Almost every week I get an email from a stranger asking me about sugar substitutes in baking. These people write from all over the world. Their needs vary: a pie recipe for a husband’s 65th birthday, a batch of holiday cookies, a child’s birthday cake. The one thing that all these people have in common is diabetes. Pardon the pun, but they want to have their cake and eat it too. And why shouldn’t they?

But how does one manage to enjoy pie, cookies or birthday cake when he/she is not supposed to eat sugar? I have frequently debated this topic. Some people are of the belief that it’s best to just enjoy sugary treats from time to time, come what may. Others choose to use sugar substitutes. Like Lance Armstrong doping, baking with sugar substitutes is a contentious topic. How do they work? What kind of results will you get? Does cheating really pay off when it comes to baking?

I’m helping to take the guess work out of sugar-free baking, and just in time for summer! Which means that whether you can’t have sugar, or are just trying to watch what you eat in lieu of bikini season, now you can enjoy your sweets without overindulging in sugar.

WHAT IS SUGAR’S ROLE IN BAKING?

First, it’s important to understand that sugar plays many major roles in baking. It does not simply make desserts taste sweet. Sugar is hygroscopic, and therefore adds moisture to brownies and cakes. Sugar caramelizes, giving crisps and pies their lovely brown hue and toasty flavor. Lastly, sugar helps add structure, giving cakes their delicate crumb and cookies their crisp texture. Once you understand all the major roles sugar plays in baking, it’s easier to understand why baking with sugar substitutes isn’t always such a sweet experience.

HOW TO SWAP SUGAR SUBSTITUTES FOR SUGAR WHEN BAKING.

If you decide to bake with Stevia (which I prefer to Aspartame and other sweeteners that are not natural), you should only us half the amount of Stevia as you would sugar. Stevia is much sweeter than sugar, and therefore requires that you use much less. There are over 200 varieties of Stevia plants. This also means that quality, flavor and levels of sweetness can vary greatly. My personal favorite Stevia brand is Truvia. In the past few years I have become a spokesperson for them. So, in the name of objectivity, I always encourage bakers to taste and bake with several different brands in order to find the Stevia product that best suits their tastes and needs. Once you have chosen your brand of Stevia, you are ready to start baking! Of course it would all be too easy if you could now just do a simple one to one swap in all our favorite baking recipes. Now it’s time to select the ideal recipes for sugar free baking.

SIMPLE RECIPES FOR MAKING DESSERTS WITHOUT SUGAR.

The easiest way to start playing with Stevia is to begin by making a simple panna cotta or apple pie. In custards like panna cotta, you are able to avoid running into trouble with the above baking laws of sugar. A nice fruit pie is always a great way to go. You can easily leave the sugar out of crust, brush a little egg wash on the pie, and get a nice golden hue. The natural sugars found in the fruit will help to keep the flavors and texture of the inside of the pie the same as it would be if you used refined sugar. Now if you are determined to bake a sugar-free cake, batch of cookies or brownies, then I do suggest that you follow a recipe intended for sugar-free baking. Oh, and did I mention that I have about 30+ sugar-free recipes in my cookbook Sweet & Skinny? Ok, shameless self-promotion aside, below is one of my sugar-free Sweet & Skinny recipes. It will help you get the desired “yellow jersey” results when making sugar-free desserts.
Sugar Free Lemon Yogurt Mousse with Blueberries and Basil

Serves 4
Per serving: 170 calories, 8 grams fat

1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup plain Greek nonfat yogurt
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons Truvia or other preferred brand of Stevia (quantity can be adjusted according to your personal taste and desired sweetness)
1 cup blueberries
4 fresh basil leaves, rolled up and cut cross-wise into thin ribbons

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the whipped cream while slowly adding in the Stevia. Beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Swiftly whisk in the yogurt, lemon zest, vanilla and salt.

Divide half of the mousse evenly between four six-ounce dessert glasses. Top with half the berries and half the basil. Spoon the remaining mousse over each and top with the remaining blueberries and basil. Serve immediately.

