Monthly Archives: July 2014

Desserts, Recipes

Cool Off with a Piece of Brandy Alexander Pie

While looking for a light, cool dessert, I spotted this recipe on a box of Knox Gelatin and decided it would be pretty easily adaptable to a low carb dessert.  I changed the crust, which was crushed Oreo Cookies, to an almond flour crust with cocoa in it for a rich, chocolate flavor.  Instead of Creme de Cocoa, I used a sugar free chocolate mocha syrup.  It is a delightfully refreshing and does remind you of the drink of the same name.  Oddly, I did discover that the brandy taste was quite pronounced on the first day, but the second day, instead of getting stronger, it seemed to blend into the overall flavor of the dessert and was not as strong.

Brandy Alexander Pie

Adapted from Knox Gelatin recipe by me

Crust:
1/2 cup Almond Flour
2 tablespoons Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
2 tablespoons Carbquick
Butter, 2 tbsp
2 tablespoons sugar substitute
1 tablespoon unsweetened Cocoa

Filling
1 envelope Knox Gelatin, unflavored
1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1/3 cup sugar substitute
1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract, 1 tbsp
2 tablespoons Brandy or Brandy extract
1 tablespoon Sugar Free Chocolate Mocha Syrup
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Spray a pie tin or an 8″square pan with cooking spray.

To make the crust, put all the crust ingredients in a small bowl and blend with a fork until you have small crumbs clumped together. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan and spread them smoothly to cover the entire bottom. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until it is firm and just a little brown around the edges. Set aside to cool.

In a small saucepan, add 1/4 cup cold water, then sprinkle the gelatin over the top and let stand for a minute. Stir and cook on low heat until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

While it is cooling, beat whipping cream with an electric mixer on high speed until it is slightly thickened. Still beating on low speed, gradually add the gelatin mixture, vanilla, brandy, sugar substitute and sugar free syrup. Mix until it is well blended. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours until it is set.

To serve, cut into 8 servings. Decorate with sugar free chocolate syrup or shaved sugar free dark chocolate, if you wish, then add a heaping spoonful of whipped cream or Cool Whip.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition Info per serving (with topping):
Calories: 266.4 Fat: 24 g Net Carbs: 3.4 g Protein: 3.3 g

Breads, Recipes

Peanutty Chocolate Chip Scones For Tea Time

Scones are a great breakfast or tea time treat.  The American scone has taken a few turns from the classic English scone and is made in a variety of ways with fruits, nuts and more like a biscuit at times.   I like experimenting with the various ways you can make these and still be low carb.  One of the flours available at health food stores and online is peanut flour.   Unlike some of the other nut flours, peanuts really retain the peanut taste when used in baking.  So it isn’t as versatile as almond flour for general baking, but it is terrific when you want the peanut taste, as in these scones that get a bit of a peanut butter flavor without any peanut butter in them.  For the sugar free chocolate chips, I used Sensato Mini-Chocolate Chips, but you could also use Hershey’s Sugar Free Chocolate Chips, which I usually find at Wal-Mart.

Peanutty Chocolate Chip Scones

1 cup Carbquick or Almond Flour
1 cup Peanut Flour
1/4 cup Sugar Substitute
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 tablespoon softened Butter
1/3 to 1/2 cup Buttermilk or Heavy Cream
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup chopped Peanuts
1/2 cup sugar free Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 435 degrees (F.)

In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients and mix well. Add in peanuts and chocolate chips and mix into the dough. The dough should be stiff and a little sticky, but not wet. Use your clean hands to mix the dough if necessary.

Prepare a baking sheet by spray it with cooking spray. Turn the dough into the center of the pan and press and shape it into an 8 inch circle. If it tries to stick to your fingers, wet your hand. Score the dough into 8 pieces (scored into quarters, then each quarter scored in half) but don’t cut all the way through.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the scone loaf is golden brown. Let cool a few minutes, then slice on the scored lines. Serve warm with clotted cream or butter or with jelly or jam. Delicious afternoon tea break!

Makes 8 scones.

Nutrition Info: Per scone
Calories: 155  Fat: 8.9 g  Net Carbs: 4.5 g  Protein: 7.7 g