Healthy Holiday Desserts

Double Coconut Cake

This classic holiday cake is lower in fat than a traditional coconut cake because the frosting is made with egg whites instead of cream cheese and butter. And although real butter is used in the cake batter, it's only 1/3 cup because light coconut milk is added to help make the cake rich and moist.

Recipe: Double Coconut Cake

Oatmeal Pecan Pie

Using oats in the filling allows you to keep crunchy nuttiness but use fewer pecans than you would use in a traditional pie. The pecans do add heart-health monounsaturated fat, and the oats help increase the fiber.

Recipe: Oatmeal Pecan Pie

Light 'n' Creamy Chocolate Cake Roll

Impress your holiday guests with rolled chocolate cake filled with a fluffy chocolate-cream cheese filling. This recipe features the convenience of an angel food cake mix, and because the filling calls for 1/3-less-fat cream cheese and fat-free whipped topping, you won't have to feel guilty about having a slice.

Recipe: Light 'n' Creamy Chocolate Cake Roll

Cranberry-Orange Trifle

This classic holiday dessert is traditionally made with sponge cake or ladyfingers brushed with sherry and layered with jam, custard, and whipped cream. Our lightened version uses pound cake and a lower-fat pastry cream made with reduced-fat milk, eggs, sugar, and cornstarch. For the fruit mixture, fresh cranberries are cooked with a small amount of sugar and orange juice. It's a great dessert for the holidays because you can make it a day ahead.

Recipe: Cranberry-Orange Trifle

Tropical Gingerbread Cake

Gingerbread is always welcome during the holidays, and here it's spruced up with light coconut milk and fresh ginger. The tropical theme is also maintained in the creamy frosting with range marmalade and toasted coconut. Don't worry about splurging because each slice of this two-layer cake has only 253 calories.

Recipe: Tropical Gingerbread Cake

Cinnamon-Orange Créme Brûlée

Nothing is more elegant and impressive to serve during the holidays than a créme brûlée, especially one that boasts favorite holiday flavors like cinnamon and orange. Because the custard is made with reduced-fat milk, nonfat dry milk, and fewer eggs, it has about two-thirds less fat than a traditional brûlée.

Recipe: Cinnamon-Orange Créme Brûlée

Vanilla Cheesecake with Cherry Topping

Using fat-free cream cheese and fat-free sour cream in the batter and decreasing the amount of butter in the crust helps keep the fat content down in this holiday cheesecake. The rich flavor comes from fresh vanilla bean seeds and red wine-simmered cherries.

Recipe: Vanilla Cheesecake with Cherry Topping

Classic Pumpkin Pie

With less than 250 calories per slice and antioxidant-rich pumpkin, this pie is a must for your holiday menu. Even with a refrigerated pie crust and real whipping cream, the fat content is still only 7.4 grams per serving.

Recipe: Classic Pumpkin Pie

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