Category Archives: Desserts

Desserts, Recipes

A Coffee Sweet Treat

Sometimes your after dinner coffee takes on a more solid form. This is a light, delicious espresso custard that will satisfy your dessert craving and not add much to your daily carb count, or calorie count for that matter. Add a bit of sugar free chocolate syrup – I use Walden Farm’s 0 carb, 0 calories chocolate sauce, and a punch of chopped hazelnuts, topped with a bit of whipped cream for a really special, and easy to make, treat.

Espresso Custard with Chocolate and Hazelnuts

Based on a recipe from the South Beach Diet

1 1/2 cups almond milk or cream
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons sugar substitute
2 teaspoons espresso powder or instant decaffeinated coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sugar free chocolate syrup
Topping:
Sugar free chocolate topping
Chopped hazelnuts
Whipped cream

Prepare a 10″ skillet by filling it partially with water and placing four 6 ounce custard cups, ramekins or or small coffee cups in the water.

Whisk the milk, eggs, sugar substitute, espresso powder or coffee, chocolate syrup and vanilla extract together until well-blended. Use a measuring cup to pour into four prepared cups. Add enough water to bring the water level in the pan to 1/4″ below the top of the cups. Be careful not to splash water into the cups.

 

Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the custard is set. Carefully remove the cups from the skillet using tongs or a glove, then cover eacjh cup with plastic wrap touching the surface of the pudding, and refrigerate for 3 hours, or until chilled.

To serve, you can un-mold or leave the custard in the cup. Put a heaping teaspoon of whipped cream on top, then drip about a spoonful of chocolate sauce over that and sprinkle on hazelnuts.

 

Nutrition Information: (using liquid sucralose or Ideal sugar & Almond milk)
Calories: 77.8 Fat: 5.9 g Net Carbs: 0.9 g Protein: 4.1 g

(using Splenda & Almond milk)
Calories: 81.1 Fat: 6.2 g Net Carbs: 2.2 g Protein: 4.1 g

(using liquid sucralose or Ideal sugar & heavy cream)
Calories: 77.8 Fat: 21.9 g Net Carbs: 2.2 g Protein: 4.7 g

(using Splenda & heavy cream)
Calories: 224.5 Fat:21.9 g Net Carbs: 3.5 g Protein: 4.7 g

Desserts, Recipes

Persimmon Cookies for Halloween

Baby pumpkins? No Persimmons! Everyone thinks of pumpkin cookies at Halloween and there’s not a thing wrong with that. I love pumpkin cookies, but these lovely, luscious persimmons were sitting there begging to be taken home with me and I recalled PK’s mom’s wonderful persimmon bread. So I grabbed a few, then grabbed a few more at a different store because they were on sale.

Then I began searching for the basic persimmon recipes and I learned something right off. I had purchased Fuyu persimmons, which are normally an eating variety. What you want for cooking is the Hachiya variety, which “they” say is the more common one. So why didn’t I see any of those in the grocery? The Hachiya are the more astringent one and needs to ripen until it feels like a water balloon before you use the pulp inside. It’s got kind of a pear shape in that it is longer than it is wide. The Fuyu are more squat and can be eaten when they are barely softened. You can just peel and eat them like an apple and they are sweet and tasty. So like an apple, I decided to use my Fuyu’s in a cookie recipe, just as I would a golden delicious instead of a Granny Smith in a pinch.

The result is one delicious cookie and although it is low carb, I have to say that it is not an approved fruit on the Atkins Phase I, II or III sections, although I think they are like a mango in sugar and you’ll need to see how your body reacts to it.  Like  peaches and pears, it is high in natural sugars. I’ve used a lower quantity in the cookie recipe to keep the carbs per cookie down to under 2 carbs a cookie. The trick is to keep from eating more than one cookie at a time.

You only really see fresh persimmons in the fall, so grab them now. For this recipe, I used three small persimmons that were feeling pretty soft, peeled them and then put the pulp in the food processor to make a puree. They made almost exactly one cup of puree. The purees can be frozen for later use. For a bread recipe, dice the persimmon, par boil and put in a freezer bag with as little air in it as possible.