Make Ahead! The mousse can be refrigerated, tightly covered, up to one day in advance. Prepare the blueberries and basil just before serving.

As many of you know this is the week of Greek Easter, which means that it’s a time of Lent. While I am more than happy to partake in the Easter festivities of eating lamb and cracking eggs, I typically don’t participate in the 40 days of fasting and repenting. However this year I decided to become a bit more involved in all the processions surrounding Easter. By “involved” I mean that I decided for one day (hey you gotta start somewhere) not to eat meat, eggs or butter. This also seemed like the perfect opportunity to put myself to a dairy free, egg free baking challenge. The result was this delicious polenta and olive oil cake served with a fruit compote. It was so delicious that it actually has me thinking about going for two days of fasting instead of one next year! Here is the recipe, should any of you need some Lenten baking inspiration. Καλό Πάσχα!

• Olive Oil & Cornmeal Cake
• 1 ¼ cup cake flour
• ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. yellow cornmeal
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup sugar
• zest of ½ orange
• zest of ½ lemon
• ½ tsp. rosemary, finely chopped
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup orange juice
• Fig and Orange Honey Compote
• 1 pint of fresh figs
• 2 oranges
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. water
• 2–4 tsp. fresh lemon juice, to taste

For the cake, preheat oven 350 degrees. Prepare 8” x 2″ round cake pan with parchment circle, oil and a very light dusting of flour.

Sift the cake flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Place sugar, orange and lemon zest and finely chopped rosemary in a food processor and blend a couple of minutes until the mixture is aromatic. Pour mixture into a large bowl and whisk in the oil until smooth. Add the orange juice and blend thoroughly. Gently stir in the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, cinnamon and salt until just blended. Do not over-mix.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Cool for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife or spatula around edge of cake and invert. Remove parchment paper and flip the cake bake over onto a serving platter. Cool completely.

For the compote, slice the peel and white pith from the oranges with a very sharp knife. Carve out the orange sections over a bowl to collect all the juice. Cut the figs into quarters and add to the bowl of orange slices. It can be difficult to find figs in May, so if you don’t have figs you can add more oranges, or some dried cherries.

Place the honey and water in a saucepan and warm over low heat until dissolved and blended. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice to taste. Toss the fruit with honey lemon syrup.

Dust the cake with powdered sugar and serve with fruit.

I love making pumpkin bread and gingerbread in the fall. I recently decided to combine my two favorite treats into one, making a delicious Sweet & Skinny pumpkin-gingerbread, perfect to enjoy for breakfast, or as an afternoon snack. Because pumpkin is so high in vitamin A and antioxidants, and because this bread is actually skinny, you might even want to consider enjoying a slice for breakfast and another one as an afternoon snack!

Pumpkin Gingerbread

Serves 9 to10

Per serving: 210 calories, 5g fat, , carbs 30g, proteins 2.9g, cholesterol 12mg, calcium 27mg. sodium 185mg

Nonstick pan spray

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup flax seed meal, optional

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

1/8 tsp. clove

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1/8 cup oil, such as Canola

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup fat free Greek style yogurt

1/3 cup reduced fat milk

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/8 cup molasses, unsulfured

1 1/4 cups pumpkin purée

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1/4 cup Medjool dates, chopped, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 º with the rack in the center position. Grease a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan with pan spray and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, flax seed meal, salt, baking soda, baking powder and spices. In a separate bowl whisk together the fresh grated ginger, oil, vanilla, yogurt, milk, sugar, molasses, pumpkin, egg and egg white.

Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour all the contents from the other bowl inside. Whisk thoroughly by hand, or using an electric mixer, until well combined. If adding the dates, fold them into the batter.

Transfer the batter to a loaf pan. Place the bread into the oven and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the pumpkin bread from the oven, and allow to cool for about 20 minutes. Remove the pumpkin bread from the pan and finish cooling on a cooling rack, for at least one hour. Cut into slices and serve the pumpkin bread at room temperature. Store leftovers, tightly wrapped, at room temperature, for up to 3 days, or place leftovers in the freezer for up to 4 weeks, leave at room temperature overnight before serving.

