Sugar-Free Desserts and Breakfast Treats

Plum Applesauce (A Dessert)

  • 2 lb. gala or golden delicious apples, quartered, seeded and left unpeeled 2 lb. red or black plums, quartered and pitted
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

Cook all ingredients in a heavy pot, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally until fruit is very tender and falling apart1-1-1/4 hours.

Force mixture through a medium mesh sieve using a spatula, discarding peels. Keeps covered and chilled one week. Source: Gourmet, September, 2006

Peach Compote

  • 2 lbs ripe fresh peaches
  • 2 cups water or to cover
  • 1 tsp vanilla Roasted nuts

Scrub peaches thoroughly and cut lengthwise, gently separating fruit from pit. Cut each half in 3 wedges. Place peaches in a heavy saucepan with water and vanilla, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer five minutes. Serve chilled or room temperature with sprinkling of roasted nuts.

Stewed Apples

  • 6 apples
  • Apple juice, or water; Sweetener, if desired.

Peel and core the apples and cut them into attractive chunks. Place in a saucepan and pour juice over them until it is about an inch deep in the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered until the fruit is soft, stirring once or twice to insure against sticking. Check sweetness and add sugar or the sweetener you prefer, if it is needed.

Variations: 1. Raisinscooked with the fruit provide interesting texture and enough addedsweetness for most apples. 2. Adding a stick of cinnamon gives bright flavor without the disagreeable catching in the throat that the ground spice may cause. 3. Ginger add a long think slice of fresh gingerroot with, or instead of, the cinnamon, taking it out when the flavor seems strong enough. Both cinnamon and ginger parry sore throats and congestion.

Stewed Pears

Follow directions above, but use gingerroot, cinnamon stick, and lemon peel or dried cranberries.

Source: Laurel Robertson

Blueberry-Strawberry (or Raspberry) Tart

  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • cup almonds, ground
  • cup walnuts, ground
  • cup whole wheat pastry flour Pinch of salt
  • cup maple syrup
  • 2 T. cold-pressed vegetable oil
  • 2 T. water
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1 cup fresh strawberries or raspberries
  • 1 cup apple or berry juice
  • 1 T. kudzu (or cup arrowroot)

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a bowl, combine oats, ground nuts, flour, and salt.

Add 2 T. of maple syrup, oil, and water; mix well. With wet hands, press the mixture into an 8-by-8 pan. Bake 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Wash and trim strawberries and cut in half. If using raspberries, rinse and use whole. Mix juice and kudzu together in a small pan until kudzu is dissolved. Add blueberries and remaining 2 T. of maple syrup; heat mixture, on medium heat, stirring constantly until thick and clear, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in strawberries or raspberries. Pour mixture on top of pre-baked oat-nut crust.

Allow to cool at room temperature or in the refrigerator before serving. Serves 9.

Source: Cynthia Liar.

Cashew-Almond Cream Topping for Any Fruit Compote or Dessert

  • 1 cup cashew pieces
  • 1 cup almonds
  • 2 T. maple syrup
  • 1 t. vanilla extract
  • to 1/3 cup water
  • 2 T. mirin (sweet rice wine) (optional)

In a food processor or blender, grind the nuts until pulverized. With the machine running, add the maple syrup, vanilla, optional mirin and enough water to make a creamy consistency. (This cream has a tendency to thicken as it sits; add some water as needed to thin it out.). Makes 2 cups

Source: The Natural Gourmet

Pumpkin Tart with Pecan Crust Delicious!

Crust:

  • 1 cup pecans
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/8 t. sea salt
  • cup maple syrup
  • cup vegetable oil or choice (ghee)

Filling:

  • 1 pounds winter squash, roasted and pureed (2 cups) 1 cup silken tofu
  • 10 T. maple syrup
  • 1 T. fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 T. finely grated orange zest
  • t. ground cinnamon
  • t. nutmeg
  • 1 t. vanilla extract
  • cup arrowroot powder

Crust:

  1. Adjust a rack to the middle shelf of the oven and preheat to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9 tart pan with a removable bottom.
  2. In a food processor, combine the pecans, flour, and salt and grind to a fine meal. Add the maple syrup and oil and pulse a few times to form dough.
  3. Transfer the dough to the tart pan. Lay a piece of plastic wrap over the dough and spread it to fill the bottom and sides of the pan. Remove theplastic wrap and prick the dough all over with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from the oven to cool.

