Ideas for low calorie Christmas desserts or cookies

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HLSalter
HLSalter Posts: 260
in Recipes
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 :)
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  • JoanaMHill
    JoanaMHill Posts: 265 Member
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    You can't go wrong with Jell-O, in my opinion. Mix it up for squares and then use cookie cutters and you can even have some fun shapes!
  • HLSalter
    HLSalter Posts: 260
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    You are going to think I'm so weird but I actually cannot stand Jelly. Thank you anyway though :)
  • JoanaMHill
    JoanaMHill Posts: 265 Member
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    Well I also found this:

    http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/irresistible_cookies_for_100_calories_or_less?slide=1#leaderboardad

    A bunch of cookies at a hundred calories or less each. Of course if they're as good as they claim it might be hard to only eat one, but at least you can feel less guilty about it :)
  • mortuseon
    mortuseon Posts: 579 Member
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    I usually use foodgawker for recipe ideas.
    How about chocolate truffles? There are ways you can lighten those up, and they're rich but the portion size is small so they might satisfy you. I'm planning on making some to gift this Christmas.
  • tigerlinly
    tigerlinly Posts: 219 Member
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    my mom makes a low fat/low calorie banana pudding we have alot of diabetics in our family
    low-fat/sugar banana pudding

    1 container low-fat/fat-free sour cream
    ½ container fat-free cool whip
    2 family size containers fat free instant vanilla pudding or banana cream pudding (or 1 of each)
    fat free vanilla wafers
    bananas
    Mix pudding, sour cream & cool whip together add to wafers & bananas & serve chilled
  • Squidgeypaws007
    Squidgeypaws007 Posts: 1,012 Member
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    in for the ideas here :)
  • Docpremie
    Docpremie Posts: 228 Member
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    I made both of these for Thanksgiving day desserts, as an alternative to more calorie-laden pies. My family was all over them! I couldn't keep my BIL out of the tarts! They were really good!!! I made a 4x recipe, hoping to have leftovers for me enjoy over the long 4 day holiday weekend, when I got up on Friday morning, they were ALL gone!

    http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/11/mini-pecan-phyllo-tarts.html

    http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/10/pumpkin-cheesecake-shooters.html
  • mortuseon
    mortuseon Posts: 579 Member
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    140kcal peppermint fudge brownies:
    http://www.traceysculinaryadventures.com/2013/12/lightened-up-peppermint-fudge-brownies.html
  • ponycyndi
    ponycyndi Posts: 858 Member
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    You are going to think I'm so weird but I actually cannot stand Jelly. Thank you anyway though :)

    I can't stand it either! Glad I'm not the only one!

    I make chocolate-dipped pretzels- get a big bag of pretzel rods (the fat ones) and a bag of chocolate chips (or white, my favorite). Just melt the chips in the microwave, and dip in the pretzels. My absolute favorite is white chocolate with some crushed peppermints sprinkled on top. Pretzels are only 45 calories for a large one, and if you aren't too generous with the chocolate (it's on the outside, so you don't need much!) a tsp. is only about 25-30 calories.

    And my favorite, sugar-free egg nog:
    1 pkg sugar free instant vanilla pudding (4-serving size)
    5 cups skim milk (Unsweetened almond milk works great for this, and is only 40 calories a cup)
    1/3 cup Splenda (or equivalent sweetener of your choice)
    1 tsp nutmeg
    1 tbs. vanilla
    1-2 tbs. rum extract (optional)

    Blend and chill for at least 2 hours. Top with more nutmeg, or whipped topping (Reddi whip is 15 calories, and totally optional)
  • glitterstreet
    glitterstreet Posts: 144
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    Meringue cookies made with egg whites and some sweetener are super low calorie.You can add some food dye to make it christmassy. http://lowcaloriecooking.about.com/od/desserts/r/meringuecookies.htm. I can't remember where the exact recipe can be found but the link is pretty similar, I think SparkPeople may have it.
  • AllyCatXandi
    AllyCatXandi Posts: 329 Member
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    Cookies are tough to do low-fat, but I've made white chocolate & macadamia ones with some success. Here's the link -
    http://beesbaking.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/macadamia-white-chocolate-cookies/

    I've also used applesauce and sweetener to make a lower-calorie version of date and walnut slice -
    http://beesbaking.wordpress.com/2013/11/12/date-walnut-slice/

    You can also make a chocolate and cherry 'mousse' by blitzing silken tofu, cocoa powder, and cherries in a processor until smooth. Add a bit of almond extract and sprinkle some coconut on top and you have a lower calorie cherry ripe-themed dessert. After it's been chilled for a few hours, of course.

