Along with the ghouls and witches, one of the scariest parts about Halloween is the amount of fat, sugar, and calories in our favorite sweet treats! But we can still indulge by using healthy Halloween baking recipes to not completely wreck our diets and health in the process. I’m a firm believer in indulging in food that’s good for your body but also decadent and flavorful.
Here are a few of my favorite recipes to make the best healthy Halloween treats for kids and adults to enjoy!
Pecan Pumpkin Bars
The Halloween season is not complete without pumpkin holiday recipes to get into the spirit. These flourless pumpkin bars are easy to make, gluten-free, moist, and fluffy. No grain or refined sugar here, making this a healthier, delicious option. (So you won’t have to say no to seconds!)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of pumpkin purée
- 1 cup of nut butter OR 1 cup of solid creamed coconut
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of erythritol (as a sugar substitute)
- 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 4 large eggs
Topping:
- Bag of pecan nuts
1) Preheat the oven to 180° C (or 350° F)
2) Combine and mix the wet and dry ingredients until well blended (save the pecans for decoration after baking.)
3) Transfer the batter to a glass pan lined with baking paper and bake for about 30 minutes until the center is firm.
4) Remove the bars from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan before cutting them.
5) Place pecan nuts on top of the bars (my favorite decoration!) before serving.
How To Make Pumpkin Purée for Pumpkin Holiday Recipes:
1) Preheat the oven to 180° C (or 350° F)
2) Rinse off the pumpkin (I use Hokkaido pumpkin because I don’t need to peel it, it’s so much faster and easier than removing the hard outer shell!)
3) Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet in the oven and roast for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of your pumpkin.
4) The pumpkin is ready when the skin can be easily pierced with a fork.
5) Cut the pumpkin in half and allow it to cool before handling.
6) Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and save them for later (baking the seeds makes a yummy snack!)
7) Transfer chunks of the cooked pumpkin into a food processor and blend until a smooth purée is formed.
8) Store the pumpkin purée in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Vegan Mummy Brownies
My chocolate brownies are not only super-juicy, chocolaty, and delicious but also vegan, baked without flour and industrial sugar– with lots of healthy ingredients! No tricks here!
I use white beans and almonds instead of flour, which makes my vegan brownies little protein bombs that keep you satiated without feeling like you over-indulged. These also make for great healthy Halloween party food ideas with a “mummy” inspired theme.
Ingredients:
- 1 can of white beans (230 grams drained weight)
- 120 grams of dates
- 3 tablespoons of coconut oil
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of water
- 1 pinch of salt
- ? of vanilla extract
- 30 grams of cocoa powder
- 30 grams of ground almonds
- 1/2 a teaspoon of baking powder
- 80 grams of dark chocolate (approx. 70% cocoa content)
- 30 grams of walnuts
Toppings:
- 50 grams of roughly chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
- Bag of coconut chips
- Store-bought candy “eyes”
1) Preheat the oven to 175° C (or 350° F) with the top and bottom heat.
2) Drain the white beans in a sieve and save the liquid for later.
3) Roughly chop the dates and purée them with the beans, oil, salt, vanilla, and 2 to 3 tablespoons of water in a high-performance blender or with a hand blender.
4) Combine all the dry ingredients (except the dark chocolate and walnuts) in a large bowl, add the bean purée, and mix everything to a smooth batter.
5) Add approximately three tablespoons of the drained bean water to the batter.
6) Coarsely chop the dark chocolate and walnuts, then stir them into the batter.
7) Line a square baking tin (15 x 15 cm) with baking paper, fill the tin with the batter and smooth it down.
8) Bake in the oven on the middle shelf for 25 to 30 minutes.
9) Remove the brownies from the oven and let them cool in the tin for a couple of minutes. Then remove the brownies from the tin and leave them to cool completely.
10) For the topping, caramelize the chopped walnuts with maple syrup in a small pot for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
11) Cut the brownies into squares (should make 12 pieces)
12) Decorate these brownies with coconut chips for the “mummy effect” and store-bought candy “eyes” (but you can always make your own!)
Spooky Superfood Cookies
Looking for the perfect healthy treat to balance out all of the candy and chocolate of the Halloween festivities? These cookies are made without refined sugar and instead with the superfood power of tahini paste. Tahini is made from sesame seed and has tons of feel-good benefits from its high concentration of omega-3’s, protein, and vitamins. Yes, you can eat a cookie with ingredients that help REDUCE cholesterol and inflammation.
Plus, when you add some monster candy “eyes,” you’ll get a bit of spookiness (and fun!) for the best healthy Halloween treats.
Ingredients:
- 120 grams of rye flour
- 110 grams of spelt flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 100 grams of dark chocolate (approx. 80% to 100% cocoa content)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons of tahini paste
- 50 grams of coconut blossom sugar
- 90 grams of softened butter
Topping:
- Store-bought candy “eyes”
1) Mix the two types of flour with the baking powder in a bowl.
2) Add the eggs, the tahini paste, and the coconut blossom sugar.
3) Dice the butter and mix all the ingredients by hand to form the dough.
4) Divide the dough into three equal portions and shape each piece into an oblong roll about three centimeters in diameter.
5) Place the rolls in the freezer for about two hours.
6) Preheat the oven to 180° C (or 350° F) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
7) Take the dough rolls out of the freezer and cut them into 1-centimeter-thick slices with a sharp knife.
8) Spread them onto the baking sheet with space between them.
9) Bake the tray of cookies on the center rack for 10 to 11 minutes.
10) Take out the first tray and do the same with the second tray.
11) Remove and let them cool on the tray for two hours (you can also freeze the cookies to store!)
12) Add the store-bought candy “eyes” to create that monster effect (if you’re feeling extra spooky, add green food coloring to the mix of wet ingredients.)
Which one of these will you add to your healthy Halloween baking recipes this year? Let me know in the comments below! I hope you enjoy these alternative recipes for the best healthy Halloween treats.
