3 Delicious Dessert Recipes That Don’t Use Sugar

I love dessert. I don’t love what it does for my waistline or blood sugar. Fortunately, there are a variety of clever ways to enjoy a sweet treat without packing on the pounds or otherwise negatively impacting your health. Here are three of my favorite dessert recipes that don’t use an ounce of processed sugar.

Double Chocolate Banana Cookies

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup whole-wheat flour

• ¼ teaspoon baking soda

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

• ½ medium banana, mashed

• ¼ cup honey

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

• ½ medium banana, chopped

• 1/3 cup no sugar-added chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life vegan semi-sweet chips)

Directions:

1. Add flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder to a large bowl. Mix well until no clumps remain. Set aside.

2. Whisk banana, honey, vanilla and coconut oil together in a medium bowl.

3. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and gently combine.

4. Fold in banana chunks and chocolate chips. Chill mixture in fridge for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

6. After the dough has sufficiently chilled, drop dough onto prepared sheet by the tablespoon. Shape them into cookies; these don’t spread out much.

7. Bake for 10-14 minutes, depending on how soft you like your cookies.

8. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool further.

Devil’s Food Doughnuts

Ingredients – Doughnuts:

• 5 Medjool dates, pitted

• 1 tablespoon water, divided

• ½ cup coconut flour

• ¼ cup, plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk

• ¼ cup good maple syrup

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

• 2 tablespoons sunflower seed butter

• 2 tablespoons coconut crystals

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• pinch sea salt

• 2 eggs

• ½ cup vegan chocolate chips

Ingredients – Glaze:

• ½ tablespoon sunflower seed butter

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, softened

Directions:

1. Grease a donut pan with coconut oil. Any size pan will work; with a large pan, this recipe yields eight delicious donuts that, yes, I know, are technically a breakfast food.

2. Microwave dates with ½ tablespoon of water for 30 seconds to soften.

3. Add ½ tablespoon of water to the softened dates and mash well. You should end up with about ¼ cup of date paste.

4. Combine date paste with remaining donut ingredients in a food processor. Blend until you have a smooth batter.

5. Fill each hole in donut pan roughly 75% of the way up with batter.

6. Bake for 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before relocating to a cooling rack to cool completely.

7. While the donuts bake, make the glaze by whisking the sunflower seed butter, maple syrup and coconut oil together in a medium bowl.

8. Dip top of fully cooled donuts in glaze, and you’re done!

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup coconut oil

• ¼ cup honey

• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

• ½ cup creamy peanut butter

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 cup quick-cooking oats

• ¼ cup unsweetened coconut (shredded or flakes)

Directions:

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine coconut oil, honey, salt and peanut butter. Melt over medium heat, stirring continuously until well-combined.

3. Stir in cocoa powder and vanilla.

4. Stir in oats, then coconut until the dough is thoroughly mixed.

5. Using a tablespoon, drop dough onto prepared cookie sheet. There should be enough for 18 cookies or so.

6. Put the cookie sheet in the fridge or the freezer, and let the dough harden for at least an hour.

7. Serve cold. (When coconut oil hits room temperature, it becomes soft.)

Eating healthy doesn’t mean depriving yourself of delicious doughnuts or sumptuous cakes, cookies or pies. Make smart choices, get a little creative in the kitchen, and indulge in moderation, and you’ll never have to go without.