Cooking Tips: Products to Try in Your Holiday Baking

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cooking tips

april 98

Diabetic-Lifestyle Cooking Tips features useful ways to cook with more flavor, using less fat, salt, and sugar. Diabetic-Lifestyle offers recipes, menus, medical updates, entertaining - practical information enhances life while managing diabetes on a daily basis. - Home

Products to Try in Your Holiday Baking

We have been sent samples and recipes from two companies which offer alternatives for your holiday baking that you might find useful:
DiabetiSweet is a sweetener for people with diabetes or anyone trying to control caloric intake. Available in many supermarket and pharmacies across the United States, it contains no sucrose, fructose, dextrose, maltodextrin, sodium or Saccharin. The manufacturer indicated that although DiabetiSweet is ideal for sweetening, cooking, and baking, that it may lose some sweetness if used during prolonged cooking at high heat applications. For more information, call 1-800-899-3116.
We thank DiabetiSweet for sharing these recipes from their test kitchen. They were developed by Dr. Joseph Juliano, M.D., and Deborah Smoot. Dr. Juliano is the author of The Diabetic Males's Essential Guide to Living Well (Henry Holt & Co.) -- this new book is in our Book Store!

The Best Pineapple Cheesecake

(makes 6 servings)

Graham Cracker Crust:
	butter-flavored cooking spray
14	double graham cracker cookies, finely crushed (1 cup)
2	tablespoons butter, melted
Pineapple Cheesecake:
1/2	cup non-fat buttermilk
1	slice white bread
1/3	cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1	large egg
2	tablespoons natural vanilla
6	packets DiabetiSweet
1/4	cup water
1	12-ounce can crushed pineapple, packed in natural juice, well drained

1.	To prepare crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 9" pie pan with cooking spray.
2.	In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press into prepared pan.
3.	Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly browned. (Since ovens vary in temperature, check after 12 minutes. Do not allow it to over-brown.) Cool before filling.
4.	To prepare filling: In a food processor or blender, combine everything except the pineapple. Process until smooth. Fold in crushed pineapple.
5.	Bake for 45 minutes, until set. Cool in refrigerator.

Note: The filling can be baked without the crust.

Per serving (with crust):	190 calories (38% calories from fat), 5 g protein, 8 g total fat (3.9 g saturated fat), 24 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 51 mg cholesterol, 212 mg sodium
Diabetic exchanges:	1 1/2 carbohydrate (1 bread/starch, 1/2 fruit), 1 fat

Chocolate Silk Mousse

(makes 4 servings)

1	1/4-ounce envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4	cup cold water
8	packets DiabetiSweet
1/3	cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4	cup nonfat (skim) milk
1/2	cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2	tablespoons natural vanilla
2	tablespoons rum extract
1/2	cup frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
	fresh strawberries (optional)

1.	In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water; allow to stand 2 minutes to soften.
2.	In a medium saucepan, stir together the Diabetisweet and cocoa. Stir in milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is very hot. Add the gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.
3.	Transfer mixture to a medium bowl and refrigerate until slightly cold (do not allow to gel).
3.	In a food processor or blender, combine ricotta cheese, vanilla, and rum extract. Blend until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl. Add the whipped topping; stir until well combined.
4.	Gradually fold ricotta mixture into the cocoa mixture. Spoon into 4 dessert cups. Refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. If desired, decorate each serving with strawberries.

Per serving (mousse only):	151 calories (40% calories from fat), 8 g protein, 6 g total fat (5.6 g saturated fat), 13 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 16 mg cholesterol, 150 mg sodium
Diabetic exchanges:	1/2 very lean meat, 1 carbohydrate (1 bread/starch), 1 fat

Succulent Zucchini Bread

(makes 2 loaves, 10 servings each)

	butter-flavored cooking spray
3	large eggs or 3/4 cup egg substitute
1/3	cup canola oil
7	packets DiabetiSweet
1	tablespoon natural vanilla
1	8-ounce can crushed pineapple, packed in natural juice, well drained
2	cups grated zucchini
1 1/2	cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2	cups whole wheat flour
2	teaspoons baking soda
1/2	teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2	teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4	teaspoon ground nutmeg
1	teaspoon salt (optional)
1	cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1.	Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly coat two 8-inch loaf pans with cooking spray.
2.	In a large bowl, beat the eggs; add the oil, DiabetiSweet, vanilla, pineapple, and zucchini.
3.	In a second large bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt (if using). If using, add the walnuts and toss.
4.	Mix the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined. Spoon into the prepared loaf pans.
5.	Bake for 40 minutes or until a tester inserted near the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on wire racks.

Note: This fantastic loaf freezes well. You can top it with frozen fat-free, sugar-free vanilla yogurt, if desired.

Per serving (bread only):	118 calories (35% calories from fat), 3 g protein, 5 g total fat (0.6 g saturated fat), 16 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 32 mg cholesterol,149 mg sodium
Diabetic exchanges:	1 carbohydrate (1 bread/starch), 1 fat

The second company to call our attention to alternative products for cooking and baking is Mrs. Bateman's Bakery of Rigby, Idaho. The star of her own cooking show on QVC, Mrs. Karen Bateman developed and manufactures a line of products such as EggLike, ButterLike, SugarLike (granular) and Liquid SugarLike (a syrup) for using in your recipes. If you wish to contact the company for more information, you can call the free Baking and Cooking Hotline at 1-800-574-6822, Monday through Friday (MST). You can also e-mail bateman@bakingbutter.com

The following three recipes with exchanges are taken with permission from Mrs. Bateman's Cooking Lite for Life, her self-published 4-color cookbook. We thank them for their contribution, but we caution that you count the carbohydrate grams, rather than looking at the exchanges provided. On this site and in our Joslin cookbooks, we consider 15 grams to be 1 carbohydrate exchange.

