coconut sugar-sweetened cookies, kicked up with molasses, promise to deliver – especially if you're still yearning for all things gingerbread. (via Simply Quinoa)

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Vegan, Grain-Free + Date-Sweetened Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sweet dates are a magical ingredient, and it shows in these gloriously gooey chocolate chip cookies. If you're eating nut-free foods, you can even use homemade sunflower seed flour. How's that for a healthy cookie recipe? (via The First Mess)

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Chewy Vegan Ginger Cookies

These cookies are soft, chewy, and loaded with spices and warm molasses flavor. They're sprinkled with crunchy coconut sugar and made without butter, oil, and refined sugar.(via Munching With Mariyah)

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Easy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Banana Cookies

PB fans will love these cookies, made with both peanut butter and chopped peanuts. You could also add a variety of healthy goodies to these bites, like dried fruit or dairy-free chocolate chips! (via Food Faith Fitness)

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Vegan + Gluten-Free Nutty Cookies

Holiday time or not, these dusted cookies are the ultimate healthy dessert due to the recipe omitting gluten and animal products. Trust us, they're *just* as yummy as your regular-schmegular cookie. (via Veggie Society)

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Dark Chocolate + Olive Oil Cookies

Sweetened with honey and orange juice, these Greek-style Christmas cookies are nothing but delicious. (via Fancy Peasant)

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Trail Mix Cookies

With this healthy cookie recipe, you can take trail mix on-the-go in an even easier way! Each bite is dotted generously in nuts and dried fruit for only the best textures to snack on. (via This Wife Cooks)

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Tahini Cookies

Tahini isn't *just* for hummus, and these paleo-friendly almond cookies are here to prove it. They're sweetened with maple syrup (or honey), plus optional cacao powder for a chocolatey twist. (via Little Green Spoon)

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Banana Oatmeal Cookies

These delicious 3-ingredient banana oatmeal cookies are vegan-friendly and gluten-free. Made with zero refined sugar, they're a healthier way to satisfy your sweet tooth so you won't feel bad about munching on a healthy cookie recipe. (via Feel Good Foodie)

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Easy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These cookies are so delicious, so soft, and so chewy, you'll want to eat more than one as soon as they come out of the oven. The sweet flavor and rich fragrance makes this one nostalgic treat! (via Culinary Hill)

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Vegan Apple Breakfast Cookies

Sometimes oatmeal gets real boring, so you have no choice but to spice up breakfast with these healthy breakfast cookies! They'll give you enough protein and fiber to tackle the day ahead – plus, they're good enough for a cheeky midnight snack! (via Rachel Mansfield)

Healthy Cookie Recipes On Instagram

Healthy Homemade Girl Scouts Samoas Cookies

Banana + Tahini Cookies

Pumpkin Banana Protein Cookies

Golden Oatmeal Almond Cookies

Healthy PB&J Protein Cookies

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies with Oats + Maple Syrup

Healthy Almond Flour Cookies

Cherry-Choco Oatmeal Cookies

Salted Caramel Oat Cookies

Chocolate-Dipped Healthy Cookies

For more healthy cookie recipes, follow us on Pinterestand check out our online baking classes!

Additional reporting by Sara Cagle and Meredith Holser.

Header image via The First Mess

This post has been updated, with previous reporting by Sara Cagle and Dana Sandonato

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Meredith Holser

Creative Assistant, Meredith Holser, is B+C's resident food writer, photographer, and TikTok taker. Meredith writes about a range of topics for B+C, but she's adopted food writing in all its many facets for the last year. You can see her work published in Do214, Advocate Magazine, WFAA, and North Texas Daily. Meredith's passion for photography began after sneaking her mom's iPhone to take pictures of flowers on vacation, eventually evolving from a passion to a professional career. Outside of work, you can catch Meredith hiking, trying new recipes, and dreaming about having a yummy little treat.

