hungry poodle

It took all of January for most of us to recover from the overabundance of holiday goodies, and in the meantime, Girl Scout Cookies made their yearly appearance. Luckily for me, no uniformed little girls came knocking. If they had, the good citizen in me would have been compelled to buy some Thin Mints, for my husband, of course.

Today is only the 2nd of February, and in the next two weeks we’ve got both Super Bowl Sunday (the biggest snacking day of the year in America, according to the big food folks) and that venerable chocoholic’s dream, Valentine’s Day.

The opportunities to overeat, and to justify it because “it’s a special day”,  just never end.

Instead of heading from one food disaster to the next, my motto is to try to enjoy every holiday without making any one celebration a reason to blow it. I know this borders on un-American, but I’m not going to make any dip for Super Bowl Sunday, low fat or otherwise. Dips provide too much temptation to endlessly dip, dip, dip and munch, munch, munch. Think about it, what exactly is a portion of dip? Do you really scoop out 1/4 cup and eat only that? I think not.

Instead, I’m going to cook something delicious and healthy that we can enjoy without feeling guilty after the game. Beer will be included on the menu. After all, it is a football game.

Fudgy yet low in fat, these are REAL brownies!

But let’s get to the real reason for this post–chocolate! Valentine’s Day is the next holiday, and here, from Cooks Illustrated again, is a low-fat brownie recipe that I’ve made twice with great results.  Real non-dieting men said that they couldn’t tell these brownies were low in fat, that’s how good they are. The secret is to not over-handle or over-bake them.

The original recipe doesn’t call for nuts, but to me it’s not a brownie without nuts, so I added whole pecans on top before they went into the oven. I think nuts are better when they go on top of a baked good; when they are chopped up and stirred into the dough, they tend to stew rather than roast.

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli Bittersweet chocolate chips)
2 T. unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 T. low-far sour cream
1 T. chocolate syrup (I only had fat-free fudge sauce and that worked fine)
1 large egg plus 1 egg white
2 t. vanilla extract

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8″ baking pan with foil so that it comes out over the edges on all four sides (you’ll need two long pieces of foil, folded to fit neatly into the pan) and press it down so that it’s smooth. Spray the foil with nonstick spray.

Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Melt the bittersweet chocolate and butter together in a large bowl in the microwave, stirring often, until melted. Let cool slightly.

Whisk the sugar, sour cream, chocolate syrup, egg, egg white and vanilla into the chocolate/butter mixture. Fold in the flour mixture in 3 additions with a spatula, stirring only until just combined.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Tap the pan against the counter to remove any bubbles. Bake until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs attached, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Do NOT overbake.

Let the brownies cool completely in the pan, about 2 hours. Lift them out with the foil and cut into 2″ squares.

Makes 16 brownies

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Best. Gingerbread. Ever. (How could it miss, with a cup of Guinness Stout in it?)

This was our Christmas dessert; it tastes better when it’s made the day before serving, which gives the intense ginger and molasses flavors ample time to marry. If you don’t want to make this now, when our thoughts are turning to lighter, slimmer New Year’s resolution fare, tuck this recipe away for when you want the best gingerbread you’ve ever had. I’ve been sneaking little bites of it since Christmas, and it has brought a smile to my face every time I’ve tasted it. Adapted from Gourmet Magazine.

Gingerbread decorated by Miss Elizabeth Bennett!

1 cup Guinness Stout
1 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)
1/2 t. baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
2 T. ground ginger
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cardamom
3 large eggs
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 12″ bundt pan and dust with flour, knocking out the excess.

Recently the Weight Watchers web site featured an article about Christmas in other countries. I read about the United Kingdom first, as I like to keep up with what our dear friends Brian and Christine, who live in London, are eating and drinking. (Heaven forbid they should get ahead of me on the drinking!)

Among the traditional British Christmas dishes, such as turkey and brussels sprouts, was a mousse made with Bailey’s Irish Cream. Naturally, that’s the one that caught my eye. I went straight to the liquor cabinet and pulled out our bottle of Bailey’s to make it.

The recipe says that you can also make this with Tia Maria (a coffee liqueur that’s widely available in the UK). In the US you can substitute Kahlua.

Bailey’s Mousse

1/3 cup granulated sugar  (In the UK, 60 g caster sugar)
1 T. water
3 eggs, separated
4 T. Bailey’s Irish Cream
3 T. whipping cream
1/2 heaping t. cocoa powder

Reserve 1 T. sugar. Please the remaining sugar and water into a small saucepan. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves, then boil rapidly for 1 minute until the mixture is syrupy but not caramelized.

Whisk the egg whites in a grease-free bowl until stiff, then slowly add the sugar syrup (it can be hot), beating well to thoroughly incorporate.

Put the 3 egg yolks, the remaining 1 T. sugar and the Bailey’s in a heatproof bowl. Position the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, but do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. (A double boiler works well here.) Whisk this mixture until thick and frothy, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and fold in the egg white mixture. Spoon into 6 glasses and chill.

