20 organic strawberries (organic being tend to always be sweet and juicy, even when they aren’t in season in February) $6.90/carton at Whole Foods

**do not remove green tops

6 oz. Valrhona semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate (Whole Food’s sells it in bulk, they cut it for you, 6 oz= about $7.00, so worth it)

3 oz. white chocolate (optional, but fun)

That’s it…so simple! Regarding the chocolate, if you are going to make a special treat, you might as well splurge on the chocolate and  strawberries…it will make all the difference. You CAN use chocolate chips, but they contain stabilizers, so they won’t melt quite the same and won’t be quite as decadent.

The trick to making good chocolate covered strawberries is the technique. You want to wash your strawberries in a bowl of water and fruit & veggie cleaner. Rinse well. Spread strawberries out on paper towel, pat dry, and let sit on the counter for about 20 minutes. You want to make sure they are VERY dry before you begin with the chocolate or the chocolate won’t adhere to the strawberry.

Place the semi-sweet chocolate in a glass, microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir with a wooden or metal spoon (plastic could melt), cook for another 30 seconds. Continue this until chocolate is melted. Make sure you stir between cook times as this really helps to distribute the heat well and prevents burned spots. When chocolate is smooth and silky with no lumps, you are ready to dip the berries.

Hold strawberry by green top, dip about 2/3 of strawberry into chocolate. Place on sheet of waxed paper. Allow chocolate to solidify.

Melt white chocolate the same way you did the semi-sweet. When melted, dip metal spoon into chocolate, drizzle white chocolate in zig-zag pattern over the semi-sweet chocolate. Allow to solidify.

Serve with sparkling white grape juice or champagne and enjoy a romantic dessert with your sweetie or make it a family affair and let the kids enjoy this delicious dessert with you.

Provenance: Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites cookbook (some alterations have been made from the original recipe)

DOUGH:

1 Tbsp. dry yeast

1/4 c. warm water (105-115 deg, temp. is VERY important)

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

2 C. nonfat buttermilk (can make this by putting 2 Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar and then enough milk to make 2 c. in a glass measuring cup. Let sit 5 min. before using)

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

3 1/2-4 1/2 c. unbleached white flour

TOPPING:

4 Tbsp. melted butter (1/2 stick)

1 C. brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4. tsp. nutmeg

ICING:

1 c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. milk

In small bowl, place the warm water, yeast, and 1 1/2 tsp. sugar. Mix well and leave for about 10 minutes, or until yeast is “proofed” and there is a white, foamy layer on top of the water.

Combine buttermilk, oil, and salt in a saucepan, stir well. Heat over medium heat until warm, stirring often, until about 115 deg (you can use a meat or candy thermometer to test the temp).

Transfer to a large bowl.

Add baking soda, and 3 c. of flour. Mix well (if you have a stand mixer, use a dough hook). Add the yeast mixture. Combine well.

If you are NOT using a stand mixer, at this stage, you will have to mix by hand using a wooden spoon, a small electric mixer won’t handle this much flour. Knead the rest of the flour by 1/2 c. increments, knead dough, by hand or stand mixer, until smooth and elastic. If dough is just slightly sticky (or tacky) to the touch and you haven’t added all of the flour, you don’t have to use it all. Using too much flour will give you just the flavor of flour and they will be very dry.

Lightly oil a large bowl with cooking spray, toss dough to coat, cover with a clean cloth. Place in a draft free spot for 15 minutes. Uncover, knead dough for 5-10 minutes.

Spray 2, 9” pie pans with cooking spray.

PREHEAT oven to 350 deg.

Divide dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each dough half into a 9×12 rectangle. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Brush each rectangle with 2 Tbsp. melted butter. Divide cinnamon/sugar mixture in half and spread each rectangle evenly with mixture.

Beginning at the broad, long side–tightly roll up the dough, producing a log shape. Place on a cutting board. Using a pizza cutter (my pref.) or very sharp knife, carefully cut dough into 11 pieces. Repeat with other rectangle.

Place pieces in 9” pan (flat, so you can see the swirl). If the pieces are touching one another, that is fine. Just don’t pack them in tightly.

At this point, you can cover the pans with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, simply remove plastic  wrap and pop them in the oven for breakfast!

Bake, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

To make the icing:

In medium bowl, place powdered sugar. Add milk and vanilla and mix with electric or stand mixer until smooth. Will be quite thin. Use a spoon to drizzle the icing onto the cinnamon rolls.

Keep tightly covered on kitchen counter for up to 3 days, if they last that long.

3 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour

4 tsp. ground ginger

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

2/3 c. vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 1/3 c. granulated sugar (I prefer C & H brand, pure cane sugar)

6 Tbsp. unsulphured molasses

1 c. natural, unsweetened applesauce

1 c. low-fat, plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the oil and egg until well combined. Add the sugar, eggs, and molasses. Combine well. Add in the applesauce and yogurt. Combine well.

Add in all of the remaining ingredients (flour through salt). Combine well…mixing on low until flour won’t “fly” around when mixing, scraping sides of bowl often w/rubber spatula. Then, mix on medium speed JUST until combined and smooth (overmixing will produce a tough cake).

Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean (do not overbake, test every 2 minutes if baking more than 35 minutes).

Let cool. Cut with a plastic knife (cake is moist, most knives will cause the cake to crumble/tear, plastic glides right through).

Utilizing some simple ways to shave off some unwanted fat and calories can put some extra sparkle in your table decorations, a delicious & beautiful dish on your holiday table—with no guilt trips afterward. And, to top it all off, this is VERY simple to throw together and doesn’t require the lengthy baking time of the traditional pumpkin pie.

The texture is a bit softer than traditional pie, but has that classic pumpkin pie flavor. Yum!

Serves: 8

FILLING:

16 oz can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

3 egg whites

1/2 c. brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 c. evaporated SKIM milk

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 tsp. molasses (optional, but lends a rich depth of flavor)

STRESEL TOPPING:

3/4 c. oat flour (grind up 3/4 c. old fashioned rolled oats in food processor until consistency of flour)

3 Tbsp. unbleached, white flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

**********************************

Preheat oven to 350

Spray 9-inch pie pan with cooing spray.

In large bowl, mix ingredients for filling. Combine well with a whisk. Pour into pie pan.

In medium bowl, combine streusel topping. Combine well with wooden spoon. Sprinkle a thin, even layer over filling mixture (you may not use all of the topping)

Bake, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes or until filling is set (doesn’t jiggle) and is lightly brown on top.
Cool on wire rack. Serve at room temp. Leftovers need to be covered and refrigerated.