Category Archives: Dessert

Baked Beignets

March 15, 2010 admin Leave a comment

The best part of this recipe was the espresso dip – so incredibly rich and it very much reminds me very much of a similar dip served in one of my favorite restaurants. I would recommend it for any plain baked good (scone, cookie, etc.) The beignets themselves were a little dry and I would definitely add more water (1/4 c more) and some Splenda (1/4 c) to the dough. But even with them being a bit dry – it was sweet dough with sweet powdered sugar on top and an awesome dipping sauce, so I will definitely try again 🙂

12 servings
260 calories per serving

Beignets:
¼ c warm water
1 package quick rising active dry yeast
¼ c sugar
3 c flour
1 ½ t baking powder
½ t baking soda
½ t salt
4 T cold butter, cut up
¾ c low fat buttermilk
1 large egg
¼ c confectioner’s sugar
Pam

Café Dip:
1/3 c sugar
2 T plus 1 t instant espresso powder
1 T plus 1 t cornstarch
2 c whole milk
1 ½ oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

Place warm water in a small bowl and sprinkle with yeast and 1 t sugar. Stir and then let stand about 5 minutes or until foamy. In a large bowl stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and rest of the sugar until well combined. With a pastry knife, cut in butter until the mix resembles fine crumbs. With a fork, mix buttermilk and egg into yeast mixture and blend well. Make a hole in the center of the flour mix and pour in the yeast mix. Stir until a dough forms. Lightly flour a work surface and knead dough several times until smooth. Spray the bowl with Pam and place dough in the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and let stand in a non-drafty spot for 10 minutes. Spray 2 baking sheets with Pam and punch down dough. Roll the dough with a floured rolling pin to a 9 inch square and cut into 6 strips. Then cut each strip into 6 pieces for a total of 36 pieces. Place on baking sheets about 2 inches from each other. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with Pam and place over the pans while they sit and rise for 20 minutes.

To prepare dip, combine sugar, espresso powder and cornstarch in a pan. Whisk in milk and cook on medium for 8 minutes or until it comes to a boil and thickens slightly then reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes then remove from heat and add chocolate and whisk until melted. Cover and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake beignets 12 minutes or until golden brown. While they are still hot toss with confectioner’s sugar. Serve with dip.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Apple Raisin Sour Cream Pie

March 10, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Pie. With Apples. And Raisins. It’s sweet and fruity and all the things a pie should be. The sour cream mixed in before cooking adds a nice creamy texture to the apples. Enjoy !

8 servings
245 calories per serving

1 prepared low fat graham cracker crust
4 c sliced, peeled Granny Smith apples (4-5 medium)
2 t lemon juice
¼ c dark raisins
½ c low fat sour cream
1 egg white, beaten
10 packets of Equal
1 T flour
¼ t cinnamon plus extra for the top of the pie
1/8 t nutmeg plus extra for the top of the pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix apples with lemon juice and add raisins. Combine sour cream, egg white, Equal, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix with the apples and raising then spoon into crust. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake about an hour, until apples are tender.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Banana Cake

March 5, 2010 admin 3 Comments

This was so incredibly delicious ! The cake is moist, the frosting is decadent – and at only 120 calories per serving, it is pretty much guilt free!

24 servings
120 calories per serving

Cake
1 2/3 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 c mashed ripe bananas
1 1/3 c skim milk
2 T pineapple juice
2 large eggs
3/4 c Splenda
6 T butter, melted
2 t vanilla extract
Pam

Frosting
16 oz. fat free cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 c light butter, at room temperature
1/3 c Splenda
2 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 13×9 pan with Pam. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. Mix bananas, milk and juice and set aside. Beat eggs and Splenda at high speed for 4 minutes and then add melted butter, and vanilla extract and beat at medium a minute longer. Alternately add flour mix and banana mix and beat at low speed just until blended being sure not to over mix. Put the batter in the pan and bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan. To prepare the frosting, beat the cheese and butter until creamy then gradually add Splenda and beat on medium. Mix in vanilla and then spread over a cooled cake. Chill 30 minutes and then cut into squares. Try serving with a few slices of fresh banana on the side.

Breakfast, Dessert

Apple Cinnamon Bake

February 27, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This one gets prepped and then put in the refrigerator for a couple hours and then baked for about an hour. I find it makes an equally good breakfast as it does a dessert ! This one even had my non-breakfast eating daughter asking, “can I have some of that?” The aroma of cinnamon and apples gets ya every time !

8 servings
150 calories per serving

1/3 c Splenda
1 c Egg beaters
2/3 c skim milk
3/4 t maple flavor (like vanilla extract, but maple flavored instead)
8 slices cinnamon raisin bread
2 c apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 c low fat cream cheese
1 T Splenda
2 T cinnamon
Pam

Spray an 8×8 pan with Pam. Blend 1/3 c Splenda, eggs, milk and maple in a bowl. Tear the bread into 2 inch pieces and mix with apples and then stir into the egg mix being sure all the bread soaks up some of the liquid then turn it all into the prepared pan. Cut cream cheese into 10 pieces and place on top of bread and apples. Blend 1 T Splenda and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top the cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake 50-60 minutes or until browned.

Dessert

Chocolate and Toffee Bars

February 21, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Toffee and chocolate together – a combination you just can’t beat ! These bars are very rich and a great party treat.

30 servings
160 calories per serving

Crust
1/4 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 c Splenda brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 c flour
1/4 t salt
Pam

Toffee
1/4 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c Splenda brown sugar
1/2 c light corn syrup
1/2 c evaporated milk
1 1/2 t vanilla

Topping
3 1 oz. square unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 T Splenda brown sugar
1 c chopped pecans, toasted (to toast just heat for 5-7 minutes in a dry skillet on medium high heat)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×9 pan with Pam.