With the storms that have been hitting much of the US this week, mother nature is making it clear….Winter is almost here. Even though Winter means Christmas and turkey, I have always been more of a summertime girl. This is especially true with food! I love the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies that I find at the farmers’ markets in Spring and Summer. But I do have a few favorite Winter fruits and veggies, which make the cold weather a bit more acceptable. One  of my favorite cold weather vegetables is kale.

One of the most amazing things about kale is that it contains over 45 different types of a compounds called flavonoids — which work together to provide a variety of health benefits, like protecting against five different types of cancer (especially breast and colon cancer) and acting as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. It’s also is an excellent source of vitamins A, C and K. Just one cooked cup of kale contains 10 percent of your daily fiber needs. Holy superfood!

I personally love to serve kale in a very simple fashion, either steamed and tossed with olive oil, lemon, and salt, or, raw, tossed with avocado, lime, olive oil and sea salt.  But thanks to one of my favorite bloggers, Snack Girl, I have now come up with a new way to serve this super veggie…..for breakfast! When I saw that Snack Girl posted a kale smoothie on her site I had to try it. Then Miss Sweet & Skinny got to work, tweaking Snack Girls recipe, making some additions and changes, until I had my own breakfast kale smoothie. I know this recipe sounds odd, and I’m sure visions of a drink that looks and tastes like swamp water are dancing in your heads, but trust me, this 140 calories smoothie isn’t just nutritious, it’s also delicious!

Morning Kale Smoothie

(Serves 2)

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1 1/2 cups raw kale, washed and roughly chopped

1 ripe banana

1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk

1 tablespoon Stevia, such as Truvia brand

Place all of the ingredients in the blender and puree until smooth. Serve immediately.

What better way to add to the fun of Halloween than by creating a perfectly creepy recipe to whip up with your kids! Jelly worms are actually quite simple to make, one part craft, one part cooking. They only take about 20 minutes of active kitchen time, and with less than 1 gram of fat and only 13 calories per worm, they’re also a great way to keep Halloween on the healthier side without spoiling the fun.

Halloween Worms Recipe

1 – 6 ounce package cherry jello

1- 6 ounce package grape jello

3 additional envelopes of unflavored gelatin

2 3/4 cups boiling water

3/4 cup whole milk

about 12 drops of natural green food coloring

about 100 flexible straws

In a large bowl combine the jello and additional packets of gelatin, add the boiling water and whisk until throughly combined.  Chill the mixture until it is no longer hot, only lukewarm. Add the milk and food coloring to the gelating mixture and whisk to combine.

Place all of the straws into a tall container, such as an empty half gallon milk carton, and pour in the gelatin mixture, filling the straws. Place the container into the refrigerator  and chill for at least 8 hours, or until completely set and firm. Once set, remove all of the straws from the container, wiping away any excess gelatin. Squeeze the worms out of the straws using your thumb and index finger to pinch the straw and squeeze out the worms.

Place the worms onto a sheet pan lined with wax or parchment paper. Cover the worms with plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour or until ready to use.

To serve the worms, create a platter using crumbled chocolate cookies to creat the dirt. The worms will keep at room temperature for up to two hours.

Caramel apples have always been one of my favorite Halloween treats. This recipe is so simple, they can be made in less than 10 minutes. With the caramel covering only part of the apple they are also a healthier alternative for the kids. To make these apples, here is what you’ll need.

6 Granny Smith apples

6 twigs

6 pieces of string, about 2-3 inches each

7 ounces store bought caramels

1 tablespoon skim milk

6 tablespoon roasted chopped nuts

Thoroughly wash and dry the apples and remove the stems.  Insert a twig into the top of each apple.  Unwrap the caramels and place them in a microwave safe bowl, add the milk. Place the bowl in the microwave, on high, for about one minute, or until the caramels have melted. Stir the mixture smooth. Dip the lower half of each apple in the caramel and then roll each apple in one tablespoon of the nuts. Place each apple on a serving dish and allow the caramel to set for at least 1 hour before serving. Tie a piece of string around each twig before serving the apples.

