Gingerbread People

Ingredients:

Cookies:

• 3 1/1 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup dark molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. grated orange or lemon zest

Icing:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tbsp. hot water
• 1/8 tsp. vanilla, orange, or lemon extract
• 1-2 drops food coloring (optional)

Makes 48 Servings (1 cookie per serving)

1. To prepare the cookies, in a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the brown sugar, oil and butter until fluffy, 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses, egg, and zest. Gradually add in the flour mixture until combined.
3. Divide the dough into 3 sections; flatten each into a disc. Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill thoroughly, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray.
5. Working one disk at a time and keeping the remaining dough in the refrigerator, roll the disk on a lightly floured counter t o1/4-inch thickness. Cut the dough with a 3-inch gingerbread man cutter into 16-inch cookies. Place on prepared baking sheet, 1 inch apart, and back until just barely dark, about 8 minutes. Repeat with the remaining 2 disks of dough. Cool on a rack.
6. To prepare the icing, in a medium bowl, stir together the confectioners' sugar, hot water, and flavored extract until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add, a few more drops of water. Tint with the food coloring, if desired. Decorate the thoroughly cooled gingerbread people with the icing.

WW POINTS VALUE: 2 pts.

Note: This recipe appears in the WW New Complete Cookbook. The holidays are here and you can have your gingerbread cookie and eat them too. Don't be intimidated by all the ingredients. When you follow the directions, the cookies turn out delicious. The longer you refrigerate or freeze the dough, the more flavorful the cookies will taste. The cookies will taste just as delicious without the icing. You can make this cookie any time of the year but use a different cookie cutter and they'll taste just as delicious. You can leave these cookies in a storage container in the refrigerator for up to a week and freeze them up to a month.

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole-grain pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup granular sugar substitute
• 1/2 cup 1% or fat-free buttermilk
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp lemon extract
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest

Makes 10 Servings

1. Preheat to oven to 350 F. Lightly coat an 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
2. Whisk together  flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl; forma  well in the center.
3. Beat egg whites with and electric mixer at high speed in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.
4. Beat egg yolk, sugar substitute, buttermilk, oil, lemon extract, and lemon zest in a medium bowl at medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
5. Pour egg yolk mixture into the center of dry ingredients; stir gently until just combined. Gently fold in half the egg whites, then fold in the remaining egg whites.
6. Pour batter into  pand and bake until edges are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 25-28 mintues. Let cool in the pan for 5 mintues, remove from the pan and transfer to a wire rack. Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

WW POINTS VALUE: 5 pts per serving

 

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook. This is a different kind of cake. Normally, you would think of olive oil as a main ingredient in a cake but it's acutally delicious. This cakea was made using olive oil in place of butter and whole grain flour instead of white flour. This cakes was filled with lots of lemon flavor and the texture was very moist thanks to the buttermil and the egg yolks and wgg whites being mixed separately. This cake was made with Lemon Infused Olive Oil I got at the Imperial Olive in Williamsburg, VA and it gave the cake more lemon and olive oil flavor. I highly recommend serving this cake for dessert topped with fresh berries when your having company. It tastes better than a pound cake and it's much more sophisticated.

 

Raspberry "Shortcakes"

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups whole-grain pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup 1 % of fat-free buttermilk
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup granular sugar substitute
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
• 2 tsp lemon extract

Topping:

• 1 cup low-fat yogurt
• 1 cup fat-free or light whipped topping
• 2 cups fresh raspberries

Makes 8 Servings

1. For the cake: Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly coat a 7-by 11-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl; form a well in the center.
3. In a medium large bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes; set aside.
4. In another medium bowl, with an electrc mixer at medium speed, beat egg yolks, buttermilk, oil, sugar substitute, zest and lemon extract until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour yolk mixture into center of dry ingredients; stir gently until just combined. Gently fold in half of the egg whites to lighten the batter, then fold in the remaining whites until just combined.
5. Pour batter into pan and bake until edges are lightly brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-22 minutes. Let cake cool in pan; remove from pan and transfer to wire rack to cool completely. When ready to serve, cut cooled cake into 8 (2 1/2- by 3 1/2-inch) pieces.
6. For the topping: Just before serving, place yogurt in a small bowl and fold in whipped topping. Spoon 1/4 cup topping and 1/4 cup raspberries onto each piece of cake and serve.

WW POINTS VALUE: 6 pts

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Parties & Holidays Cookbook. This dessert is a classic twist on the traditional American dessert Strawberry Shortcake. The whipped yogurt topping is fluffy and even more delicious when you add a little bit of almond and vanilla extracts. If you don't have any lemon extract, don't worry. You can use vanilla and or almond extracts in place of the lemon extract and the cake will still taste delicious. You can also use any kind of berry as a topping and it will still be delicious. Also, don't forget to mix your dry ingredients separately from your wet ingredients so the cake will come out fluffy and moist. I've also learned from previous cake making experiences that the key to a fluffy and moist cake is buttermilk. Buttermilk just makes sweet dishes melt in your mouth. I highly recommend serving this sweet dessert for company and this dessert is also made best on the day of the party because it's fresh and moist.