With the leaves changing, and that crisp hint of fall in the air, you can tell that time of year is right around the corner. Cakes, cookies and pies around the holidays should be a welcome treat, and with these 5 easy tips, you could even have seconds.
- Substitute applesauce for butter.
Applesauce surprisingly makes an excellent substitute for butter in most sweet baking recipes, leaving baked goods moist and flavorful. The ratio for butter to applesauce is 1:1. I would recommend doing 1/2 applesauce, 1/2 butter. Also, if your going to use store bought applesauce, check and compare the labels for the amount of sugar, just so your not surprised later. Making your own applesauce would be ideal. Applesauce can alter the texture of some baked goods, so make sure you do a test run first before serving.
- Make your own berry or fruit pie filling.
By making the pie filling yourself, you control what goes in it. All you need is your choice of berries or fruit, flour, and some artificial sweetener Splenda, or other healthy sweetener. Depending on the type of pie filling your going to make, you might want to look at a recipe. Be sure to cook the berries before filling the pie with them, fresh uncooked berries can burst when they’re being cooked in a pie, causing the crust to become soggy or unevenly cooked.
- Make your own fruit coulis for things like parfaits, or cheesecakes.
Fruit or berry coulis is super easy to make, it adds color to a dessert, and it’s way better for you than some other choices. Just put some Splenda and fruit in a food processor until its a liquid. You can also cook down the fruit to bring out the flavor before putting them through the food processor.
- Make your own whipped cream.
Whipped cream is super easy to make – and tastes way better than the canned stuff (even when you open with a can opener)! Your making it yourself, so your controlling what will go in it. You can substitute Splenda for the sugar if you’d like. If you have cocoa powder, or Cinnamon you could even throw a dash of that in just for fun.
- Use jelly or jam in layered cakes.
Put any flavor of jelly you like in between the layers of cake. You’ll add a little surprising treat in the cake, and cut back on frosting.
While you’re here, be sure to check out our kitchen product reviews!