For the crust, beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed until blended and then add egg yolk and beat until combined, Add flour and salt and beat on low until blended. The mix will be very dry and look like fine bread crumbs. Firmly press the mix into the bottom of the pan to make a buttery crust. Bake 16 – 18 minutes or until golden. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

For the toffee, combine butter, brown sugar, syrup, milk and vanilla in a saucepan on low heat stirring constantly until the sugar all dissolves. Then bring it to boil over medium heat and cook about 10 minutes. Pour over the crust and spread and then bake another 10 minutes. Cool on a rack 5 minutes.

For topping, mix chocolate and sugar in the top of a double boiler until mixture is melted. Alternately, you can melt this in the microwave 10 seconds at a time stirring in between each cooking – be sure not to overcook. Drizzle this over the toffee and sprinkle with nuts. Cool completely on a rack and when firm, cut into bars.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Chocolate Cream Pie

February 15, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Quick prep, creamy chocolate filling, crowd pleasing taste – – what else can a Chocolate Cream Pie offer?!?!

8 servings
214 calories per serving

2 c skim milk
2 packages sugar free chocolate pudding (1.3 oz. each)
1/4 c dark chocolate chips
1 low fat graham cracker crust (6 oz.)
8 oz. Cool Whip Free, thawed
Cocoa Powder for dusting

Mix milk and pudding in a medium pan on medium heat whisking continually. Cook 8 minutes or so, until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add chips stirring until all are melted. Fill a large bowl with ice water and place bottom of pan in the ice bath for 5 minutes or until cooled off – be sure to stir frequently so the mix will cool down quicker. Pour the mix into the crust and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 hours or more. Just before serving, put on a layer of whipped topping and garnish slices with a dusting of cocoa powder.

Dessert, Instructional, Kid Friendly, Videos

Apple Pockets

February 7, 2010 admin Leave a comment

These are great apple pockets – and they are really so simple to make; it only takes about 10 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes in the oven until you’re eating hot apple pockets !

10 servings
85 calories per serving

2 baking apples (a sweet Gala or McIntosh apple as opposed to a tart Granny Smith, etc.)
2 T sugar
1 t cinnamon
Flour
1 package (7.5 oz.) biscuit dough – 10 biscuits (in the refrigerator section of your market – I use store brand)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and grate apples and place in a bowl (use the same type of grater you would use to grate cheddar cheese). In a small bowl combine sugar and cinnamon. Stir 3/4 of the sugar mix in with the apples. Roll each biscuit to a 5 inch circle with a rolling pin (or press with the bottom of a clean skillet or dish). You may want to flour the biscuit a little so the rolling pin or dish won’t stick to it.

Take a look at my video for quick instructions on how to do this:

Place equal portions of apple mix in each round, fold the circles over in half and pinch the edges well to seal. I actually press around the edge with a fork so it is well-sealed a little decorative. Place pockets on a baking sheet and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Bake 20 minutes.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Lemon Cookies

February 1, 2010 admin 1 Comment

So buttery, so lemony, so good ! These are like lemon shortbread and they just melt in your mouth. A little high on the calorie count, but sooooo worth it. And 3 cookies really is enough for a snack – these are so rich !

30 cookies
328 calories for 3 cookies

2 c flour
1 c confectioner’s sugar
1 t Kosher salt
1 T plus 1 t lemon zest
1 t lemon juice
1 c sweet butter cut into pieces
2 large egg yolks
1/4 c granulated sugar

Pulse flour, confectioner’s sugar, salt and lemon zest. Add butter and process until coarse like breadcrumbs. Add yolks and lemon juice and process until dough comes together. Divide dough in half and form each into a log. Wrap in plastic and freeze until firm, about 3 hours. If you freeze any longer than 3 hours, these will be too hard to slice and you’ll need to let defrost a bit or microwave for 30 seconds or so.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread sugar on a piece of foil and roll logs in the sugar. Cut into 1/4 thick slices and place on baking sheets 1 inch apart as they will spread as they cook. Bake 15 minutes or until edges are browned.

Crock pot, Dessert, Kid Friendly

Crock Pot Brownies

January 29, 2010 admin 2 Comments

Can you say ooey gooey chocolate? This recipe sure does ! This is definitely a 4 star keeper 🙂

12 servings
198 calories per serving

2/3 c flour
2/3 c sugar
1/3 c cocoa powder
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2/3 c fat free evaporated milk
1/3 c margarine, melted and cooled
1/4 c Egg Beaters
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 c semi sweet baking chips
Pam
Powdered Sugar

Spray a 4 qt crock pot with Pam. Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Combine milk, margarine, egg and vanilla in another bowl. Mix the dry mix into the wet mix until smooth. Finally stir in the chips. Spread batter in the crock pot and cook on low 2-3 hours or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool 30 minutes and then invert over a plate and cut into 12 pieces. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Dessert, Snacks

CHOCOLATE !!!

January 26, 2010 admin Leave a comment

My guilty pleasure….2 Dove Chocolates a day. This ‘diet’ does not mean chocolate can never pass your lips again. This is not a diet, anyhow – this is a way of life and my life needs chocolate ! This whole meal plan that I have been following and sharing allows you to eat a little of everything, definitely in moderation, but a little bit of everything fits in.

I am still losing 1 or more pounds per week and over the months, it really adds up. I hope you see good results too 🙂

2 Dove Chocolates
88 calories