50 cookies light recipes

Pumpkin macaroons made with ground pecans, coconut, pumpkin puree, and maple syrup. Light and chewy egg white cookies sweetened naturally without refined sugar. Baked low and slow.

Buttery shortbread-style nut cookies with almond extract and chopped nuts, shaped by hand into rustic finger rolls. Tender, crumbly, and lightly sweet.

Holiday Unbeatables are chewy, no-butter cookies made with egg whites, powdered sugar, walnuts, and candied cherries. Naturally gluten-light with a crisp edge and soft, meringue-like center.

Pillowy soft almond cookies made with almond filling for intense flavor, topped with sliced blanched almonds. Lightly golden, tender, and fragrant. Makes 2-3 dozen.

Norwegian kringla cookies shaped into figure-eights with a tender buttermilk dough. Chilled overnight, baked fast at high heat for a light, slightly sweet pastry.

Puffy sour cream drop cookies topped with cinnamon sugar before baking. Soft, cakey, and lightly golden around the edges. Simple pantry ingredients, 30 minutes start to finish. Makes 18.

Four-ingredient peanut butter cookies made with yellow cake mix, egg whites, and water. Light, puffy, and ready in under 30 minutes with no butter or oil.

Honey cut-out cookies with lemon extract, rolled thin and baked until lightly golden. A sturdy dough that holds its shape for holiday decorating with powdered sugar glaze.

Baci di Dama are Italian "lady's kisses": delicate ground almond cookies with candied orange peel, sandwiched together with melted chocolate. Gluten-light, flourless-forward, and elegant enough for gifting.

A light, soufflé-style chocolate cake loaded with crushed Girl Scout Thin Mints, topped with rich chocolate ganache and a second layer of cookie crumbs. Your sleeve of Thin Mints, leveled up.

Old-fashioned sugar cookies made with butter and oil for a tender, melt-in-your-mouth crumb. Rolled in sugar and pressed flat, these bake up with soft centers and lightly crisp edges. Makes 3 dozen.

Peanut butter banana cookies bake mashed banana into a classic peanut butter dough for a softer chewy texture. Uses an egg white only for a lighter cookie.

Cranberry chocolate oatmeal cookies loaded with rolled oats, dried cranberries, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Egg whites only (no yolks) for a lighter, chewier crumb.

Oatmeal cookies with orange zest, walnuts, and yogurt for a lighter, citrusy twist. Chewy, nutty cookies with brown sugar and a hint of orange in every bite.

Soft, cake-style pumpkin spice cookies built on egg whites and pumpkin puree with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, baked tender for a lighter holiday cookie tin.

Lower-sugar oatmeal raisin drop cookies with rolled oats, cinnamon, brown sugar, and just a quarter cup of margarine. A lighter take on the classic cookie that still delivers chewy oat texture and warm spice.