Category Archives: Desserts

Desserts, Recipes

Low Carb Fruit Mini-pies are possible

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Ever wished for a little mini-pie to satisfy your sweet tooth, then looked at the carb count on the package of one of those pre-made ones?  Yikes!  One of the them can run around 70 net carbs for an apple one.

But you can make a low carb one at home fairly easily.  How, you may ask? Using low carb flours and sugar substitute really brings the carb count down.  Apples are a high carb fruit, but you can make a low carb apple mini-pie (or turnover) for under 10 net carbs.  I definitely don’t recommend this for anyone who is still losing weight and on phases 1-3 of the Atkins plan.  But for those who are on maintenance or have a high daily net carb count, this recipe will give you a great little pie. Just don’t make a habit of it.

You can use the same recipe for other fruit pies, such as peach, cranberry, raspberry, blueberry and blackberry.  Of these options, raspberry is the lowest carb count, coming in around 4 net carbs per pie. I broke open the crust in the photo so you could see how flaky the crust is and how good the fruit looks.

Low Carb Fruit Mini-Pies

1 Gala or other semi-tart Apple or 1 cup of other fruit
2 tablespoons chopped Pecans or Walnuts
2 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Diet Cranberry Juice
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
2 tablespoon Brown Sugar Substitute

1/2 cup Low Carb Baking Mix
1/4 cup Coconut Flour
2 tablespoon Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
3 tablespoons Shortening
2 to 3 tablespoons Cold Water

Make the pie crust by mixing the flours together in a small and cutting in the shortening until it resembles crumbs. Add enough water to pull the flour mix together into a ball. Wrap in wax paper and put in the refrigerator to chill for about an hour.

While the dough is chilling, make the filling. Peel the apple, if you wish, and cut into thin slices or chop it, whichever you prefer. Melt butter in a skillet and add the apples, nuts, cranberry juice, brown sugar and seasonings and stir together, continuing to cook and stir for about five minutes. Turn off the heat and let the filling cool until the dough is done.

Before you take the dough out, preheat the oven to 265 degrees (F.). Prepare four muffin wells by spraying with baking spray.

Separate dough into five balls. Dough should not be sticky. Place a piece of waxed paper on a bread board and put a little low carb flour on it. Press the dough into a small round, then put another sheet of waxed paper over the top and roll until you have about a three-inch in diameter crust. Press into a well of the muffin tin. Repeat with three more balls of dough. Use a fork to poke a few vents in the bottom of the crust.

Spoon 1/4 of the filling into each of the muffin wells and top with 1 teaspoon of butter. Now, take the fifth ball of dough and split it into four smaller balls. Roll each one into a round that is large enough for the top of the muffin tin. Place the top dough on each pie in the tin and seal the edges. Poke a couple of holes in the top with the fork or a knife.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown. Remove and let cool about 10 minutes. Serve with a scoop of low carb ice cream or a tablespoon of whipped cream topping.

Makes four mini-pies.

Nutrition Information per Apple pie:
Calories: 320.5 Fat:23.3 Net Carbs: 9.6 g Protein: 11.5 g

Nutrition Information per Peach pie:
Calories: 307.2 Fat:23.3 g Net Carbs: 6.6 g Protein: 11.6 g

Nutrition Information Raspberry pie:
Calories: 276.4 Fat:22.7 g Net Carbs: 4.0 g Protein: 11.9 g

Desserts, Recipes

Tasty Apple Yogurt Tart

Looking for a simple to make and low carb dessert? Look no further than this delightful Apple Yogurt Tart. It comes together quickly and tastes fabulous. For the base, I’ve used two flours that are usually available at grocery stores — almond flour and coconut flour. When cooking with these flours, allow the cooked results to completely cool and handle them carefully. They are delicate and break easily. If you prefer not to remove them from the mold (I used a silicone mold to make removal easier) then you can make them in a ramekin and serve them in it. Apples are not on the weight loss portion of the Atkins diet due to the higher count of natural sugars, but if you are on maintenance or are just trying to stay lower carb’d in your eating, this is great with apples. You can also use berries to top the tart.

I used Kroger Foods CarbMasters dairy yogurt product, but there are a couple of other low carb yogurts. The one I based the nutrition value on is CarbMasters at 4 net carbs for 6 oz. Look for a yogurt that is around that carb level. If you use Greek yogurt, it will probably be a little higher. Alternately, you can also use a 2-tablespoon layer of sugar-free vanilla pudding.

Apple Yogurt Tart

2 tablespoons Almond Flour
2 tablespoons Coconut Flour
3 tablespoons Butter, softened
3 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
1/2 cup diced Apples
2 tablespoons chopped Pecans
1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/2 container low carb Vanilla Yogurt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F.)

Bottom crust:
In a small bowl, mix almond flour, coconut flour, 1/2 sugar substitute, and 2 tablespoons butter together. If dough is too dry, add a little water. It should come together into a crumbly dough. Spray 2 round 2 1/2 to 3 inch mini-cake baking molds with cooking spray. Press 1/2 the dough into each mold to cover the bottom.

Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until the cookie tart is lightly browned. Remove and let cool completely before removing from the mold. Almond flour and coconut flour are very delicate and break easily.

Apple Topping:
In a skillet, melt remaining butter and add remaining sugar substitute. Add Pecans, apples and cinnamon and sauté over medium heat until apples are soft and a caramel sauce forms in the pan.

Once the cookie crusts are cool, remove from the molds and place on serving dishes. Spread 1/2 of the yogurt (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) over the cookie crust and top with 1/2 of the warm apple mixture. Add a dollop of whipped cream if you wish.

Makes two servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 434 Fat: 42.4 g Net Carbs: 6.0 g Protein: 5.5 g

Made with Strawberries (omit the cinnamon and pecans)
Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 345 Fat: 31.3 g Net Carbs: 5.5 g Protein: 7.3 g

Note: The apple topping is also great over low carb ice cream.

Desserts, Recipes

Light and Fruity Ricotta Cookies

What says Spring better than a light, delicious and delicately-flavored cookie?  Drawing on early spring fruit like strawberries or lemon, you can add a special sweet taste to the cookie.  Other stand-bys, like lemon and orange extracts add the flavor without adding carbohydrates or calories.

Ricotta cookies are an Italian style cookie that are light and very tasty. I think the recipe works well with low carb flours, although they are more delicate than the full flour version. You can add a teaspoon of lemon juice to make them lemon cookies or a 1/2 teaspoon of strawberry extract to give them a strawberry flavor. For that matter, you can add a little chopped strawberries to the batter to make them a strawberry cookie. Prefer the taste of orange? Add 1/2 teaspoon orange extract and a little chopped orange to it. With fruits, you need to add the fruit sparingly, no more than 1/4 cup or you will begin to run the carbohydrates up quite a bit.

Ricotta Cheese Cookies

1cup Sugar Substitute
1/2 cup Butter, softened
7.5 ounces Ricotta Cheese
1 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
1 1/2 cups Low Carb Flour
1 tablespoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt

3/4 cups Confectioners’ Sugar Substitute
1 tablespoons Cream
1/2 tablespoon Water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F.) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone mat.

In a large bowl, add the sugar substitute and butter and use a mixer on low speed to combine them before increasing the speed and beating until light and fluffy. Reduce speed and add in the ricotta, vanilla (or lemon, strawberry or orange) and egg.

Reduce the speed back to low and add the low carb flour, baking powder and salt. Mix on low until the dough forms. If you are adding any chopped fruit, stir it into the dough now.

Using a tablespoon, drop dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Leave about 2 inches between cookies. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cookies are just golden brown around the edges. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to allow them to cool before icing.

For the icing, use a small bowl and add the confectioner’s sugar, cream and water.(If you’d like you can add a drop of flavoring extract to the icing. Stir until it makes a smooth glaze. Use a knife blade or a spreader to ice each cookie.

Makes 18 cookies.

Nutrition Information per cookie (vanilla):
Calories: 115 Fat: 9.8 g Net Carbs: 1.4 g Protein: 5.2 g

Using wheat flour and sugar per cookie:
Calories: 189.5 Fat: 7.6 g Net Carbs: 27 g Protein: 3.4 g

Desserts, Recipes

Celebrate Easter with Spring Bird’s Nest Cookies

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With Easter coming up this weekend, I wanted to get this nice spring cookie recipe out to everyone. This is a simple, colorful cookie that’s easy to make–mix, bake, and decorate. I used a sugar-free liquid drink mix to color the coconut. Unsweetened coconut is dried and doesn’t have much coconut flavor when it’s reconstituted. I used a strawberry-flavored drink, so it added a touch of strawberry flavor. If you use food coloring, you might want to add a little flavor extract, like even coconut, to the mix.

I used Russell Stover’s sugar-free Jelly Beans but several other companies make them. Check at your grocery, drug stores, or Wal-Mart for them.

Spring Bird’s Nest Cookies

Recipe by Rene

1/4 cup Butter
1/4 cup Sugar Substitute
1/2 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1 egg white
3/4 cup Low Carb Baking Mix
1/4 cup Vanilla Whey Protein Powder or Almond Flour

1/4 cup Unsweetened Shredded or shaved Coconut
Few drops of food coloring or Sugar Free Liquid Drink Mix
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar Substitute
1 tablespoon Heavy Cream
36 Sugar Free Jelly Beans

A couple of hours before making the cookies, put the coconut into a small bowl, add about 1/4 cup of water and the food color or drink mix. The mix will add a little flavor to the coconut shreds. If you don’t use it, you might want to add a little coconut extract as the shreds don’t have a lot of flavor. Stir the coconut around and let sit to rehydrate and dye the coconut.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees (F.) Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium-sized bowl, cream the butter, sugar substitute , vanilla extract and egg white together with a mixer, or vigorously by hand,  in a medium-sized bowl . Do not over-cream. You just want it to mix together into a smooth paste.

