Satisfying a sweet tooth
One thing that didn't change during my weight-loss journey was my love for sweets. What did change was the way I satisfied a sweet tooth. Most of my indulgences of sweets are now made at home. I don't like weird substitutions, but I have found that reducing the amount of sugar in recipes usually doesn't affect the flavor or texture of the treat, while making it less unhealthy. I won't go so far as to call any of my treats "healthy," but most of them do have some redeeming ingredients. Here are a few of my favorites.
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Keep Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies in fridge or freezer
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Ingredients:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 ounces (1 stick butter), softened
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup frozen strawberries, sliced in small pieces
(If using fresh strawberries, freeze before slicing.)
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and sugars until light in color. Add egg and vanilla and continue beating until creamy.
In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking flour and mix together. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and combine. Fold in sliced strawberries.
Using a teaspoon, drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls on the baking sheet. Bake about 15 minutes, until cookies are slightly brown around edges. Remove cookies and cool. Keep cooled cookies in fridge or freezer. Recipe makes about 36 cookies.
Nutrition info for recipe of 36 cookies:
One cookie=1 serving
Calories: 60
Total fat: 3.8 g
Saturated fat: 2.3 g
Cholesterol: 15.6 mg
Sodium: 20 mg.
Total Carbs: 6.1 g
Fiber: .0 g
Sugars: 2.8 g
Protein: 1.0 g
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I can't stop making these lemon cookies
This past spring, I decided to put all my pumpkin recipeson rest for the summer and make something "lemony" and refreshing for summer. These lemon cookies have been a big hit with my children and their friends.
Usually, I don't bother with frosting on cookies, but I did add a glaze for these and love the extra tartness of the lemon juice and zest.
The first few times I made them, I kept out two dozen cookies to serve and put the rest in the freezer. Since these cookies have a soft texture, serving them right out of the freezer just makes them even more refreshing on a hot summer day.
When fall came back around, and I started baking with pumpkin again, I didn't put away the lemon cookies. But instead of making them weekly, I'm now baking them about every three weeks.
They are so good with a cup of coffee...and a morning cup of coffee.
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon juice*
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/4 cups flour
Lemon glaze:
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
*Increase to 1 tablespoon if more tartness is preferred.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and beat well. Add lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla and mix until well blended.
Add baking powder and salt to flour. Add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture and mix all ingredients thoroughly. Form 1-inch balls from dough and place on cookie sheet, spacing the balls about 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly golden.
Makes about 7 dozen wafer-size cookies.
Combine glaze ingredients in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Drizzle glaze over slightly cooled cookies. Let cookies cool completely before serving. Before freezing, cool cookies in refrigerator for about 10 minutes and then transfer to freezer bags or containers.
Nutritional info for 1 cookie: 45 calories; total fat, 2.2 g; saturated fat, 1.4 g; cholesterol 7.9mg; sodium, 17.6 mg; total carbs, 6.1 g; fiber, 0; sugar, 3.6 g; protein, 0.5g
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Make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for dessert...or breakfast
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| Mini-sized pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. |
Sometimes, I like to replace the granola I have with my yogurt with this muffin. Sometimes, I make regular size muffins and other times I like them mini-size.
Another variation to make them a little healthier, I will substitute 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for the white flour. The whole wheat flour will give the muffins a coarser texture, and I like these muffins for my yogurt. Muffins made with all-white flour will have a smoother, cake-like texture.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cupes all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup plain yogurt with 1/4 cup water added or 1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 large egg
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine flour with next six ingredients (through cloves) and stir well with a whisk.
In a large bowl, combine granulated and brown sugars with yogurt or buttermilk, oil, pumpkin puree and egg. Beat until well blended. Add to flour mixture and beat until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Place paper liners in muffin cups or coat with oil or cooking spray. Spoon batter into prepared cups. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pan immediately. Yield: 12 regular size muffins or 24 mini muffins.
Nutritional info for regular size muffins: 1 muffin, 190 calories; total fat, 6.2g; saturated fat, 4.2g; cholesterol, 16.4 mg; sodium, 185.2mg; total carbs, 32.9 g; fiber, 1.3 g; sugars, 19.4g; protein, 3.4 g.
Nutritional info for mini muffins: 1 muffin, 95 calories; total fat, 3.1g; saturated fat, 2.1g; cholesterol, 8.2 mg; sodium, 92.6 mg; total carbs, 16.4g; fiber, 0.7g; sugars, 9.7 g; protein, 1.7 g.
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Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Making an old favorite a little healthier
My children love these cookies when they werelittle and still ask for them now that they are grown. Making a batch of these no-bake cookies only takes a few minutes.
Whenever we go on a trip or vacation, I usually make a batch of these to take along. Anytime, I need a quick treat to take somewhere, I make these. Anytime I WANT a quick treat....well I make these.
During my weight-loss journey, I studied the ingredients in this recipe to see how I could improve the sugar content and calories. Without changing any of the original ingredients, I lowered the amount of sugar from 2 cups to 1 1/2 cups and maintained the texture of the cookies without significantly lowering the sweetness. In fact, I like them better with lower sugar. Once I lowered my sugar intake, some things just tasted too sweet.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar (I use organic cane sugar.)
4 tablespoons cocoa (My origianl recipe called for 3 tablespoons, but I like more.)
1/2 stick butter
4 ounces milk (I use whole milk.)
2 1/2 cups oatmeal (Not the quick cooking.)
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a medium-size pan, add sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Cook on medium heat, stirring together all ingredients as butter melts. Once the mixture reaches boiling stage, cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat as soon as mixture has cooked three minutes. Stir in vanilla and peanut butter and then add oatmeal one cup at a time. After adding two cups oatmeal add 1/4 cup at a time, until the mixture is thick. Use a tablespoon or teaspoon drop mixture onto wax paper and let set for a few minutes.
Tip: For larger cookies, use tablespoon and yield will be around 16-18 cookies. For smaller cookies, use teaspoon for a yield of 24-30 cookies.
Nutritional info for larger cookies: Serving 1 cookie, about 155 calories; total fat, 5 g; saturated fat, 2g; cholesterol, 8 mg; sodium, 21mg; total carbs 26; fiber, 1.5 g; sugar 18 g; protein, 2.5 g.
Nutritional info for smaller cookies: Serving 1 cookie, about 100 calories: total fat, 3.5g; saturated fat, 1.5 g; cholesterol, 5 mg; sodium, 13 mg; total carbs, 16 g; fiber, 1 g; sugar, 11 g; protein, 1.6 g.
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