39 Healthy Cookie Recipes Every Dessert Lover Will Want (2024)

FAQs

What is the healthiest cookie to eat? ›

10+ Healthy Cookies That You Can Eat Every Day
  1. No-Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies. ...
  2. Healthy Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies. ...
  3. Flourless Oatmeal Shortbread Cookies. ...
  4. Flourless Strawberry Shortcake Cookies. ...
  5. Healthy No Sugar Banana Cookies. ...
  6. Flourless Oatmeal Cookies With Chocolate Chunks. ...
  7. 10-Minute Healthy No-Bake Chocolate Cookies.
Nov 2, 2021

What is the healthiest thing to eat for dessert? ›

Healthier Desserts
  • Oat Apple Crisp. 5/12. ...
  • Fruit and Cheese. 6/12. ...
  • Chocolate-Covered Frozen Bananas. 7/12. ...
  • Nut Bar. 8/12. ...
  • Poached Pears. 9/12. ...
  • Sweetened Popcorn. 10/12. ...
  • Chocolate Milk. 11/12. ...
  • Frozen Yogurt Bars. 12/12. Brands vary, but it's possible to get that creamy, sweet goodness for just 80 calories per bar.
Dec 1, 2022

What is the secret to a good cookie? ›

The key is to always use top-quality ingredients as they'll result in a better cookie; it really is that simple.
  • Always use butter.
  • Choose the right sugar.
  • Choose the right flour.
  • Check your flour is in date.
  • Choose the right kind of chocolate.
  • Cream the butter and sugar.
  • Beat in the eggs.
  • Fold in the flour.

Is a banana better than a cookie? ›

Although bananas are a better choice than cookies, they are probably not the best fruit option. No single food has a magical power to make you lose weight. Success lies in having a balanced diet and picking foods that avoid big blood sugar spikes, which can make you hungry again soon after eating them.

What dessert can I have everyday? ›

Healthy dessert ideas from dietitians and doctors
  • Oatmeal raisin cookies. ...
  • Ice cream with seasonal fruit and honey. ...
  • Homemade sorbet or "nice cream" ...
  • Chocolate. ...
  • Chocolate and peanut butter smoothies. ...
  • Smoothie popsicles. ...
  • Easy mug cakes. ...
  • Frozen yogurt bark.
Dec 21, 2023

What is the healthiest bakery item? ›

Wholegrain & Wholemeal Breads

Since wholemeal bread is baked with whole or nearly whole wheat grains, it contains much more flavour and nutrition. Wholemeal is also a great source of carbohydrates, protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals, as well as being low in fat.

What is the best flour for cookies? ›

All-Purpose Flour: The Versatile Choice

All-purpose flour is the most commonly used flour in cookie recipes due to its moderate protein content (usually around 10-12%).

What is a perfect cookie? ›

The best cookies have layers of texture. A slightly crisp outer shell that holds up to some heat with an inner core that's soft and chewy. Premium cookies taste great at room temperature, straight out of the fridge or slightly heated. Creating cookies in small batches is key.

How can I satisfy my sweet tooth without sugar? ›

Sometimes you can satisfy your sweet tooth by choosing a food that's naturally sweet, such as bananas, raspberries, grapes or blueberries. To make fruit taste even sweeter, try freezing it, Pope suggests. For an indulgence that feels more like dessert, go for a frozen fruit bar with no added sugar.

What should I eat if I crave cookies? ›

If you crave cookies, try reaching for protein-rich foods that contain nitrogen, like legumes, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Chromium is a mineral that helps regulate blood sugar, and if you're craving a sweet cinnamon bun or muffin, your body may be missing this mineral.

Are there any healthy cookies to eat? ›

Hu. Hu's whole line of cookies is squeaky clean–the ingredients include organic coconut oil, organic cocoa butter, cassava flour, cashew flour, free-range eggs, and flax seeds. The thing that makes Hu's cookies the best of the Best Stuff is that they are sweetened with dates rather than any sugar at all.

Can cookies be healthy? ›

Most health professionals don't think so. But it is possible to make cookies with health benefits, as long as they include certain ingredients. Specifically, one can follow a recipe that uses grain and seed flours, like quinoa and chia, which favor a healthier use of nutrients in the body.

What is the number 1 cookie brand? ›

Oreo is the best-selling cookie in the world. It is now sold in over 100 countries. Oreo was first produced in 1912 by the National Biscuit Company, now known as Na-Bis-Co.

Are sugar free cookies healthier than regular cookies? ›

A: Switching to sugar-free cakes and sweets is unlikely to lead to much, if any, weight loss. Sweeteners used in these products usually include a sugar alcohol, such as maltitol or sorbitol, which are not zero-calorie, but about half the calories of sugar.

Is it OK to eat a cookie everyday? ›

While one cookie a day isn't going to completely derail your diet goals, it's often easy to eat more than one at a time, and soon enough, downing quite a few cookies throughout the day could lead to unwanted pounds.

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