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Usually Christmas is a time when our family comes over to exchange gifts and enjoy each other’s company. My husband is the oldest of 8, so this is usually a loud, rambunctious, and exciting event. The cousins get to play, the adults get to catch up, and we enjoy lots of food and dessert.

This year that isn’t happening. It’s really not possible to get that many people all together at one time. But we still want to make the day feel fun and festive with celebratory food and desserts.

Most years, we don’t get to have as much control over the desserts we share. Everybody always wants to brings something, so there can be a lot of sugary options.

This year we have much more control over the desserts we are eating and we are opting for some healthier choices. You can enjoy a sweet and still use whole and healthy ingredients that don’t make you feel sluggish the next day (or even that night).

Below are some sweet treat recipes that we have enjoyed over the years, some of which we will be making this year for our Christmas celebration. If you want to keep Christmas festive but not feel that sugar crash, check them out.

Oil Free Chocolate Cake

This chocolate cake from Chocolate Covered Katie is rich and delicious. You would never know that there is no oil in it. You can also add some peanut butter to switch up the flavor. We haven’t actually tried that option yet but it definitely sound delicious.

I love that Katie also provides options for healthy frosting for your cake. I mean what’s the point of taking the time to make a healthy cake if you are going to cover it with a super sugary frosting.

Makeout Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

This is another recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie, and it is so good. It is rich and gooey and so delicious. It also serves 10-12 so it’s perfect for a small get-together while still giving you some yummy leftovers.

Like most of her recipes, Katie provides a lot of options for ingredient substitutions. That means you can make any recipe work with your dietary needs. I love the option of adding an extra layer of gooey chocolate in the middle of the pie. So good!

Apple Cinnamon Bagel Bites

These yummy little bagel bites are both vegan and gluten free. They are simple to make with very few ingredients so they are perfect for making with the kiddos. I definitely opt of stuffing them with a little chunk of dark chocolate.

Technically this is more of a fall flavor and is therefore more appropriate for Thanksgiving. However, I love them and I will use any excuse to make and enjoy them!

Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies

These chocolate chip cookies are a great option to make on Christmas Eve for Santa. They are gluten free and only take like 10 minutes to make. They also only have 8 ingredients!

Chocolate chip cookies are always a go to in our house, and we can really feel good about this option. Santa and Mrs. Claus are sure to enjoy them once the kiddos go to sleep.

Almond Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

Most of the holiday pre-made cookie dough options out there are filled with refined sugar and artificial flavors and colorings. Instead you can make these cute and delicious raspberry cookies that are both healthy and yummy.

Although you have to make both a jam and a cookie dough, these cookies come together pretty quick. Santa and his elves will definitely enjoy these.

Healthy Mixes

If you don’t have the time or energy to bake something from scratch, there are some great mixes out there to stay healthy and satisfy your sweet tooth. We love the ZenSweet Baking Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix. This is perfect for making cookies for Santa.

We also love the Simple Mills Banana Muffin Mix and their Chocolate Cake and Muffin Mix. Simple Mills also has some great bread mixes to add to your non-dessert part of the meal.

What’s your favorite healthy holiday treat? Share with us in the comments.

Cheers,

Emily