Filling:

  1. Combine the pumpkin puree with the remaining ingredients in a food processor and puree until creamy smooth.
  2. Pour the filling into the tart shell and bake for 50 minutes.
  3. Cool on a rack, then refrigerate until chilled.

Note: To make a pumpkin puree, preheat the oven to 375 F. Cut a smallpumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Place cut side down in a baking pan and roast for 30-40 minutes until it pierces easily with a knife. Cool and scoop our flesh, puree until smooth.

Source: Peter Berley

Apple Upside-Down Biscuit Cake
For the topping:
3 T. unsalted butter
2 T. maple sugar
1 lb. Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thin wedges
For the cake:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 T. maple syrup
1 t. baking powder
t. baking soda
t. salt
t. cinnamon
5 T. cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425 F.
For topping: Heat butter in an ovenproof 10-inch heavy skillet (preferably well-seasoned cast-iron) over moderate heat until foam subsides. Stir in maple syrup and remove from heat. Spread mixture evenly in skillet and arrange apples, overlapping in one layer.
For cake: Blend flour, syrup, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a bowl and add buttermilk, stirring just until mixture is moistened. Drop batter on top of apples and gently spread, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge of the skillet so cake can expand. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden brown and firm to the touch, 20-25 minutes. Cool cake in skillet on a rack 3 minutes, then invert onto a platter. Replace on the cake any apples that stick to the skillet. Serve warm with crme fraiche or sour cream.
Source: Ellen Arian

Breakfast/Snack Raisin Squares (18-24 squares)
Filling:
3 cups seedless raisins
1 cups filtered water
1 cinnamon stick
3 T. fresh lemon juice
cup kuzu or arrowroot, dissolved in
2 T. water
Crust:
3 cups rolled oats
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
t. salt
pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup maple syrup or barley malt

Combine all ingredients in a 2 quart saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
2. Discard the cinnamon stick. In a blender or food processor, puree the raisins and return them to the saucepan. Add the dissolved kuzu and cook over high heat, stirring until thickened and clear; set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil a 9-by-14 inch cake pan.
4. Crust: Place the oats, flour, and salt in the container of a food processor. With the machine running, drop in the pieces of butter, one at a time, until well mixed (Or, cut the butter into the flour in a bowl, using 2 knives until the mixture is crumbly.)
5. With the food processor still running, slowly pour in the syrup or barley malt (or stir it into the flour in the bowl) until well mixed and you have a soft dough. Divide the dough in half.
6. Roll out one-half between two pieces of wax paper, to fit the cake pan. Remove the top paper. Invert the dough into the pan and carefully peel off the bottom paper. Gently press the dough into all the corners of the pan, then fold over or press down the edges so that the crust is flat with no border. Spread the filling evenly over the crust, smoothing with a rubber spatula.
7. Break up the remaining dough between your fingers until crumbly. Sprinkle the crumbly dough evenly over the raisin filling, covering it completely. Press down lightly.
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Let cool, then cut into squares.
Source: The Natural Gourmet

Banana-Nut Muffins (Makes 12 Muffins)
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup butter or ghee, melted and cooled slightly
cup maple syrup
Two large eggs
Two teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Three small or medium bananas, about 2 cups, well mashed
Two cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. fine sea salt.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with parchment paper liners.
Place the nuts on a cookie sheet and toast for 10 minutes (about 4 minutes for pecans). Cool,chop and set aside.In a large bowl, mix together the butter or ghee, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla and bananas.
Over a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, adding the nuts as you stir. Be careful not to overmix.
Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling each about full.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins feel well set. Turn the muffins out of the tin and cool on a rack. Source: Ellen Arian

Blueberry Muffins (10-12 muffins)
8 tablespoons butter at room temperature
3/4 cup plus
Two tablespoons maple syrup
Two large eggs
Two cups whole wheat pastry flour
Two teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup whole milk (or 1/4 cup buttermilk + 1/8 teaspoon baking soda)
2-1/2 cups organic blueberries, fresh or frozen
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place parchment liners in muffin cups.
In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer. Add the maple syrup and continue creaming until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a medium bowl, sift the dry ingredients. Then add them alternately with the milk to the butter-maple mixture. Mix only until just combined.
In a small bowl, crush a handful of the blueberries with a fork and mix them into the batter byhand, along with the remaining blueberries.
Source: Ellen Arian

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