Holiday baking is often a treasured tradition in most households. And of all of the holiday food festivities, baking is one of the highest impact with regards to calories. Many people make 3 or more kinds of cookies in large batches. A one-ounce cookie contains about the same amount of calories as an ounce of potato chips or French Fries. But who really eats just one? You and your loved ones eat the whole batch. Most people don't realize they are making 10,000 calories worth of cookies in their kitchen. Add in cakes, brownies, fudge, and other candies and the calorie total could easily be double that amount. Whew!Here is a simple chart to illustrate the numbers of baking versus our idea of dried fruit below:

You can make your cookies smaller, make fewer varieties, give some away, or bake just a few at the last minute to reduce the temptation to consume too many cookies and treats. Those are all great strategies and ones we have given here in this blog.But what about the oohs and ahs of pretty little plates of cookies? How do you possibly replace that part of the dessert table?Fortunately, we found some fruity, colorful ideas for you in case you want to bake less or skip the baking this year but still have a pretty dessert table.What could possibly take the place of cookies you ask? Dried fruits, of course. Not just any dried fruits but the crispy, freeze-dried fruits you can make yourself in a dehydrator or buy in a store. We found ours at Whole Foods in the dried fruit aisle but you can get them in many stores as well as on Amazon. But we have made these many times ourselves with the help of a food dehydrator. It takes about a day for each batch but you don't need to make a huge mess in your kitchen or slave all day over them. You can even make them while you sleep.We put the dried fruits in interesting and artistic little arrangements on brightly colored square dishes and dusted them with powdered sugar or cinnamon. A few nuts were added. We liken these to fruit tapas plates. We enjoyed the flavors and were satiated with a one ounce serving. Check out the flavor combinations we created but come up with your own, too.

Raspberries with roasted almonds and dried cranberries:

Dried apple slices with toasted walnuts and ground cinnamon:

Freeze dried pineapple bits, chopped dates, and powdered sugar:

All three fruit plates on a table:

The brightly colored papers used in the photographs are rice paper from Dick Blick Art Supply. Tissue paper works equally as well.