Ideas for low calorie Christmas desserts or cookies

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Replies

  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    I have a donut pan, so tonight I took a spice cake mix and added a can of pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup natural applesauce (6 pack of the no sugar added kind about 50 calories each) and a cup of water. I then added some extra spices like nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon and put this batter in a donut pan and baked it for a spice donut. It made 22 donuts and they came out to 110 calories plain. I then topped them different ways, like powdered sugar, sugar and cinnamon, glaze of powdered sugar and water, glaze of chocolate chips and milk (for 6 donuts I used 2T choc chips and 1 tsp milk for 10 sec in microwave). No matter which way I went, it came out to 125 calories max for a donut and I have to say THEY WERE AWESOME and 1 with a cup of coffee was enough for me for a snack.

    I'm guessing any flavor cake mix will work and your choice of toppings are only limited by your imagination. I'm thinking some redi-whip with nuts, choc chips, candy cane, graham cracker...............hmmmm..

    You could probably freeze these plain and then top when ready to thaw and eat. Or it's possible you could bake (my pan does 6 donuts) one batch and then set the batter in the refrigerator for a few days and then do some more. I'll try that next time (it works for cookie dough).

    I like your style of cooking.
  • I made a 'healthy' version of a type of cookies which I usually do for Chrstmas. Hazelnut balls.

    500g wholemeal flour ( or substitute some with white flour or some very finely ground oat flour.)
    200g low-calorie baking sweetener of your choice (sugar substitute)
    200g ground hazelnuts
    250g cholesterol-lowering margarine
    1 egg
    1 sp vanilla

    Optional: cinnamon

    Mix into a firm dough, knead a little, roll into long rolls, cut off little pieces and roll into balls.
    Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
    Stick halved hazelnuts on top with some eggwhite. That also flattens the balls a bit.

    Bake for 10-15min at 180-200C (350-380F), or until just turning lightly brown.

    If you make this amount into 65 balls, they will have 61 calories each.

    Which is on the low side for Christmas cookies, but all Christmas cookies are in the 50-150 cal apiece range, even the not-particularly-health conscious ones. So when someone here posts ones with100cal per piece, that doesn't strike me as particularly low. Size of the cookies and then amount consumed are much more important than ingredients, calorie-wise.

    So what would be important about a cookie is that it won't make you crave for more. These ones I posted here, with the sweetener I used, make me feel full after only one of them. The sweetener was Erythriol (sp?) with monk fruit. The Erythriol makes them crunchier than sugar and dissolves only in the mouth, where it has a cooling effect. So, Christmas cookies that cool your mouth. They also make you feel full because it doesn't get readily digested (that's why it's low calorie).

    Enjoy, merry Christmas everyone!
  • action_figure
    action_figure Posts: 511 Member
    I want to make sure that I don't go completely crazy at Christmas with all the yummy but very fattening food so I was hoping someone might have some healthy recipes so that I can still enjoy something sweet.

    I was thinking about making oatmeal & cranberry or raisin cookies but thought I would see if anyone else had more exciting ideas :)

    Search for some of the threads on protein powder cheesecakes. Imma totally make myself one.
  • trisH_7183
    trisH_7183 Posts: 1,486 Member
    Gonna make these for my cookie plate, & will have apple spice muffins.

    http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/12/to-die-for-coconut-cookies.html#more
  • Try my 40 calorie Nutella Fudge recipe with dippers- marshmallows, fruit, anything! :)
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1154369-40-calorie-nutella-recipe-yes
    Also, if you swap a couple DROPS of peppermint extract for the hazelnut, it's mint chocolate dip! A little more Christmas themed, if you want that :)
  • pavlova isnt overloaded with calories as long as you dont put too much creme your fine, a 40 gram piece is only 117 calories