Healthy Dessert Recipes

If you’re looking for a sweet treat for after dinner, you’ve come to the right place! I have a major sweet tooth, so I love making cookies, cakes, ice cream and other homemade desserts.

These healthy dessert ideas are made from scratch with nourishing ingredients. Whether you’re looking for gluten-free recipes, following a Paleo or Keto diet, or just want to enjoy a tasty snack with less sugar, we have tons of ideas. 

Paleo dessert recipes are naturally sweetened with honey, maple syrup, and dates. Keto desserts are low carb and use sugar alternatives, like stevia and monk fruit. I also love making dairy free dessert recipes using coconut milk and plant-based butter alternatives. And of course, you’ll find plenty of desserts made with minimally processed ingredients like whole grain oats, whole wheat flour, and fresh fruit. 

Some of my personal favorite dessert recipes include: 

Dairy free cupcakes, chock-full of banana flavor and topped with amazing brown sugar buttercream frosting that you’ll want to eat by the spoonful

Air fryer donut holes made from scratch, like these delightful pumpkin spice donut holes that are perfect for Fall

Small-batch thumbprint cookies made with almond flour and topped with apricot and tart cherry preserves

Say goodbye to processed treats and hello to delicious desserts made from scratch in your own kitchen.

Daring Bakers: Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies

cookies 1

A lot of people have asked me if I eat “this way” all the time. Now you’ll be able to see for yourself – I’ve started a new blog where I plan to document everything that I eat in a day. I can’t promise you that it will be pretty, but you will get to see what else I eat – including some recipe failures that I don’t deem good enough to post on this blog for some reason or another. You’ll also get a sneak peek at some up and coming recipes. Why am I doing this? Honestly, I’ve put on about 5 pounds and I don’t like them! I want them gone before I go on a cruise in September, and I know that my main problem is snacking too much. I hope that posting everything I eat will help keep me accountable, and will really make me think about whether I *really* want more cookies. I hope to see you there!

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Speaking of cookies…. The July Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

Since I obviously didn’t need to be eating that many cookies, I decided to make just one of the recipes. It was a tough call: milanos are my favorite, but I’ve also been dying to try making homemade marshmallows. Since this was for Daring Bakers, the marshmallows ultimately won out. [….]

Gingerbread, Mascarpone, and Plum Tart (+ Blogger Secret Ingredient Announcement!)

When Zoe asked me to host this week’s BSI, it didn’t take very long to decide on an ingredient. I had just gotten back from the Greenmarket, where I was so excited to see the first of this year’s plums! I think plums are a very versatile but often overlooked ingredient, don’t you? There are also so many different varieties – I bought golden plums, but for the BSI you can feel free to use any variety. [….]

Cherry Grunt (AKA Cherries with Dumplings)

Before I get to the good stuff, can you do me a favor? Pretty please? I was chosen as a semi-finalist in a recipe contest and I’d really appreciate your vote! There’s $2,500 cash and a bunch of other prizes on the line, so its kind of big deal. I made the cannolis, and you can vote for them HERE. Thanks!

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In the summer, I love desserts that incorporate fresh fruit. I especially love desserts that don’t require having the oven on for long periods of time. Grunts are a simple dessert that don’t require the oven at all – the fruit and biscuits cook in a pot right on the stove top. If you have a grill with a side burner, you could even cook this outside! [….]

Eggnog Ice Cream

Eggnog in summer? Why not?

I’m going to make a confession here: I did not intend to make eggnog ice cream. I meant to make chai ice cream. However, silly me didn’t think that chai spices + egg custard would taste like eggnog! I’m not going to complain though because its actually really good. [….]

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