The 25 Best Fall Baking Recipes
Article posted in: Diet & NutritionFall brings with it a chilly nip in the air, a crackling fire and the taste of a sweet and spicy baked treat to pair with your pumpkin spice latte.
On Nutrisystem, that’s not out of the question. Yes, you can have your cake (cookies, muffins and pie) and lose weight, too. Here are 25 ways to do it!
1. 100-Calorie Pumpkin Muffins
No need to buy oat flour for these 100-calorie muffins. Make your own by whirring two cups of old-fashioned rolled oats in a food processor. These honey-sweetened muffins get their fall flavor from pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. And they only take three steps to make!
Get the 100-Calorie Pumpkin Muffin recipe.
2. Whole Wheat Cranberry Orange Bread
Yummy enough to give as a holiday gift, you’ll want to keep this easy-to-make loaf around to satisfy your sweet tooth. Whole wheat pastry flour adds fiber while unsweetened applesauce and orange juice add sweetness.
Get the Whole Wheat Cranberry Orange Bread recipe.
3. Pumpkin Spice Cookies
This one-bowl recipe will satisfy your pumpkin spice yearnings in fall (or anytime) without adding loads of calories. One cookie is only 76 calories, thanks to whole wheat flour, light margarine and a touch of maple syrup instead of sugar.
Get the Pumpkin Spice Cookies recipe.
4. Baked Cinnamon Apple Nachos
This creative take on nachos will be one of your favorite desserts, guaranteed. Sliced apples are tossed with cinnamon and coconut oil, baked, then topped with nuts or seeds (like pumpkin seeds), pomegranate seeds, nut or seed butter and mini chocolate chips. The recipe makes two servings at 245 calories each. Be sure to make extra for the family so they don’t steal yours.
Get the Baked Cinnamon Apple Nachos recipe.
5. Maple Chocolate Pecan Pies
Tempted? Go ahead, give in. One serving of this decadent pie is only 90 calories. It all starts with a store-bought pie crust (yay!) and uses maple syrup and stevia baking blend for sweetness. Even the chocolate chips are stevia sweetened.
Get the Maple Chocolate Pecan Pies recipe.
6. Pumpkin Blondies
If you love brownies, these 97-calorie snack cakes might just lure you over to the blondie side. The recipe starts with homemade oat flour and contains a cup of pumpkin puree (high in vitamin A) with almond butter, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice.
Get the Pumpkin Blondies recipe.
7. Chai Baked Oatmeal
Cake for breakfast? Yes, please! The old-fashioned oats add healthy fiber. Mixed with nonfat plain Greek yogurt, unsweetened applesauce and an array of spices (cinnamon, allspice, cloves, cardamom, ginger and—surprise!—black pepper), this breakfast-dessert hybrid is studded with pecans and golden raisins.
Get the Chai Baked Oatmeal recipe.
8. Healthy Homemade Apple Pie
Whole wheat flour and light butter pares so many calories from this easy pie that one serving is only 147 calories! There’s also no added sugar but plenty of apple cinnamon taste.
Get the Healthy Homemade Apple Pie recipe.
9. Pumpkin Banana Bread
Banana bread meets pumpkin bread in this recipe—and they get along great together. Combine applesauce, maple syrup, two ripe bananas and fiber-rich whole wheat pastry flour. Simple ingredients make this pumpkin-pie-spiced loaf plenty healthy.
Get the Pumpkin Banana Bread recipe.
10. Pear Ginger Squares
You’re going to wonder why you never thought of spicing up pears with ginger once you taste these triple ginger bars. Featuring ground, grated fresh and crystalized ginger, this recipe packs loads of flavor in just 112 calories. A stevia baking blend and applesauce add sweetness to the already sweet, chopped Bosc pear.
Get the Pear Ginger Squares recipe.
11. Homemade Carrot Cake
Carrot cake on a diet? No problem! Thanks to whole wheat flour, applesauce, stevia and maple syrup, this moist cake (that has two cups of grated carrots!) with its ricotta-yogurt frosting is only 147 calories a slice.
Get the Homemade Carrot Cake recipe.
12. Crustless Pumpkin Pie
Losing the crust of this holiday pie alone saves more than 100 calories. Using stevia as a sweetener along with nonfat milk shaves off even more. Indulge in a slice of this Thanksgiving regular while sticking to your weight loss plan!
Get the Crustless Pumpkin Pie recipe.
13. Gluten Free Chewy Ginger Cookies
Even if you aren’t gluten-sensitive, you’ll enjoy the taste and texture of these rich-tasting chewy cookies redolent of ginger, molasses, cinnamon and vanilla. Coconut flour replaces wheat in this recipe that makes 16 bite-sized cookies.
