Our best healthy cookie recipes

Cookies will never be diet food, but they can be relatively healthy’especially by using whole-grain flours, cutting back on the sugar and adding fibre-rich dried fruits and nuts

Our best healthy cookie recipes

Source: Web exclusive: June 2009

Almond-Orange-Cardamom Cookies
These nutty cookies are packed with heart-healthy almonds and delicately flavoured with orange and cardamom.

Ginger Nut Cookies
Here’s a healthier, less-fatty version of a traditional favourite cookie. Bake simple round cookies, or use fancy cutters and encourage children to stamp out gingerbread figures and shapes. Whatever the shape, these spicy, crunchy ginger nut cookies taste terrific.

Oatmeal and Raisin Cookies
Both children and adults will love these crisp, melt-in-the-mouth oatmeal and raisin cookies. They are a wholesome treat, packed with oatmeal and raisins for extra flavour and nutrition. It’s worth making a double batch and freezing some.

Sweet Whole-Wheat Cookies
These crunchy, golden cookies are full of nutty, slightly sweet flavours. They are sliced from a long piece of dough, which you can make ahead and store in the refrigerator or freezer. So you can bake the sweet whole-wheat cookies all at once or in batches.

Chocolate-Nut Meringues
Here’s an astounding achievement: chocolate-nut cookies with less than one gram of fat each! The secret is meringue. These chocolate-nut meringue cookies contain no butter or margarine and no egg yolks, yet they’re tender and rich tasting.

Raspberry Almond Macaroons
These raspberry almond macaroons aren’t the coconut macaroon you probably know. They’re a light French sandwich cookie.

Cinnamon Star Cookies
These crisp, spicy cinnamon star cookies make a perfect snack after a day outdoors.

Crispy Cinnamon Cookies
These crispy cinnamon cookies are wonderfully quick and easy to make.

Cherry Biscotti
These twice-baked Italian cookies are perfect for dunking in coffee or milk. For variety, try using almonds or pecans instead of walnuts.

Apple and Muesli Rock Cakes
A small amount of diced apple makes these cookies moist and fruity, and a perfect replacement for store-bought cookies.

Chocolate Chunk and Nut Cookies
These chocolate chunk and nut cookies are simply irresistible eaten while still warm, when the chocolate chunks are soft and melting. Macadamia nuts add a crunchy texture, but can be omitted if you prefer. Like the chocolate, the nuts should be in large pieces.

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