Best Christmas Cookie Recipes with Healthier Ingredients

If you’ve followed my stories on Instagram the last couple of days, you know, baking doesn’t really come naturally for me.  I much prefer cooking over baking.  But, I know making cookies is such a fun part of the Christmas season, so I do it! This year I scouted out some delicious Christmas cookie recipes that have healthier ingredients. (Yes, I know, there’s no such thing as a healthy cookie)! My kids and I made a couple of these recipes this weekend, and they were SO good!  I plan on making a few more this next week!! So get those aprons out, but on your Christmas music, and embrace the mess!!

Creating a Stress Free Baking Experience with Kids

For a long time, I was not great at letting my kids help in the kitchen. I can be a little OCD with messes, and it was just too stressful to have them help me. However, one day it clicked with me, that if I don’t teach my kids these life skills, than who will? And how sad would it be if Brylee doesn’t know how to cook someday because I didn’t want to dirty up the kitchen. Ouch! So, I have worked really hard to let go of my ways, and embrace the messes! And let me tell you, this has been huge! Both of my kids love to help in the kitchen. This weekend, Brylee made one of these cookie recipes all by herself. Proud mom moment!

Below are a few tips to making the baking experience with kids a little less stressful:

1. Pull out all of your ingredients, measure everything out, and put the measurements in plastic bowls. Kids love to scoop the ingredients and pour them in the bowl. Being one step ahead of them is less stressful for you, but makes them feel like they are in control and doing it themselves!
2. For the little ones, crack the eggs ahead of time.  For the older kids, let them crack it. This is great for them to learn!
3. Turn up the music! It is amazing how much more fun cooking and baking is in our house, when we blast some tunes. Especially this time of the year, you can’t make cookies without Christmas music in the background!
4. Be okay with not perfect. The first time we made one of these cookie recipes this weekend, we were in a hurry and I didn’t measure everything out before starting. Graham started just pouring oats into the bowl and I’m sure the measurement was way off. I knew we weren’t taking these cookies anywhere, they were just for us. So, I went with it, thought it looked good enough, and we continued!
5. Explain to them what you are doing. This is especially true for older kids. Teach them about measurements, how to crack an egg, whisk vs mix. It is amazing how receptive they are to listening and learning when we take the extra step to explain.
6. Know your kitchen is going to be a mess and that’s ok! Obviously, try to have some containment, but yes, you will have to vacuum, and maybe clean your floors and cabinets a bit, but life will go on (I tell myself this every time, still).

So now for those recipes I keep talking about. We tried out the first two recipes below, this weekend and they were so delish! Click on the cookie title to be directed to the full recipe.

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1. Gluten Free Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies  (Jeanette’s Healthy Living)

Note: I made these with 2 eggs instead of 1.  This helped to bring the dough together, otherwise they seemed to crumble apart. 

2. No-Bake Chocolate-Coconut Peanut Butter Bars (Two Healthy Kitchens)

3. Clean Eating Snicker Doodles  (The Gracious Pantry)

4. Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookie  (Bakerita)

5. Healthier Gingerbread Cookies  (Cookie and Kate)

6. Lemon, Rosemary, and Olive Oil Shortbread  (Cookie and Kate)

7. Pistachio Crusted Chewy Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies  (NutritionStripped)

8. Seven Layer Bar  (Against All Grain)

9. Gluten Free Pecan Pie Bars  (FED + fit)

10. Healthy No-Bake Millionaires Bars  (Fit Mitten Kitchen)