Get the Gluten Free Chewy Ginger Cookies recipe.
14. Crustless Cranberry Pie
You’ve had cranberry sauce, bread and cookies, but you’ve probably never had cranberries baked into a pie. Two cups of whole tart cranberries are folded into a batter made from whole wheat flour, nonfat plain Greek yogurt, eggs, applesauce, almond extract and sliced almonds. Serve the 124-calorie slice warm with light whipped cream.
Get the Crustless Cranberry Pie recipe.
15. Cinnamon Spice Baked Apples
Think of this dessert as apple pie without the crust. Warm, sweet apples are seasoned with cinnamon, lemon juice, nutmeg and sugar-free syrup for only 90 calories a serving.
Get the Cinnamon Spice Baked Apples recipe.
16. Mini Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pies
The crust of these mini pies is delicious and it’s easy to make it yourself. Just combine rolled oats, sweet medjool dates and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Make a cream cheese filling using Neufchatel cheese (marketed as light cream cheese) and then a second filling made with pumpkin puree, almond milk and pumpkin pie spice. Stevia and maple syrup add the sweetness. They’re made in a mini muffin pan so you have 12.
Get the Mini Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pies recipe.
17. Skinny Pumpkin Biscuits with Cinnamon Butter
Imagine having these decadent biscuits with your morning coffee or tea. They’re totally diet-friendly because of their fiber-rich whole wheat flour, light butter and low-fat buttermilk. Maple syrup adds sweetness and flavor, while pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice will remind you of pie.
Get the Skinny Pumpkin Biscuits recipe.
18. Maple Almond Butter Muffins
These treats offer a symphony of flavors in the morning. Cinnamon, nutmeg, almond butter, unsweetened applesauce, maple syrup, brown sugar and maple extract are part of a batter that consists of oat flour, rolled oats, egg, baking powder and salt. They’re baked to perfection in a muffin tin for the perfect fall sweet treat.
Get the Maple Almond Butter Muffin recipe.
19. Carrot Soufflé Cups
These yummy soufflé cups are worth the extra step of cooking and mashing a couple of carrots. The rest of the recipe is a cakewalk from there. Eggs, oil, flour, baking soda, vanilla extract, grated fresh ginger and stevia make up the batter. Combine with your cooked mashed carrots, pour into muffin cups and bake.
Get the Carrot Soufflé Cups recipe.
20. Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites
When an ingredients list starts with gingersnap cookies, you know it’s going to be good. Ten crushed cookies combined with coconut oil and water make the crust for these low-fat cream cheese-based cakes. They’re flavored with canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice and baked in a mini muffin tin.
Get the Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites recipe.
21. Baked Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Muffins
These muffins combine mashed banana with rolled dry oats, baking powder, cinnamon, eggs, unsweetened almond milk and vanilla extract. To this gluten-free batter, you add orange zest and dried cranberries. Bake in a muffin pan and voila! A sweet and healthy breakfast (or afternoon pick-me-up).
Get the Baked Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Muffin recipe.
22. 3-Step Cinnamon Pecan Cookies
Almond flour makes these cookies even nuttier, not to mention protein-rich and gluten free. To make these one-bowl wonders, mix almond flour with light butter, cinnamon, baking soda, unsweetened almond milk and brown sugar. Bake with a pecan on the top.
Get the 3-Step Cinnamon Pecan Cookies recipe.
23. Maple Walnut Cookies
You’ll go wild for the maple glaze on these 122-calorie cookies, made with rolled oats and wheat flour, a touch of cinnamon, maple extract and walnuts. Unsweetened applesauce, maple syrup and a little confectioners sugar in the glaze brings out the sweetness.
Get the Maple Walnut Cookies recipe.
24. Pumpkin Cranberry Crackers
For the days when you’re craving a little savory with your sweet, whip up a batch of these crackers made with whole wheat flour, pureed pumpkin, coconut oil and dried cranberries. These crispy treats can be used with dips or eaten just plain (though there’s nothing plain about them) with your coffee or tea. At only 117.4 calories each, a serving counts as one SmartCarb.
Get the Pumpkin Cranberry Crackers recipe.
25. Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls
These yeast rolls take a little more time to make—two hours of waiting for the dough to rise—but they are so worth it! The dough gets fiber from whole wheat flour and the apple pie filling gets an extra apple boost with the addition of unsweetened applesauce. And then there’s the glaze—low fat cream cheese, light butter, powdered sugar and nonfat milk—drizzled on top. Brunch-worthy if you’re having guests, or perfect for any time you want a special treat.
Get the Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls recipe.