Orange Blossom Strawberry Pie

(makes 8 servings)

Mrs. Bateman's Pie Crust:
1	tablespoon Granulated SugarLike
1 1/4	cup cake flour
1/2	teaspoon baking powder
1/4	teaspoon baking soda
1	teaspoon salt
7/8	cup ButterLike Baking Butter
	ice water
1	teaspoon vinegar
	butter or vegetable cooking spray
1	large egg white, beaten
Filling:
3/4	cup SugarLike Granulated Sugar
3	tablespoons cornstarch
1	teaspoon grated orange peel
6	cups strawberries, hulled
6	tablespoons water
2	tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1.	Place dry ingredients in mixing bow; stir with a fork. If ButterLike is cold, soften for 10-30 seconds in the microwave. Cut pre-measured baking Butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or two knives until you have small crumbs.
2.	Add ice water and vinegar gradually, mixing while adding. At certain altitudes and humidity levels, the dough may not require much water. You want the flour pretty much picked up off the bottom of the bowl. If necessary, add more water or flour until dough does not fall apart and will roll out easily. Let dough rest for a few minutes before rolling.
3.	Flour a work surface and place 1/3 of the dough in the center. Roll out to form a circle slightly larger than a 8 or 9-inch pie plate which has been lightly coated with cooking spray, adding flour as necessary to prevent dough from sticking. Fold dough in half and lift into pie pan; open dough up. Fit down into pan and crimp the edges. Make vent designs in the bottom and brush the crust with egg white. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. (Ed note: Roll out and freeze or refrigerate the 2 remaining crusts.)
4.	In a 1 1/2-quart pan, combine SugarLike, cornstarch, and orange peel. In a blender or food processor, whirl 2 cups of the least perfect strawberries with water until smoothly pureed. Blend puree into SugarLike mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Remove from heat; stir in orange juice.
5.	Arrange remaining strawberries, tips up, in the cool baked pastry. Spoon hot glaze over berries, covering completely. Refrigerate until glaze is cool and set.

Per serving (crust and filling):	137 calories (10% calories from fat), 2 g protein, 1 g total fat (0 saturated fat), 41 g carbohydrate, 7 dietary fiber, 0 cholesterol, 180 mg sodium
Mrs. Bateman's exchanges:	0.9 bread/starch, 0.6 fruit, 0.1 fat

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

(makes 4 servings)

1	cup large egg whites
1 1/2	cup ButterLike Baking Butter, at room temperature
3	cups SugarLike Granulated Sugar
1	package nonfat cream cheese (8 ounces), at room temperature
2	large eggs
3	cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2	teaspoon baking powder

1.	In a large mixing bowl, mix the egg whites until frothy. Stir in the softened ButterLike, SugarLike, room temperature cream cheese, and eggs; mix until smooth.
2.	Add the flour and baking powder; mix until combined. Pour into a vegetable spray coated 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 325°F for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until cake tests done.
3.	Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing. Cake ages and freezes well, Keep in air tight container. Great served warm with (Ed note: fat-free, sugar-free) ice cream.

Per serving (cake only):	318 calories (25% calories from fat), 10 g protein, 3 g total fat (1 g saturated fat), 88 g carbohydrate, 13 g dietary fiber, 40 mg cholesterol, 325 mg sodium
Mrs. Bateman's Exchanges:	2.5 bread/starch, 0.4 meat, 0.1 milk, 0.5 fat

Ed. Note: This cake would likely make 8 servings, particularly if you are adding the ice cream.

Quick Lemon Bread

(makes 10 servings)

1	cup Granulated SugarLike
1/2	cup ButterLike Baking Butter, softened
1/2	cup large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 1/2	cup all-purpose flour
1	teaspoon baking powder
1/2	teaspoon salt
1/2	cup skim milk
1 1/2	teaspoon grated lemon peel
Lemon Glaze:
1/3	cup Granulated SugarLike
4 1/2	tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1.	In a large bowl, mix SugarLike, ButterLike, and egg whites until smooth. Add remaining muffin ingredients and mix until flour is incorporated into batter. Pour batter into a vegetable sprayed and floured 5- X 9-inch loaf pan.
2.	Bake in a 350°F oven 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
3.	As soon as bread is done, prepare glaze. Leaving loaf in pan, use a long slender skewer to poke numerous holes all the way to bottom of loaf.
4.	In a small pan, combine SugarLike and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until SugarLike is dissolved. Remove from heat. Slowly drizzle over top of loaf so that glaze soaks into bread. Let bread cool in pan on rack for 15 minutes, then turn out onto rack to cool completely.

Per serving:	157 calories (10% calories from fat), 4 g protein, 1 g total fat (0 saturated fat), 47 g carbohydrate, 7 g dietary fiber, 0 cholesterol, 230 mg sodium
Mrs. Bateman's exchanges:	1.3 bread/starch, 0.2 meat, 0.2 fat