Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Figure-Friendly No-Bake Cookies

















My Venture into No-Bake Cookies

This recipe is lower in sugar and fat than many other desserts. I've tried making this recipe using sugar-free preserves and artificial sweeteners (and no added sugar at all) but I really did not like the artificial taste that it had. For this reason, I opted to use reduced-sugar preserves, which do not normally use artificial sweeteners, a small amount of sugar, and a small amount of Splenda. Reduced-fat peanut butter works great in this recipe and I highly recommend it. These cookies are full of nutrients so it's a little hard to think of them as dessert. The cocoa powder is full of antioxidants and flavanols. The milk provides some Vitamin D and protein. The preserves have Vitamin C and the peanut butter has protein and Vitamins A and E. The oatmeal adds a nice dose of fiber. That added fiber can help to cushion the glycemic impact the sugar might have on your blood. All of that is nice but the reason I make these is because they're quick and easy to make and taste really decadent! They are so fudgy! The fact that they're figure-friendly is just another perk.

My mom and sister love this recipe and I think you will too. Enjoy – and happy not baking!

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Figure-friendly No-bake Cookies
(Printable Version)

2 TBSP butter
1/2 cup low-fat milk (skim works OK)
1/4 cup sugar
2 pinches salt
3 TBSP cocoa powder
1/2 cup reduced-sugar strawberry preserves
1/4 cup peanut butter (reduced-fat works great)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 to 3 TBSP Splenda (depending on how sweet you like things)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats

Add a piece of wax paper to a small cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer to chill.

To a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the butter, milk, sugar, salt, cocoa powder, and strawberry preserves. Use a fork to break up any large pieces of strawberries. Whisk often and bring to a light simmer then immediately remove the saucepan from the burner. Add the peanut butter, vanilla, and Splenda. Whisk lightly to incorporate the peanut butter. Add the oats and use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture. Allow the mixture to rest in the saucepan for 6 minutes – stirring after 3 minutes. This resting period will allow the mixture to firm up slightly.

Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to place mounds of the mixture on the chilled cookie sheet. Refrigerate for at least two hours to allow the cookies to fully gel. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. These cookies when properly prepared should not be hard and brittle. They should be soft and fudgy. Makes 1 dozen ping-pong-ball size cookies.

Note: I tried this recipe using sugar-free preserves without success. To me, sugar-free preserves have a very artificial taste that is distracting in this recipe. Reduced-sugar preserves are not normally made with artificial sweeteners (but do have a reduced amount of sugar).

5 comments:

  1. Hello Blog Buddies!
    Due to a known problem with the blogging software I use on this website, you may get an error when you attempt to post a comment. If you try to leave a comment and get an error, simply click the "Post Comment" button again. It should work after clicking the "Post Comment" button one or two additional times.

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  2. oh my that sounds good - thanks for sharing ;)

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  3. I was out of strawberry preserves so I used raspberry. I cheated and tasted it while it was setting. Oh my, I don't know if I can wait the two hours until they're ready!

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  4. These look soooo yummy!! But have you ever thought of using stevia instead of sugar or Splenda? Splenda is just another artificial sweetener that builds fat storage while increasing your desire for sweets. Just because a sweetener is calorie-free does not mean that you cannot gain weight on them. I use SweetLeaf Stevia Plus (with added fiber) in my fruit smoothies, and they are sooo good! I plan in doing much more with it! It has no aftertaste because it is the only brand only pure water touches the leaves during extraction. It is also the only stevia brand and sweetener on the market with 0 calories, 0 carbs, and a 0 glycemic index! It also has numerous health benefits!

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  5. No, I've never used Stevia before. I'll definitely give it a try sometime. Thanks for the information!

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