Spiced Persimmon Cookies

1 cup Persimmon, Fuyu
3/4 cup Shortening,  – I use butter flavored
1 large Egg
1 1/2 cups Low Carb Flour
1/4 cup Almond Flour
1/4 cup Protein whey powder* (optional)
1/2 cup Sugar Substitute
1/2 cup Brown Sugar Substitute
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon, ground
1/2 teaspoon Clove, ground
1/4 cup Pecans, chopped
1 teaspoon Cardamom spice

* If you don’t use the whey protein powder, then increase one of the other flours by 1/4 cup.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare two cookie sheets by either spraying with cooking spray or putting a sheet of parchment paper over each and spraying that. One advantage of parchment paper is that you can slide the paper, with the cookies on it, off the pan and use the pan again for another batch without having to wait for the cookies to completely cool.

In a large bowl, cream together the shortening, sugar substitutes, persimmon puree and egg together. Add the seasonings and mix well.

In a smaller bowl, mix the flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda together. Gradually add to the creamed shortening mixture until all the flour is mixed in. Add the chopped nuts and mix them in to distribute well.

Drop dough by the spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet, allowing about 2″ between cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the cookies are lightly browned. Let cool completely before moving them. Low carb flours are delicate and break apart easily when they are warm.

Makes 36 cookies

Nutrition Info per cookie:
Calories: 70.6 Fat: 6.5 g Net Carbs: 1.4 g Protein: 1.3 g

For those who don’t care about the calories or carbs in the cookies, you can make the recipe with regular all purpose flour and sugar. The rest of the recipe is the same.

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 10/25/2013 8:29 PM

Desserts, Recipes

October Chills With No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

It’s October and that’s the signal for all things that are great in the Fall. Cooler weather (although September was downright cold last week), multi-colored leaves, the garden finishing the last bits of vegetables it can muster. I have a ton of cherry tomatoes that are making a bid to get fully grown and possibly pink before they have to be picked as well as several crook neck squash and a Japanese eggplant that is trying to mature. Silly plant also has another bloom on it. I think my late summer planting of turnips and kohlrabi will never see fruition. The last of the Farmer’s Markets in town was this past weekend, but the grocery stores have a lovely selection of fruits and vegetables.

I love Fall. It’s actually my favorite time of the year, although I also like early Spring quite a lot. But the light in Fall is so unique and looks so warming and beautiful on the plants and trees, whichever ones still have leaves after the winds this past Sunday and Monday. Most days are that perfect temperature — not too hot and not too cold. Fall is also the season of the pumpkin, which is one of my favorites. There are so many ways to use pumpkin. My Pumpkin Chile recipe is already on here and it is delicious. I also have a couple of pumpkin cheesecake items up, my regular Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake and Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars.

This recipe is a little different in that it is one of the No-Bake pies that is made with unflavored gelatin. I admit I got the base idea off a Knox Gelatin box, but then it branched out from a regular cheesecake to a pumpkin cheesecake. And the best part of this recipe is that it can be eaten while you are just starting your new lifestyle! It’s an induction recipe with nothing that will interfere in your Phase I of Atkins or any other program you might be trying. It’s low carb, gluten free and really good!

No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 envelope unflavored Gelatin
1/2 cup Sugar Substitute
8 oz Cream Cheese
1 cup Pumpkin, canned
1/2 cup Almond Milk, Unsweetened Vanilla
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie spice
1 teaspoon Cinnamon, ground
1/2 teaspoon Cloves, ground
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Mix sugar substitute and gelatin in a small bowl. Add one cup of boiling water and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, placed the softened cream cheese and break it into smaller pieces, then mix with an egg beater on low speed. Add milk, pumpkin, vanilla and spices to the cream cheese and mix well. Add the gelatin mixture and continue to mix well on low.

Spray a pie pan with cooking spray and pour the pie mixture into it. Cover with plastic wrap, pulling it tight to keep it off the top of the pie.

Refrigerate for three to four hours to allow the pie to completely set. Cut into 8 or 12 slices (depending on how large a slice you want) and serve with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

If you are not on phase 1 of Atkins or can have nuts on your plan, top each slice off with a teaspoon of optional ground almonds.

Nutrition Info:
1/8 of pie: Calories: 115.8 Fat: 10.1 g Net Carbs: 3 g Protein 2.5 g
1/12 of pie: Calories:77.2 Fat: 6.7 g Net Carbs: 2 g Protein 1.7 g

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 10/1/2013 5:14 PM

Desserts, Recipes

Magnificent Mocha Hazelnut Pie

This is absolutely, deliciously decadent! If you love coffee, hazelnut, chocolate and cheesecake, this is a dessert for you.

Another take on the freezer pie using cocoa, espresso coffee powder, hazelnuts and cream cheese. How could you go wrong?

