For the love of Dessert!

Hi, my name is Katrina and I am addicted to dessert.  I am a person that loves to go from salty to sweet, to salty to sweet, you get it?  After I finish my lunch or dinner I immediately go to the pantry to grab something sweet to get the food taste out of my mouth.  I knew that I did this before but since I have started tracking what I eat on Sparkpeople I have realized I have a huge sweets problem.  I love dessert!  I think it is fine to have dessert.  But here is the next problem, I love to bake!  I love to try new recipes and bake, but then I eat and eat and eat the dessert all gone.....that is bad dessert.  So I have been looking for better dessert options and have tried a few I like and have less calories.  It still might have less calories unless you eat 10 of them!  Bake, eat one and give away the rest that is the diagnosis to my problem, my neighbors are going to love me!

Here is a few lighter dessert recipes for ya!  Enjoy!  Remember to check back in next week for our weigh-in results.

First is a flourless peanut butter cookies.  These cookies were great and I think better than some peanut butter cookies I have tried with flour.  They clock in a little over 100 calories per cookies.  If you minus the chocolate it would be less, but who would want to do that.?

Flourless Peanut-Chocolate Cookies

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg (lightly beaten)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 large egg (lightly beaten), 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until well combined. Stir in 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts.
2. With moistened hands, roll dough, about 1 heaping tablespoon at a time, into balls. Place 2 inches apart on two baking sheets.
3. Bake until cookies are golden and puffed, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through. Cool 5 minutes on sheets; transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

We ate these for Brinner (Breakfast at Dinner time)  I think they have more of a muffin texture than cupcake, but still tasted great and my girls loved them!

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

2 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk (I used 1 % milk)
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon vinegar (I added this to the 1% milk to make my own buttermilk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and egg white, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Stir in the buttermilk, water, vinegar and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add to batter just until moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Fill muffin cups coated with cooking spray or paper liners three-fourths full. Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

YIELD: 14 cupcakes

Nutrition Facts: 1 cupcake equals 139 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 221 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein.

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook

Triple Chocolate Brownies

This brownie has a surprising ingredient, black beans, yep you read right.  The pureed black beans replace some of the butter used in most brownies.  We had some mixed reviews at our household.  Brian and Audrey did not care to much for them.  Aria and I did not mind the taste.  If you enjoy dark chocolate these would be something to try.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking pan
• 1/4 cup black beans, rinsed, drained, and pureed until completely smooth
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped (1/3 cup)
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg white
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine butter, bean puree, and chocolates and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Whisk in sugar, eggs and egg white, and vanilla until smooth.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir into chocolate mixture until just combined. Pour batter into pan; smooth top. Bake until top is cracked and a toothpick inserted in center has moist crumbs attached, about 25 minutes (center will seem undercooked but will set further as it cools). Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Using parchment, lift brownie from pan and cut into 16 squares.

Cook's Note

Store in an airtight container, up to 3 days.

per brownie 155 calories; 7g fat (4g sat fat); 3g protein; 24g carb; 2g fiber

Recipe adapted from Everyday Food Magazine, The Light Issue

Rainbow Bright Cupcakes

For Aria's 6th Birthday she wanted a Wizard of Oz themed birthday party. I was trying to think of what kind of cake I could make. I thought of first to frost cupcakes with all different colors and making a rainbow, but that would take a lot of cupcakes and a lot of work. One day I found the perfect recipe on my blog list from http://picky-palate.com/category/desserts/ and it was perfect. This recipe for cupcakes is awesome! They are so tender and moist and just plain yummy. I definitely will make these cupcakes again.

Batter divided and food coloring added.

Here they are right out of the oven.

They look so cool inside and they were a big hit at the party.

Rainbow Bright Cupcakes

1 box yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1/2 Cup vegetable oil

1/2 Cup water

8 oz sour cream

small box instant vanilla pudding mix

Food Coloring: Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and Purple

Vanilla or Cream Cheese Frosting of Choice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, beat the cake mix, eggs, oil, water, sour cream and pudding on medium until well combined. Batter will be nice and thick. Divide batter evenly between 5 white or glass bowls. Drop 5 different colors of food coloring into each cake batter bowl until you reach your desired colors. Stir well. Spoon each color into paper lined cupcake tins until all are filled. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until cooked through. Remove and let cool completely. Frost with frosting of choice.

24 cupcakes

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes

I like to try new desserts with zucchini. This recipe I got from one of my foodbuzz.com friends. She really makes some amazing desserts so check her out at http://daydreamerdesserts.blogspot.com/. They turned out really nice and moist and the frosting was delicious.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tbsp unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup pls 2 Tbsp sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 lb zucchini, grated (1 cup)

1 (6 oz) package semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with rack in middle.Whisk together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.Beat together sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer until thick and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.


At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just incorporated.


Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips. Divide among lined muffin cups and bake until tops spring back when lightly pressed, 30 to 35 minutes.Cool in pan 5 minutes, then turn out to cool completely.

Makes 12 cupcakes

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 cups confectioner's sugar

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Whisk until combined the confectioner's sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients until well combined. Finally add the vanilla.