Sugar-free cookies and minis

[CanadianBakin']

Last month I began baking for an excellent tea shop. They have a full time baker/cook and I bake only the miniature sweets for the top tier of their High Tea.

Of course much of their clientele is older and some are diabetic so I'm looking for proven sugar-free recipes using artificial sweeteners.

*There has been much debate on other threads about what constitutes a diabetic dessert so I'm not looking for more of that discussion. I've decided to simply go sugar-free and leave it at that.

What I've learned from reading other threads...

- it seems a combination of sweeteners tastes better

- crisp cookies or moist desserts like cheesecake seem to work best

- ground nuts seem to be a common ingredient in these recipes

I have never used artificial sweeteners before so I'm trying to learn as much as I can before wasting a lot of ingredients in testing.

Thanks so much for any recipes you can provide.

Edited October 6, 2008 by CanadianBakin' (log)

[tmriga]

You do not necessarily have to use artificial sweeteners. Although they are more expensive, I have read about using agave sweeteners in lieu of sugar. They are said to offer the same sweetening, without aggravating insulin production. There are also stevia sweeteners, which work similarly.

Alternately, some pastries can be sweetened with apple juice, particularly to make fruit fillings.

There is a book called Fruit-Sweet and Sugar-Free: Prize-Winning Pies, Cakes, Pastries, Muffins, and Breads from the Ranch Kitchen Bakery (Healing Arts Press) by Janice Feuer, which I have used to make treats for family and friends. Perhaps there are some recipes or techniques you can use.

Theresa

[CanadianBakin']

You do not necessarily have to use artificial sweeteners.  Although they are more expensive, I have read about using agave sweeteners in lieu of sugar.  They are said to offer the same sweetening, without aggravating insulin production.  There are also stevia sweeteners, which work similarly.

Alternately, some pastries can be sweetened with apple juice, particularly to make fruit fillings.

There is a book called Fruit-Sweet and Sugar-Free: Prize-Winning Pies, Cakes, Pastries, Muffins, and Breads from the Ranch Kitchen Bakery (Healing Arts Press) by Janice Feuer, which I have used to make treats for family and friends.  Perhaps there are some recipes or techniques you can use.

Theresa

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Thanks Theresa, I will have a look at that book. For the purposes of this particular thread I would like to keep it to artificial sweeteners. I'll edit my original post to reflect this.

[CaliPoutine]

I've made a few things from the Splenda.ca website.

I think the CC cookies were ok( but might be a tad boring).

Btw, as a diabetic, its the CARBS that are the issue, not the sugar.

[pastrymama]

you could make mini pie or tarts using a pie dough without sugar and the fillings can be either cooked fruit or creams, cooked without sugar then sweetened with splenda or equal after they are off the heat. Those sweeteners don't do well with cooking or baking, they tend to get a little bitter.

[Badiane]

Where is the tea shop? We live in the same area - I'm in Chilliwack and work in Abbotsford - and I would LOVE to stop in and try out some of your treats!!

[CanadianBakin']

Where is the tea shop?  We live in the same area - I'm in Chilliwack and work in Abbotsford -  and I would LOVE to stop in and try out some of your treats!!

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Thanks! It's called SerendipiTea and is on Montrose in downtown Abbotsford. If you don't order High Tea I think you could still have them if you ordered dessert and tea and specified that you would like an assortment of Tina's miniature desserts.

[SuzySushi]

My daughter has diabetes and I've tried some sugar-free baking using Splenda. We were generally unimpressed with the cookie and cake results because there, sugar is needed for texture as well as sweetness.

What's turned out best are cheesecakes (I use a standard cheesecake recipe, substituting Splenda granular for the sugar) and pumpkin pie (ditto). To me, Splenda tastes a little flat, so I perk up the flavors by adding a little lemon juice or other flavorings (more spice for the pumpkin pie). You can make either in mini-portions such as tarts, or use a rectangular pan and cut into bars. I recently tried a pumpkin pie recipe on an oatmeal-cookie-like crust and that was a real hit at a potluck.