As trick or treat day draws near I have been pulling out the pumpkins and thinking about what healthy alternatives I can offer to kids this year for Halloween.  Don’t get me wrong, even miss Sweet & Skinny doesn’t mind loading kids up with sugar once a year. The issue is that there are always treats leftover, and they don’t stay leftover for long!  I have tried to maintain some self control. Last year I put the leftover Butterfingers in the freezer…..but who knew that a frozen Butterfinger could taste soooo good! This year my solution is to come up with some cool treats that kids will like, and are actually good for them (and me)!  I don’t want to be the lame house on the block, handing out fresh fruit and raisins. So I have set about searching for some cool treats for this years festivities. Here is what I have discovered so far.

1) Glow in the dark bracelets from www.glowuniverse.com This is a great gift because it’s typically dark when kids are out trick-or-treating. The bracelets come in a wide variety of colors, cost only .06 cents each and they offer free shipping, so no need to leave your home to buy Halloween treats!

2) Toys!! The candy bars you get are here today and gone tomorrow, but at Party City you can find a wide variety of inexpensive Halloween toys. They have everything from Frankenstein and Dracula finger puppets, to plastic eye balls and fake spiders. It’s the perfect way to add some fun and fright to the night.

3)  Utz Halloween pretzels are a fun and healthy option if you want to hand out edible treats. The pretzels are shaped like jack-o-lanterns and bats. Each bag has only 50 calories and less than 1 gram of fat. The bags are super cute, bright orange with bats and pumpkins…..even I was squealing like a little kid when I saw them.

4) School supplies. Many of the supermarkets now offer Halloween themed pencils, erasers, and stickers on the Halloween aisle. This is a great alternative to candy, and something that kids can use in school.

Happy trick-or-treating!!

For those of you who haven’t tried my Sweet & Skinny PB&J cookies. I wanted to post the recipe today as I am whipping some up to sneak into the movie theatre tonight. Shhh…

If you don’t want to fill them with jelly, they are quite delicious as a classic peanut butter cookie too!

If you’re craving something sweet, try these delicious cookies for a guilt-free treat!

PB&J Cookies

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup peanut butter, smooth, preferably natural style (made from peanuts and salt, only)

1 ounce (2 tablespoons) reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons liquid egg substitute or 1 whole egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

About 1/4 cup strawberry jam or grape jelly

Preheat the oven to 350°F. with a rack in the center position. Coat a baking sheet with pan spray (even it is nonstick) or line it with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer and the paddle attachment, if you have one, beat the peanut butter, cream cheese, butter, and granulated and brown sugars on medium for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is well blended. Add the egg or egg substitute and vanilla and mix for 2 minutes longer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the flour on low for 1 minute, just until it is incorporated.

 Set aside 2/3 of a cup of dough for the cookie tops. Scoop the remaining dough into 16 equal portions and roll it between your hands into balls. Use your thumb or index finger to press a hole about 1/4 inch deep into the center of each ball, gently pinching the dough to create a well about the size of a quarter. Fill the holes with 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of jam.

 Roll out the remaining dough on a flat surface between two large pieces of plastic film until it is 1/8-inch thick. Peel off the top film and use a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter to cut 16 circles, re-rolling the scraps as needed. Use the tines of a fork to press cross hatch marks onto the flat cookie tops, dipping the fork into flour as needed to prevent sticking. If the dough becomes too soft to work with, freeze it for 5 minutes and try again.

 Lay one cookie top over each of the filled cookies and press the tops and bottoms together all around the edges to seal in the jam.

 Space the cookies evenly on the prepared baking sheet.  Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, about 8 minutes if not filled with jam, until the dough no longer appears wet or shiny but has not begun to brown. Halfway through the baking time, rotate the pan from front to back.

Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes, then transfer the cookies directly to the rack until they are completely cool. Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.