Filling:
8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar substitute
1/4 cup instant Expresso coffee
1/4 cup Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened
6 oz container *Kroger CARBmaster Cinnamon Bun or Vanilla yogurt
1 cup Cool Whip whipped topping or your own whipped cream

Crust:
1/2 cup Hazelnut Flour
2 tablespoons Butter, softened
1 tablespoon Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened
2 tablespoons brown sugar substitute

Toppings
1/4 cup Hazelnuts, chopped
8 tablespoons sugar free, zero carb chocolate syrup

Mix the crust ingredients in a bowl until the flour and cocoa are completely moistened. Spray a pin plate or 8″ cake pan with butter cooking spray. Spread the crust ingredients into the pan and press into a thin layer. Try to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Put into the freezer to set while you mix the filling.

In a medium bowl, user a mixer to cream the cream cheese and sugar together. Add cocoa and coffee powder and mix on low speed. Then add the yogurt and mix well. Add the Cool Whip (or you can whip heavy cream) and mix together well.

Spoon the filling into the prepared crust pan and spread around to form an even layer. Put in the freezer for at least two hours, prefer 4 hours. Cover with plastic wrap if you leave it longer.

About 30 minutes before serving, remove from the freezer and cut into pieces. Even if you are not serving it all at this time, cutting it will give you pre-sliced pieces that you don’t have to remove the whole pie from the freezer each time to serve. Let pieces sit about 20 minutes before serving to soften. Top each with a tablespoon of chocolate swirls and a few chopped hazelnuts.

** If you don’t have a Kroger Food store near you, then use the lowest carb yogurt that you can find.  Kroger’s is 4 net carbs per container, so look for something around that number.

Makes 8 servings

Calories: 232.4 Fat: 21.5 g Net Carbs: 5.2 g Protein: 5.9 g

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 8/17/2013 1:02 AM

17/2013 1:02 AM

Desserts, Recipes

Cooling Blackberry Almond Freezer Pie

Boy, I came back from Hawaii last week to a heat wave in Reno. With temperatures over 100 degrees, cooking just isn’t a popular option in the kitchen. But something cool and tasty as well as quick and easy, that is right up my alley. Although it is quick to prepare, it does need to freeze for four hours, so plan accordingly.

I was reminded of freezer pies in a recent post from A Garden For the House where you can find the recipe for the higher calorie, higher carb version (and also much bigger) Frozen Blueberry Yogurt Pie. So I went to work to make low carb substitutions and make it a little simpler to make. The result is a delicious, low calorie, low carb icy cold cream cheese pie. You can make it with blueberries, raspberries or strawberries with equal success.

One other note, I used 2 tablespoons of low carb blackberry preserves from LC Foods. This isn’t necessary, but it adds a little more flavor to the pie. You can also use Smuckers sugar free jams or just add about another 1/4 cup of berries to the mix. The carb count may change slightly, but it won’t be too much.

Blackberry Almond Freezer Pie

Crust:
1/2 cups almond flour
2 tablespoons light brown sugar sub
2 tablespoons Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
10 blackberries
1/3 cup sugar substitute
5 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons vanilla whey powder
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar sub, divided
1 6 oz Carbmaster vanilla yogurt
1 cup whipped cream or Cool Whip

Topping
8 tablespoons Cool Whip (or other whipped topping)
8 whole blackberries
mint leaves (if desired)

Coat a pie tin or an 8″ layer cake pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, stir the almond flour, brown sugar substitute and butter together until well mixed. Spoon into the bottom of the pie tin or cake pan and spread to cover the bottom It will be a thin crust. I usually moisten my fingertips and use them to spread it. Put the pan into the freezer to firm up while you mix the rest of the pie.

In a medium-sized bowl, add the softened cream cheese, sugar substitute and vanilla extract and beat with the mixer until smooth. Add the vanilla yogurt and cool whip and mix until blended. Add berries, reserving 8 for the topping and stir them into the mixture.

Pour the mixture over the crust in the pie tin and smooth it with a spoon. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the freezer for at least four hours to set.

Remove pie, slice into 8 pieces and serve with a dollop of Cool whip topped with a fresh berry.

You can cut only the amount you are serving, cover the pie and put it back in the freezer. It can be frozen for at least a week. Take out pieces to be served and let defrost for about 30 minutes before serving. (If you don’t have four hours, it is still a servable pie after two hours, but isn’t as firm.)

Nutrition Information: (without the topping)
Calories: 131.3 Fat: 11.7 g Net Carbs: 3.2 g Protein: 3.5 g

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 7/11/2013 1:22 PM