Holiday Baking Recipes – Classic & Whole‑Food Alternatives for Women Over 50

 

The holidays wouldn’t be the holidays without some delicious desserts to share and savour with friends and family, but as women over 50 we also want treats that love our joints, hormones, and energy levels as much as we love them.

In this special holiday baking collection, you’ll find both classic, decadent recipes and creative whole‑food alternatives that use ingredients like nuts, oats, beans, fruit, and coconut to dial down the refined flour and sugar while keeping all the flavour.

Whether you prefer a traditional Banana Chocolate Bread Pudding with cashew custard or a gluten‑friendly Flourless Chocolate Cake made with chickpeas and dates, there’s something here to satisfy every sweet tooth at your next gathering.

These recipes are designed to help you enjoy dessert without the heavy crash, blood‑sugar spikes, or next‑day stiffness that often follow conventional holiday baking.

Download the full recipe booklet below and start planning a dessert table that feels as good in your body as it tastes on your tongue.

What’s Inside These Holiday Baking Recipes

Inside this holiday baking booklet, you’ll find 10 show‑stopping desserts, each paired with a more whole‑food‑based alternative so you can choose what works best for your body and your guests.

You’ll see side‑by‑side options like Banana Chocolate Bread Pudding with Cashew Custard and its alternative version made with rice flour, maple syrup, cashew milk, and dark chocolate, as well as a classic Flourless Chocolate Torte paired with a flourless chocolate cake sweetened with dates and herbal tea.

There are elegant fruit‑forward desserts such as Pear Walnut Maple Custard Tart and an alternative Pear Walnut Pie with an oat‑and‑walnut crust, plus layered coconut‑raspberry trifles and a stunning Almond Ricotta Cheesecake with Orange Sour Cherry Topping alongside a naturally sweetened orange‑almond cherry cake.

Many of the alternative recipes swap white flour for almond meal or oat flour, white sugar for maple syrup, honey, or coconut sugar, and heavy cream bases for beans, cashew butter, or coconut milk, making them easier on blood sugar and more nutrient‑dense without sacrificing flavour.

You can mix and match these classics and alternatives to build a dessert table that includes gluten‑friendly choices, dairy‑light options, and treats that feel more balanced for midlife metabolism and joint health.

Why These Desserts Are Gentler for Midlife Bodies

As we move through our fifties and beyond, our joints, digestion, and hormones often become more sensitive to big hits of refined flour, sugar, and dairy, especially around the holidays when indulgence is everywhere.

The alternative versions in this booklet are designed with that in mind, using ingredients like nuts, beans, oats, fruit, and coconut to provide fibre, healthy fats, and slow‑burning carbohydrates that are more supportive of steady energy and stable blood sugar.

Classic recipes like the Almond Ricotta Cheesecake or Banana Chocolate Bread Pudding are still here for when you truly want to indulge, but their paired alternatives let you enjoy festive flavours in a way that feels lighter, less inflammatory, and more aligned with your long‑term health goals.

Think of this collection as a tool to help you celebrate generously while still honouring your body’s changing needs during and after menopause.

Flourless Chocolate Cake (Whole‑Food Alternative)

This rich, deeply chocolatey flourless cake uses chickpeas, dates, and almond meal instead of refined flour and sugar, creating a dense, truffle‑like dessert that feels surprisingly balanced and satisfying.

Brewed chocolate‑mint herbal tea and a creamy nut‑butter icing add layers of flavour, while the fibre and protein from legumes and nuts help blunt the typical sugar rush of holiday desserts.

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 19 oz can chickpeas, rinsed well​

• 1 cup strong chocolate mint herbal tea (brewed with 3 tea bags for 10 minutes)​

• 20 Medjool dates, pitted​

• 2 cups almond meal​

• ½ cup cocoa powder​

• ½ cup maple syrup​

• ¼ cup almond butter​

• ¼ cup cashew butter​

• 4 eggs

Icing

• 1 cup chocolate mint tea (brewed with 3 tea bags for 10 minutes)​

• 24 Medjool dates, pitted​

• ½ cup almond butter​

• ½ cup cashew butter​

• ½ cup cocoa powder

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease two 8‑inch round cake pans with coconut oil.​

2. Put the chickpeas, chocolate‑mint tea, dates, almond meal, cocoa powder, maple syrup, almond butter, and cashew butter in a large food processor or high‑power blender and blend until very smooth.​

3. Add the eggs and blend again until the batter is smooth and fluffy.​

4. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, smoothing the tops with the back of a spoon.​

5. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.​

6. For the icing, blend the chocolate‑mint tea, dates, almond butter, cashew butter, and cocoa powder until completely smooth, then let the mixture rest while the cakes cool.

7. Once the cakes are cool, remove one layer from its pan and place it on a serving plate, spread a layer of icing on top, then stack the second layer and cover the top and sides with the remaining icing.​

8. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for 2–3 hours before serving, and store any leftovers in the fridge.

Looking for even more ideas?

Download the full Holiday Baking Recipes booklet below to get all 10 classic‑and‑alternative dessert pairs, complete with step‑by‑step directions and printable ingredient lists.

2016-holiday-recipes

you have to try these and tell us which was your favorite 🙂

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And check out my other free recipe for High Protein Chocolate Chip Cookies!