Whip the whipping cream until it holds its shape. In the UK whipped cream is not sweetened, but I added 1 T. of powdered sugar as I whipped the cream. Top the desserts with the cream and sprinkle on a bit of cocoa powder.

Serves: 6
WW Points per serving: 3

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Daughter Lizzie flew home to Kansas for the Thanksgiving holiday directly from Barcelona, where she had spent the previous week working.  When she arrived home she was weary from traveling and requested some comfort food: specifically, bread pudding. As this has not been a regular staple in my culinary repertoire, I sought out a pudding that would fit my standards for delicious, real food with a healthy bent. I’ve quoted Julia Child before on this subject: if it doesn’t taste good, don’t eat it. There has to be a happy medium between healthy and delicious.

This recipe, which hails from Cooking Light, is the find of the season. I’ve made it twice, the first time for Lizzie, the second time in a larger batch for Thanksgiving because we loved it so. After some minor changes to the original (I added cinnamon to the pudding mixture and pecans on top) we all pronounced it a total comfort-food winner. What’s not to love about bready pudding with warm bourbon sauce on top?  On Thanksgiving, I opted out on the store-bought pumpkin pie that a friend brought and had this instead. Let me tell you, I didn’t miss the pumpkin. Not one bit.

Pudding:

2 T. unsalted butter, softened
4 cups fat-free milk
9 cups French bread*, cut into 1/2 ” cubes and dried
2 cups sugar
1 t. cinnamon
2 t. vanilla
4 egg whites
1 egg
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans

(* I used a French Farm Bread, which has a hard crust and is slightly sour. Its sourness was a delicious contrast to the sweetness of the pudding. Any French bread will do, though. Cut it into cubes and put it on a large cookie sheet to dry out overnight or in a warm oven for a half hour or so.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread soft butter onto bottom and sides of a 9″ by 13″ inch baking dish. (Optional, you can also just spray the pan with nonstick spray.)

Heat milk in a saucepan until about 180 degrees, or until tiny bubbles form on the edge. Do not boil. Place dried bread cubes into a large bowl and pour hot milk over bread.

In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, egg whites and egg . Slowly add this to the bread and milk mixture, stirring as you pour it in. Stir in raisins.

Pour into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle pecans on top. Place dish into a large roasting pan and add hot water to the larger pan to a depth of about 1/2 inch. Bake for 50 minutes or until browned and set.

Bourbon Sauce

3/4 cup sugar
6 T. butter
1 large egg
1/4 cup bourbon

Combine sugar, butter and egg in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook 4 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 165 degrees and mixture is thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in bourbon.

Serves: 16 (1/2 cup bread pudding and 1 T. sauce)

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When Eating Well published this recipe several years ago, it instantly became one of the magazine’s most popular recipes. I am not a big baker, so I haven’t tried it until now. (I consider cake of any kind, low fat or rich, to be a serious temptation, so I limit my exposure.) Wow! I was really surprised that a lower fat cake could be so moist, even several days after baking.

If you’re looking for “diet” cake, this isn’t it. It doesn’t use any of the substitutions or artificial ingredients you see in lots of diet recipes, but that’s what I like about it. I’ve said this before: in the 1970′s, I devoured every diet product on the market and I’m done with them. I didn’t lose weight eating diet foods then, and I certainly didn’t learn portion control (in fact, I remember chowing down on mega-portions of “diet” cookies, et al). It was a lose-lose situation.

Since then I’ve learned a lot about what it takes to lose weight and keep it off, and for me it involves moderation. I want to enjoy food because it is one of life’s greatest pleasures, especially during the holidays. I try to eat as healthfully as possible, and when I do indulge, I either take a few bites of something really rich, or I enjoy a piece of cake like this one without an iota of guilt. This is real cake, moist and chocolaty, yet it is lower in fat than traditional Bundt cakes. That makes it a real winner!

I baked my cakes in two 6" bundt pans instead of one 12" pan. I also sprinkled mini-chocolate chips atop the icing on one, and toasted pecans on the other.

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
2 t. vanilla extract
1 cup hot strong black coffee

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 to 2 T. buttermilk or milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup* Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Dust the pan with flour, shake it around to distribute it evenly and knock out the excess.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the buttermilk, brown sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for two minutes. Whisk in the hot coffee until completely incorporated. The batter will be quite thin, but don’t worry.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out nearly clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove it from the pan and allow to cool completely.

To make the icing: Whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla and just enough of the buttermilk or milk to make a thick but pourable icing. Set the cooled cake on a serving plate and drizzle the icing over the top, allowing it to drip down the sides.

(*If you use half-size pans as I did, baking time will be shorter by about 15 minutes.)

Note: Cooks Illustrated recommends using Callebaut Dutch-process cocoa, which isn’t available locally in my area. (I mail-ordered mine. God bless the Internet!) Here’s my thought on cocoa–this cake has much less fat than traditional cakes, thus its ingredients must really shine. Use the best cocoa powder you can get your hands on, but if you must, use good old Hershey’s. Your cake may not be the Rolls Royce of chocolate cakes, but it will certainly be the newest, shiniest Toyota Prius. Hey, I like that analogy–a little goes a long way!

Serves: 16

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