MomCooks

Indulge your sweet tooth while baking holiday treats with less guilt! Use canola oil in recipes that call for oil or solid fat in baked goods such as breads, loaves and muffins, says Shirley Corriher, author of the “Bake-Wise” cookbook and winner of the James Beard Award for Excellence. “Canola oil not only makes baked goods healthier, it makes them moister and more tender,” Corriher says. “I use canola oil in almost all of my muffin and cake recipes. “Oil makes cakes more tender by preventing gluten formation in the flour,” she explains. “Oil does this better than solid fats. I prefer canola oil because of its healthy fats, light texture and mild flavor.”

Canola oil has the least amount of saturated fat of any common cooking oil and is free of trans fat and cholesterol. When substituting canola oil for other oils or melted solid fat, you will reduce the saturated fat content of baked goods. You will also reduce the total amount of fat by up to 25 percent and eliminate trans fat and cholesterol when using canola oil instead of butter or shortening/lard. Use this chart to convert your recipes

Solid Fat (Melted) to Canola Oil Conversion Chart

1 cup Solid Fat = 3⁄4 cup Canola Oil
3⁄4 cup SF = 2⁄3 cup CO
1⁄2 cup SF = 1⁄3 cup CO
1⁄4 cup SF = 3 Tbsp CO

For a variety of holiday and anytime-of-year recipes, go to www.canolainfo.org. Each week in November and December, a new holiday recipe will be featured on this web site. To kick off the season, here’s a delicious holiday dessert that’s easy to make and likely to impress your guests.

So Light, So Easy Pumpkin Cake

INGREDIENTS:

18.25-oz. box white cake mix
11⁄4 cups water
1⁄4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1 cup canned pureed
pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
Canola oil cooking spray
Fat-free whipped topping

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325° F.

2. Combine all ingredients except oil spray and whipped topping, in large bowl. Using electric mixer, mix per directions on cake package. Coat 13×9-inch nonstick cake pan with cooking spray and spoon batter evenly into pan. Bake 25-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted comes out clean. Place pan on wire rack and cool completely.

3. When serving, spoon 1 tablespoon of whipped topping on each slice. May freeze leftover cake up to one month.

Yield: 20 servings.

For more recipes, go to the CanolaInfo web site at www.canolainfo.org.

I thought I’d end the week with a decadent looking dessert, and this Caramel-Pecan Chocolate dessert from Betty Crocker sure does look decadent!  Using Betty Crocker brownie mix cuts down on the number of ingredients to buy and the prep time. Enjoy!

Caramel-Pecan Brownie Dessert

INGREDIENTS:

1 package (1 lb 3.8 oz) Betty Crocker® fudge brownie mix
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup whipping (heavy) cream
20 caramels (from 14-oz bag), unwrapped
1 egg, beaten
1 cup broken pecans
3/4 cup whipping (heavy) cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350°F (if using dark or nonstick pan, heat oven to 325°). Grease bottom and side of 10-inch springform pan with shortening. In medium bowl, stir brownie mix, water, oil and 2 eggs until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread in pan.
2. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until puffed in center and toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat 1/2 cup whipping cream and the caramels over medium heat, stirring frequently, until caramels are melted. Stir small amount of the hot mixture into beaten egg, then stir egg back into mixture in saucepan. Cook over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir in pecans. Spread over brownie. Refrigerate uncovered at least 3 hours until chilled.
4. Run metal spatula around side of pan to loosen dessert; remove side of pan. Transfer dessert on pan base to serving plate. In chilled small bowl, beat 3/4 cup whipping cream and the powdered sugar with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Spoon whipped cream in 12 dollops around edge of dessert. Cut into wedges to serve. Store covered in refrigerator.

Pumpkin Bread

Yields 2 medium loaves

Oven 350°

INGREDIENTS:

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 15-ounce can pumpkin (unsweetened)
1 1/2 cups light agave
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon Butter (see below)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 2 medium loaf pans. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl beat together pumpkin, agave, oil, eggs, and
vanilla. Slowly mix in dry ingredients.
4. Pour batter into prepared pans.
5. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
6. Allow bread to cool in pans before removing.
7. Slice and serve with Cinnamon Butter.

Cinnamon Butter

Yields 1 3/4 cup

1 cup butter (softened)
1/3 cup light agave
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cinnamon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. Beat with an electric mixer on high.
3. Place in container with lid. Store in refrigerator.

Make these muffins the night before and serve them for breakfast or pack them in a lunchbox. Like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but without the crust!  WARNING: Check to make sure your school allows peanut products before sending these muffins in for lunch. Enjoy!

image credit: Taste of Home.com

PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY MUFFINS

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup thawed apple juice concentrate
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat chunky peanut butter
• 1/4 cup fat-free milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/3 cup 100% strawberry spreadable fruit (or your favorite flavor)

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine the eggs, apple juice concentrate, peanut butter, milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray. Spoon half of the batter into cups. Spoon about 1-1/4 teaspoons spreadable fruit into the center of each; top with remaining batter.

Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 1 dozen.

Nutritional Info:
Serving Size- One Muffin
225 Calories, 8 grams of fat, 1 gram of fiber, 6 grams of protein
Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 1/2 fat

Check out this recipe I found on www.bettycrocker.com, it looks SOOOO good! And because it uses Bisquick’s Heart Smart baking mix, a serving of this dessert has a very reasonable number of calories and fat grams per serving. I can’t wait for strawberries to be in season here in Michigan so I can make this with fresh berries!

INGREDIENTS:

Cake:
3 cups Bisquick Heart Smart® mix
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil or 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup fat-free (skim) milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 whole egg
1 egg white
Topping:
6 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 container (8 oz) frozen reduced-fat or fat-free whipped topping, thawed

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13×9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
2. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
3. In medium bowl, mix strawberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, the water and lemon juice. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour.
4. To serve, cut cake into squares; place on individual dessert plates. Top each serving with strawberries and whipped topping. Serves 15.