    I agree with the person who suggested meringues - as the main ingredient is egg whites and they can be made very festive. Alternatively, you could use a meringue base to make a wonderfully fruity pavlova.

    As for more sweet ideas...fruit and sugar-free marshmallows dipped in chocolate tend to be relatively low.

    Good luck to you! :bigsmile:
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    I think if it's only one day it's totally fine to eat the real deal goodies. You can't get fat from a meal or two.
  • rostraqueen
    rostraqueen Posts: 22
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    Healthy Food Guide magazine has a recipe for a lower-calorie Christmas cake in it this month :)
    It's pretty similar to a normal xmas cake, but uses low-fat spread instead of butter and has nuts on top instead of covered in marzipan and icing. It's still a treat, so to speak, but better than normal xmas cake!
  • ag27404
    ag27404 Posts: 47 Member
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    These have turned into one of my favorite Christmas cookies - low fat, low sugar and very tasty!

    http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sparkling-cranberry-gems-recipe
  • mamma_nee
    mamma_nee Posts: 809 Member
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    On the holidays I make myself a ricotta cheescake with no sugar - no crust - I hate artificial anything and I do not like to waste calories on sugar - I then cook up whatever berries (are in season ) or a ripe peach and use a scoop of that over the top right before eating and it satisfies my sweet tooth nicely. The natural sugars from the berries is enough for me .

    - I will sometimes add some unsweetened dark chocolate in there as well, just to change it up and get the goodness from the dark chocolate .
  • HLSalter
    HLSalter Posts: 260
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    Wow so many ideas, I'm liking the sound of chocolate truffles, peppermint chocolate brownies or the cranberry cookies. Thank you!
  • Nancy_hc
    Nancy_hc Posts: 123 Member
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    Rice crispy treats!! People always forget about this childhood favorite. And you can use food coloring or top with M&Ms to make them festive.

    Also... you can do angel food cake with a fruit topping. I like to just buy the frozen mixed fruit (berries) and simmer it on the stove top with some water - it makes its own syrup!. very yummy.
  • C1C2C3
    C1C2C3 Posts: 119 Member
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    I want to try these cinnamon cookies, according to the recipe they are about 50 calories per cookie, but I am sure they could be lightened a little bit more. http://www.food.com/recipe/cinnamon-cookies-48241

    I just made these chocolate truffle cookies yesterday: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-truffle-cookies/
    Recipe said that 36 cookies would be 112 calories per cookie. I used 4 T regular butter and 2 T light butter instead of 6 T regular butter, also cut the sugar from 1 cup to 3/4 cup. came to 70 cookies at 50 calories per cookie! The cookies were between 1/2" to 3/4" balls before they were baked and were the perfect "two to three bite size" cookie! Small is better in this case, they are very rich and sooo chocolately!

    As I do not cookies and desserts for just myself, I want what I bake to taste like the "real deal" to those who are not watching calories. So alot of times I choose regular recipes but "lighten" them and no one ever knows. ;-) The main things I do are to cut back on the sugar (you can almost always cut back at least a 1/4 cup, depending on the recipe), use light butter when possible and always use the small cookie scoop. I would rather have two small cookies than one big cookie! :-)
  • piratesaregrand
    piratesaregrand Posts: 356 Member
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    These taste like Christmas to me :)

    http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2010/12/17/vegan-raw-gingerbread-men/
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    These taste like Christmas to me :)

    http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2010/12/17/vegan-raw-gingerbread-men/

    Like!!!

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