The best wholesome holiday desserts that are packed with flavor. Enjoy these easy, healthy, and festive treats without the guilt!
This holiday season treat yourself and your loved ones to some delicious holiday desserts that won’t break your healthy eating goals. Made with wholesome ingredients, less sweetener, fresh milled flour, loaded with antioxidants, or gluten free, you’ll find something that your family will love and that will keep you healthy.
And all of these taste so delicious, you won’t ever miss out on fantastic flavor. Many of these desserts are great to make ahead too to ease your work load during the busiest times this holiday season.
And if you need some gifts for your favorite teacher, nurse, mail carrier, delivery person, neighbor… A plate or tin filled with homemade cookies is always a hit.
And I bet you can find lots of reasons to fit these treats into all sorts of festivities year round. Don’t let me stop you from coming back for Valentine’s Day or the Fourth. And aside from special occasions, these treats are delicious anytime. Keep checking back for additions too!
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Why You’ll Love these Wholesome Holiday Desserts
My focus on this blog is to provide recipes for meals and treats that taste fantastic, but not at the expense of nutrition and nourishment. It’s important to me to make food count for health, and not sabotage it.
You’ll find lots of suggestions for clean eating ingredient choices, better for you unrefined sweeteners, and using fresh milled flour and whole foods for maximum nutrition. You’ll find spices and ingredients that support your immune system, fight diseases and combat inflammation. All without compromising awesome flavor and deliciousness.
Healthy does not have to mean boring either. In fact, choosing a wide variety of foods and ingredients is a great idea for getting plenty of important and diverse nutrients. Fermenting foods and using sourdough supports gut health and that, in turn, is vital for overall health and a strong immune system. Our bodies need the best nutrition at all times to stay healthy, and it’s so important to make each bite count for health.
For the best health benefits, I recommend choosing organic, regeneratively farmed, and clean ingredients, and making foods from scratch as much as possible.
So without further ado, I invite you to visit my favorite Holiday desserts with me.
1. Fantastic Linzer Cookies
I love these delicious cookies and have been making them many times since I was a teenager. These days I prefer to make them with fresh milled einkorn flour and unrefined sugar, and I actually like them even better that way. They are so delicious and so pretty! These are really great all year round, but they do look beautiful on a holiday cookie platter and are usually the first cookie that everyone reaches for. Get the recipe here!
2. Cranberry Ginger Applecrisp
If you’re like me, apple crisp is the first thing that comes to mind as soon as those first apples ripen on the tree. It’s the perfect comfort food any time of the day and I even eat it for breakfast. You’ll love this version with cranberries and ginger for immune support and it’s so delicious with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream or served in a bowl with yogurt. Get the recipe here!
3. Christmas Panna cotta
I decided to make this probiotic panna cotta recipe to go with my delicious Orange Cranberry Sauce or salad to turn it into a dessert. The creamy cultured panna cotta complements it perfectly. You’ll love its mild, rich flavor balancing the bold spices of the fruity cranberry sauce, but it’s also super delicious with a very simple raspberry sauce. A perfect little dessert that’s easy to make ahead and looks so festive when molded in muffin tins. Get this recipe here!
4. Cranberry Orange Salad Or Sauce With Beef Gelatin
One of my favorite Holiday dishes ever and perfect to make ahead! You’ll love this congealed molded salad to go with turkey, roast or ham. Or use less gelatin to make a sauce. It’s delicious either way and loaded with antioxidants and vitamins, full of fruitiness, collagen, and christmas spices. Made with hibiscus and rosehip tea, sweetened with honey, this salad is a superfood for health. And did I mention it’s outrageously delicious? Get the recipe here!
5. Zimtsterne (Cinnamon Stars), gluten-free
These traditional German cookies are quintessential Christmas treats that just can’t be missing from any German cookie platter. Zimtsterne appear in every store, during the Christmas season and are most certainly represented at the Christmas markets. They are naturally gluten free and my version is made with whole ground almonds or hazelnuts and unrefined sweetener. The frosting can be made with healthier sugar as well. Get the recipe here!
6. Zitronenherzen (Lemon Hearts), Gluten-Free
These delightful lemon hearts are made with almond flour and unrefined sweetener. The frosting is made with organic powdered cane sugar. But it can be omitted and the cookies are still delicious. I have suggestions for natural food colorings for decorating. The red ones are made with beet powder. These are so great for valentine’s day and bridal showers and many other occasions. I think you’ll love these pretty heart shaped cookies. Get the recipe here!
7. Lemon Cheesecake Mousse
This awesome dessert is incredibly delicious! Made with honey sweetened lemon curd and probiotic quark cheese, this lemon mousse is meant for guilt-free indulgence with health supporting ingredients. And it tastes fantastic. Lemon mousse is a popular dessert in Germany for festive occasions, and it makes a great refreshing dessert after a rich meal. You must try this to appreciate it, I don’t think you’ll regret it. I have instructions for making Quark Cheese from scratch or you can choose one of the substitutions. Get the recipe here!
8.German Cheesecake
The best cheesecake ever in my humble opinion. This traditional German cheesecake is a bit lighter in texture than the dense American versions. It is made with quark cheese, cream, and a bit of lemon zest. This is semi-healthy but I use all clean ingredients. Eat it plain or top it with your favorite fruit sauce or pie filling. I love cherry pie filling on it. Get the recipe here!
