WW Recipe of the Day: Healthier Holiday Cookies
I got an email from Sally looking for recipes for a WW Holiday Cookie Swap/Exchange. Digging through my archives I was able to compile quite a list. I'm sharing it with you in case you are in a similar situation. Enjoy!
WW Holiday Cookie Exchange Recipes
4-Ingredient Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies - These quick and easy flourless little button-sized cookies, have only 4 ingredients and just 33 calories – a perfect Weight Watchers sized sweet treat.
13 Low Fat Biscotti Recipes - Biscotti are one of my favorite sweet indulgences. What’s not to like? They’re easy to make, very satisfying and relatively light and healthy since they’re lower in fat and sugar than most cookies. They’re also usually packed with heart healthy nuts.
Homemade biscotti make a great guilt-free holiday gift. Just place them in cellophane bags tied with pretty ribbon. Here’s a collection of 13 wonderful healthy low fat biscotti recipes I’ve gathered from all over the ‘net to inspire you.
Easy No-Bake Samoas
4-Ingredient No-Bake Samoas - Super-simple to make, these copycat Samoas cookies are sure to dress up any holiday cookie platter. Made with just 4 everyday ingredients, they mix together in minutes with just 141 calories each!
Low-Fat Chocolate Rum Balls - These delicious bites are made with oats and fiber-rich dates with no added sugar. Each 2-ball serving has just 155 calories!
Caramel Chocolate Oatmeal Mini Bars - Looking for a sweet treat that won’t blow your calorie budget? Check out this recipe for caramel chocolate oatmeal mini-bars. I think it’s a winner.
The combination of crunchy oat and brown sugar crust, chewy caramel and chocolate drizzle is simple and sweet, and oh so delicious.
Chocolate Topped Peanut Oat Mini Cookie Bars - Deliciously crunchy peanut butter oat cookie bars topped with a thin layer of chocolate and chopped nuts. I adapted the recipe from the Betty Crocker Cooky Book (affiliate link), one of my favorites.
Cranberry Caramel Slow Cooker Cookie Bars - The perfect combination of sweet, chewy, tart and crunchy, Rod gave them an enthusiastic endorsement. My mom and sister approved too.
And melting the caramel in the slow cooker made these cranberry caramel slow cooker cookie bars such a breeze to make.
Cranberry White Chocolate Crock Pot Cookie Bars - Here’s a lighter streamlined version of cranberry white chocolate cookie bars that you can make in your slow cooker.
Made with fresh cranberries, white chocolate morsels and nuts, then drizzled with a simple powdered sugar glaze, they’re a more sensible, retro version of Starbuck’s 340 calorie Cranberry Bliss Bars.
No-Bake Chocolate Raisin Bran Treats
No-Bake Chocolate Raisin Bran Treats - This fun adaptation of everyone's favorite Rice Krispy Treats, these no-bake squares combine melted chocolate, mini marshmallows and crunchy Raisin Bran cereal for a extra special holiday treat.
Low Fat Cranberry Rugalach - Simple, easy and delicious, these were on my “must try” as soon as I spied them in one of the December Weight Watchers Weeklies, where they were featured along with other holiday cookies.
With a package of low fat crescent roll dough in the fridge about to expire I finally decided that the time had come to bake up a batch. I’d never made rugalach before, so in addition to being low fat, using prepared crescent roll dough made these quick and easy too.
No Bake Peanut Buttery Cookie Dough Balls - Looking for a simple sweet treat you can feel good about indulging in this holiday season? These no-bake treats are super-simple to make and taste a lot like peanut butter cookie dough.
They are hiding a secret healthy ingredient: pureed chickpeas (aka Garbanzo beans). I must admit it sounds a little strange to make a sweet, peanut buttery cookie dough treat with chickpeas, but you really cannot taste them. And they provide a wonderful creamy texture with minimal calories.
Rice Krispie Date Balls - These rice krispie date balls date back to my childhood when my best friend’s mom would make them every year for Christmas. She rolled her no bake cookies in coconut, but I opted to stir it in with the cereal since I was short on time.
Either way, you are rewarded with delicious quick and easy no bake date cookies, that can satisfy your sweet tooth without blowing the calorie/WW points bank.
Skinny Cranberry Apple Oatmeal Cookies - Oatmeal cookies are my absolute favorite, so I’m always on the lookout for oatmeal cookie recipes. I’ve made applesauce oatmeal cookies, and banana oatmeal cookies, and incredible oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars, but never any exactly like this – with shredded apples and dried cranberries.
Soft Spice Cookies - If you like soft cookies with big spice flavor full of raisins topped with a simple sugar icing, you will love these soft spice cookies.
I recently made them with Greek-style yogurt instead of sour cream and don’t think there was a discernible difference. I also used eggnog instead of light cream in the icing for a little extra touch of Christmas.
Healthier Sugar Cookies - I like making sugar cookies more than I like eating them. Most are just way too sweet for me. So, I was excited when I came across this recipe from Roni of GreenLiteBites on Pinterest for less sugar sugar cookies. I love that she did all the work researching and perfecting healthier sugar cookies and we could just get right to the making, baking, decorating and eating!
Skinny Holiday M&M Cookies - I’ve been making Holiday M&M Cookies since I was a kid. After all these years it wouldn’t be Christmas without them. This year I decided to give them a makeover.
This simple recipe for skinny holiday m&m cookies is the result. It uses half the butter and less sugar than the traditional M&M Cookies recipe, but is just as delicious.
I also used mini holiday m&m baking bits, which are much tinier than regular m&ms, so I was able to use less. The cookies baked up crisp and chewy.
Skinny Raspberry Squares - Simple but festive dessert squares with simple shortbread crust and sweet-tart raspberry topping, these Weight Watchers Raspberry Bars are a winner in my book.
Crunchy Raisin Jumbles - Nana’s crunchy jumbles are one of my favorite cookies from childhood that have stood the test of time. I love these crunchy jumbles now as much as I did back then. The combination of crisp rice cereal and raisins is a winner with me and my family.
WW Chocolate Mint Bars - These Weight Watchers Chocolate Mint Bars prove that it’s possible to enjoy the holidays AND stick with your healthy eating goals. The recipe is from the November/December issue of Weight Watchers Magazine, where they’re festively named Chocolaty Candy Cane Triangles.
Seriously dense and chocolaty, they contain a secret healthy ingredient you’ll never guess is there: black beans! The black beans give these delicious sweet treats a rich dark color while providing a healthy dose of protein and fiber.
WW Friendly Cranberry Ginger Oatmeal Cookies
WW Cranberry Ginger Oatmeal Cookies - I love oatmeal cookies in all their variations and this one is no exception. Packed with chopped dried cranberries and crystallized ginger they bake up moist, sweet and chewy with a delightful SPICY BITE.
WW Crackle Spice Drops - These Weight Watchers Crackle Spice Drops are a lighter version of one of my favorite holiday cookies. As soon as I saw them featured in next week’s Weight Watchers weekly, I knew I wanted to try them and I’m glad I did because they turned out really tasty. With less butter and sugar than a classic recipe, they baked up not-too-spicy and not-too-sweet. The perfect accompaniment to an afternoon cup of tea.
WW Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares - Here’s a fun treat for when you’re craving something sweet, crunchy, chewy and chocolaty. It’s one of those easy Weight Watchers recipes that the whole family is sure to love.
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
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A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
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A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
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Liz Riendeau
Thanks for the wonderful looking recipes