I've mentioned before on this blog that diabetes runs in my family which isn't necessarily ideal when you love to bake as much as I do. Inevitably this question always seems to come up when I make something for the relatives, "can you make it less sweet"?
How excited was I when America's Test Kitchen recently came out with a cookbook specifically dedicated to baking with less sugar, entitled Naturally Sweet. If this book didn't have my family's name written all over it I don't know what would!
The recipes in the book use alternatives to the traditional granulated white sugar, which helps to bring down the level of sweetness. Sucanat, an unrefined cane sugar, is the one predominantly used in Naturally Sweet.
I was keen to test out a recipe to see if the cookbook really lived up
to its claims and decided to have a go at one of my all-time favorite
cookies,
Oatmeal Raisin. The cookie dough came together really easily, although
you do have to take the extra step of grinding the Sucanat in a spice
grinder.
The cookies browned beautifully in the oven with crispy edges and a soft center, just how I like them! They tasted great and had a very nice molasses flavor to them. I didn't even miss the extra sugar to be honest but the true test was to get other people's review.
I brought the cookies in to the office but didn't disclose that they were low sugar. My co-workers devoured them and when I revealed that they were made with less sugar they were completely surprised. One person even said I could have cut the sweetener a little more and they still would have been fantastic. Now that's a testimonial if I ever heard one! I plan on making more recipes from the cookbook for my family to enjoy this holiday season.
My friends at America's Test Kitchen have kindly donated two copies of Naturally Sweet to give away to my blog readers. Here's how to enter:
GIVEAWAY RULES:
1) Only open to those with a U.S. mailing address
2) Leave your email address in the comments section of this post. Sorry, comments without an email address will be disqualified.
3) Deadline for entry: Saturday December 31 at 11:59pm PST.
Good Luck!