9. Sourdough pumpkin cake with Apple Ginger streusel
Here is a cozy cake recipe for you that makes a perfect dessert after a light meal, but it also works wonderfully as a holiday season breakfast or coffee break treat. It’s wholesome, made with fresh-milled flour, and gently sweetened with unrefined sucanat and maple syrup. I used lots of pumpkin and delicious spices for that cozy fall vibe and a moist crumb. And it’s layered and topped with a delicious pecan, apple and ginger streusel. Get the recipe here!
10. Vanillekipferl
Here is another must-have cookie on any German cookie platter, not just for Christmas, but definitely for Christmas! 🤩These little crescents are made with a delicate fresh-milled einkorn and hazelnut or almond shortbread dough, that’s lightly sweetened with unrefined sucanat. Dusting them is optional but looks pretty. I used less refined cane sugar and ground it to a fine powder. They are quick and easy to make and super delicious to eat. Always a favorite! Get the recipe here!
11. Creamy Orange Cheese Dessert
Here is a no-guilt German style orange quark cheese dessert that tastes fantastic. And when you eat it, it helps your gut microbiome repopulate with probiotics. If you love the idea of making your own easy cheese from scratch you can also find a quark recipe here. Otherwise there are options for substitutions, such as Greek yogurt. In any case, it’s a delicious dessert, lightly sweetend with honey and refreshing after a rich meal. Get the recipe here!
12. Awesome Flaky Pie Crust
I have not added any sweet pies on my blog yet, but I do have this wonderfully flaky piecrust recipe for you that has become my go-to for all pies. Discover the secrets to flaky pie crust and use this for your favorite Holiday pie fillings. It’s great for sweet or savory pies and I have not had a failure yet since I started to bake with this recipe. Great with butter and/or lard and with fresh milled flour option this can be perfect for a healthy treat for the Holidays or anytime you want to make a pie. Get the recipe here!
13. Maple Walnut Cranberry Apple Cheesecake
A truly special dessert that combines my favorite cakes, apple pie and cheesecake into one rich and creamy dessert. My recipe uses just the right amount of unrefined sucanat and maple syrup to satisfy sweet cravings without drowning out the deliciousness of all the other ingredients. Make this with fresh-milled einkorn flour, walnuts, cranberries and delicious spices for healthy nutrition that could even be breakfast. This cake can feed a crowd! Get the recipe here!
14. Lemon Tahini Cookies
These are delicious spicy cookies made with fresh milled einkorn flour and sweetened with honey. They are loaded with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory cozy fall spices like cardamom, ginger, and turmeric, and yes, pepper. These are a great dessert for a healthy kick after a not so healthy meal and are just sweet enough to make your sweet tooth happy too. And these tahini cookies are perfect as a snack any time too. They go great with coffee and tea or a glass of fresh raw milk. Get the recipe here!
15. Sweet Potato Cookies
Delicious moist and healthy cookies made with fresh milled einkorn flour, sweet potato puree and fall spices. They are nutritious and not too sweet and would be just as great for breakfast or a snack as they are for dessert. They are full of healthy goodness, and you get a good dose of beta carotene, essential minerals and antioxidants as a bonus. Delicious with a glass of raw milk or buttermilk, but great for teatime and coffee break too. Get the recipe here!
16. Cajeta (Mexican Caramel)
This delicious concoction is made from goats milk and unrefined or less refined sugar. It’s perfect for simmering down on a woodstove that’s already going anyway as it takes hours to reduce. But the wait is well worth it! It is similar to dulce de leche, but cajeta has greater depth of flavor. This caramel is hard to describe awesome. It’s perfect for topping ice cream, yogurt, cheese cake, panna cotta, or pancakes, and for filling pastry if you make it thick. And ya know, it’s fantastic eaten straight out of the jar. I’m certain that everyone will love it! Get the recipe here!
17. Sourdough Apple Pumpkin Muffins
I call these breakfast muffins because they are not so sweet and wonderfully wholesome for a nutritious meal. But if you want a delicious dessert muffin that counts for health, this will work just perfect. I prefer a subtle sweetness in my sweet treats. And I love bold spices, wholesome food and clean ingredients. And I like it to taste fantastic! You’ll find all of these qualities here, so you can have your muffin and eat it too. Get the recipe here!
18. Sweet Potato Bread
This cozy sweet potato bread is perfect any time, not just for dessert. Made with fresh-milled einkorn flour, sucanat, and maple syrup, I added a generous amount of anti-inflammatory spices and other goodies to make this taste delicious without excessive amounts of sugar. I always found these kinds of breads too sweet and generally cut the sugar and replace it with healthier sweeteners. They add much flavor too! This is a delicious easy quick bread for the Holiday season. Get the recipe here!
Enjoy The Best Wholesome Holiday Desserts This Season!
I hope you love these treats as much as I do. And you’ll find that many of them are great for year round occasions too and some make wonderful every day treats. Enjoy them without the guilt and Happy Healthy Holidays to you!
Have you made one of these recipes? I’d love to get your feedback and your ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating! And I’d love to hear what your favorite holiday desserts are. And please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments if you have any questions!
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