Add the flour and protein powder (if you’re using it) and mix to combine it into a shape-able dough. Make sure all the flour is mixed in.

Separate the dough into quarters and form three ball from each quarter. Place on the parchment paper about 1-1/2-inches apart and use the back of a spoon to press into a flattened round about 1-1/2 inch in diameter. Don’t press them too thinly.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the edges are lightly browned but the top is not. Let them cool for about 10 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Spread the coconut on a piece of waxed paper on a plate to allow it to dry a little while the cookies are cooling.

Make the sugar icing by combining the powdered sugar substitute and cream. Stir to mix it together until it forms a thick, but spreadable icing. If it is too thick, add a little water.

Using a spoon, put about a half teaspoon of icing on a cookie and spread it around the middle of the top, then put about 1/2 teaspoon of colored coconut on it to make a nest. Dip the edges of three of the jelly beans into the icing and place them on the nest. The icing will help them stick to it. Repeat with the rest of the cookies. Let the icing dry and enjoy.

Makes 12 cookies.

Nutrition Information per cookie (whey powder):
Calories: 106.4 Fat: 9.1 g Net Carbs: 1.2 g Protein: 3.9 g

Nutrition Information per cookie (almond flour):
Calories: 110.5 Fat: 10.3 g Net Carbs: 1.3 g Protein: 2.3 g

Note:  The carb counts may vary a little depending on the flours and other ingredients you use, but they should be very close.

Close up of this colorful and yummy-tasting cookie.

Full Flavor Non-Low Carb Version

If you want to make non-low carb version using flour, sugar and regular shredded coconut, you just need to dye the coconut as it is already moist. So for that version, put the coconut in a bowl and add a couple of drops of food coloring and stir around, adding more drops of color to adjust the shade to one you prefer.

1/4 cup Butter
1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1 egg white
1 cup Flour
1/4 cup Shredded Coconut
Few drops of Food Coloring
1/4 teaspoon Fruit Extract, such as Coconut, Pineapple, or Strawberry
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tablespoon Heavy Cream
36 Jelly Beans

Follow the instructions above using the regular ingredients in place of the low carb and unsweetened ones.

Nutrition Information per cookie (regular flour, sugar & coconut):
Calories: 184.5 Fat: 9.6 g Net Carbs: 22.0 g Protein: 1.3 g

Desserts, Recipes

Low Carb Version of Hepburn’s Brownies

Recently, I saw a recipe from the New York Times that said it was Katherine Hepburn’s own for Brownies. It’s a simple recipe and I really wanted to try it, but I also needed to adapt it to low carb. It uses a lot of powdered chocolate and very little flour. I made it and it turns out well, with a rich dark chocolate flavor and a lot of nuts. I plan to make it again, but I am going to make a couple of changes so that it isn’t quite so dark chocolate-tasting as I prefer a lighter taste to my chocolate, being very fond of milk chocolate. When I do that, I’ll post the lighter version.

The best part of this recipe is that it is very low in effective carbs with only 1 net carb in each square. Without further fanfare, here is the low carb adapted recipe.

Low Carb Hepburn’s Brownies

1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 stick Butter
2 Eggs
1 cup Sugar Substitute
1/4 cup Low Carb Flour
1 cup chopped Walnuts or Pecans
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
pinch of Salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees(F.)

Use a medium-sized heavy pot. Over low heat, melt the butter until it’s almost completely melted (or put this over a double boiler to avoid burning). Stir in the unsweetened cocoa powder until completely mixed in. Remove from the heat and let cool a few minutes.

Mix the flour, sugar substitute, salt and nuts together in a bowl.

Whisk the eggs into the chocolate mixture one at a time, blending each in well. The mixture will begin to thicken. Add the vanilla and stir it in, then add the flour and nut mixture and stir it in until it is completely blended.

Pour into a buttered (or cooking spray coated) 8×8-inch baking pan. Spread the batter so that it is even, then bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Do not overbake so that the brownies are gooey inside. Let cool completely, then cut into 16 2×2-inch squares.

Nutrition Information per square:
Calories: 122.5 Fat: 12.3 g Net Carbs: 1.0 g Protein: 2.3 g

Notes:  For the low carb flour you can use CarbQuick, LC Foods Cake Flour, Soy Flour or Almond Flour.  I personally don’t like the taste of Soy Flour, so I don’t use it, but if you don’t mind it, then it will work.

Regular Katherine Hepburn Brownies

For those of you who want the full sugar version, here’s the ingredient list and the instructions are the same:

1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 stick Butter
2 Eggs
1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Flour
1 cup chopped Walnuts or Pecans
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
pinch of Salt

Nutrition Information per square with regular sugar and flour:
Calories:170.5 Fat: 11.7 g Net Carbs: 15.2 g Protein: 2.7 g

Are you a Brownie fan?  (Isn’t everyone?)  Which do you prefer — dark chocolate or milk chocolate? Let me know in the comments and let me know how you like the recipe.