Baking Mom Happy

Mother’s day is rapidly approaching. What better way to say “I love you” than with homemade baked goods! Help her out by making it moist and healthy, not heavy and fatty!

I know many of you have tried those so-called delicious low-fat goodies and they were nothing but rubbery or tasteless. There is no question that making something low-fat can alter the taste or texture. So just how do you make low-fat baked goods moist and delicious? I have a few easy suggestions for you.

• Yogurt Use plain low-fat or non-fat yogurt – I especially love the thick, strained Greek non-fat yogurt, to cut back on a quarter or half the oil. Yogurt will reduce the fat, but not the moisture and it adds protein.
• 1% Buttermilk Makes excellent, tender cakes and can be used in place of whole milk or heavy cream – it can also be used to skim the amount of oil or butter.
• Fat Free or Reduced Fat Sour Cream Substitute full-fat sour cream for the fat-free version. Fat free sour cream makes lovely coffee cakes and light fluffy muffins.
• Fruit Purees Substitute with fruit puree, such as applesauce or blended canned pears or peaches in natural juice to cut the butter or oil – or to cut back on the amount of sugar – to make brownies and cookie bars soft.
• Egg Whites Substitute two egg whites for every whole egg to make baked goods lighter on fat without drastically changing the texture.

General Tips

• Don’t overmix batters for muffins, quick breads, and coffee cakes. Overmixing the batter will make these types of baked goods tough and rubbery.
• Don’t pack the flour into the measuring cups – lightly spoon the flour and level with a butter knife.
• Don’t overbake. This might sound like a no-brainer, but I want to remind you that overcooking reduced fat baked good dries them out and can make you unpopular. So keep the moistness in by setting the timer for 10 minutes less than the baking instructions indicate and test with a toothpick.

Recipes Mom Will Love

• Rich Sour Cream Cookies
• Granny’s Texas Sheet Cake
• Almond Tea Cake
• Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

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