Healthy Christmas cookies and festive baking

Healthy Christmas cookies are sweetened with honey, dates, maple syrup or coconut sugar instead of refined sugar and baked with nuts, almonds and wholemeal spelt. Here you’ll find German classics like Vanillekipferl (vanilla crescent cookies), cinnamon stars, Lebkuchen (German gingerbread) and stollen – also vegan, gluten-free or no-bake. They’re still sweet, though: honey is still sugar, so enjoy them in moderation.

All Christmas cookies and festive bakes

High-protein apple and cinnamon cookies with oats and quark – 274 kcal
Vegan spelt Spekulatius (speculoos cookies) with flaked almonds – 197 kcal
Candied almonds with coconut sugar and cinnamon – 182 kcal
Spekulatius (speculoos cookies) with wholemeal rye and honey – 190 kcal
Butter stollen with raisins, almonds and orange zest – 329 kcal
Gluten-free Vanillekipferl (vanilla crescent cookies) with buckwheat and almonds – 217 kcal
Gluten-free Pfeffernüsse (spiced gingerbread drops) with almonds and maple syrup – 198 kcal
Hazelnut Zimtsterne (cinnamon stars) with coconut sugar meringue – 189 kcal
Honey Pfeffernüsse (spiced gingerbread drops) with rye flour and aniseed – 157 kcal
Leftover Christmas cookie trifle with quark and oranges – 276 kcal
Oat Vanillekipferl (vanilla crescent cookies) with almonds and butter – 220 kcal
Scottish-style shortbread with spelt and sea salt – 207 kcal
Vegetarian Spitzbuben (jam sandwich cookies) with redcurrant filling – 282 kcal
Lemon and quark cookies with spelt and honey – 165 kcal
High-protein stollen muffins with low-fat quark – 336 kcal
Gluten-free cut-out cookies with rice flour and honey – 218 kcal
Hazelnut butter cookies with honey – 246 kcal
Butter cookies with a marzipan filling made from almonds and honey – 252 kcal
Gluten-free Christmas Bethmännchen (marzipan almond cookies) with almonds and honey – 183 kcal
Vegan black and white cookies with spelt and cocoa – 211 kcal
Vegetarian poppy seed stollen with dates and spelt – 332 kcal
High-protein almond macaroons with orange and almond flour – 242 kcal
Vegan Spritzgebäck (piped butter cookies) with almond butter and cocoa glaze – 318 kcal
Ischler cookies with almonds and cocoa cream – 269 kcal

Frequently asked questions

How long do homemade Christmas cookies keep?

In an airtight tin in a cool, dry place, most cookies keep for 2 to 4 weeks. Store soft ones like Lebkuchen (German gingerbread) separately from crisp ones, or they’ll all go soft.

Can I just use honey instead of sugar?

Yes, but use a little less liquid or a little more flour, because honey is runny. Cookies made with honey brown faster – bake them 10 to 20 °C lower.

Which cookies need no baking?

Energy balls with dates and gingerbread spice, marzipan potatoes (marzipan balls rolled in cocoa) or nut and chocolate clusters don’t need an oven. They keep for about a week in the fridge.

Can I freeze cookie dough?

Yes. Well-wrapped shortcrust dough keeps for about three months in the freezer. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge, then roll it out and cut out your cookies.