Just Desserts

It was a snow day. Instead of being at school, the kids would've been in and out of the house asking for hot chocolate and something to eat. And they were.

I needed something to do, plus I needed something to subdue the wound up, snow laden munchkins. What better way to occupy myself and the mouths of noisy children than with dessert!

Particularly, desserts from The Big Book Of Diabetic Desserts, by Jackie Mills, MS, RD. The book's author created recipes that are "delicious compromises between often disappointing sugar-free, fat-free dessert and sugar-laden, high calorie sweets that should only be a very rare treat."

There is enough real sugar in the recipes to make them delicious, but not so much of it that it provides too high of a carb count.

Many of the recipes are anywhere between 15 carbs per serving to 33 carbs per serving (plus or minus). Each recipe is provided with an exchange and a nutrition listing. The serving sizes are as detailed as possible, but I think a little more precision could be given in that avenue. For instance, cakes are described as having 8 servings and some have 12 servings with a serving size being one slice. Hopefully the cake will be cut precisely so that one piece isn't bigger than the other, throwing off the carb count listed. But, other recipes are more precise with measurements given for a serving size. For instance, the Cocoa Brownies are listed as one serving being a two inch brownie.

I made the Cocoa Brownies. Now, I have two major personal criteria for what I consider to be needed for a brownie to be a good one. The first is that a brownie needs to be moist and fudgy, particularly in the middle. I don't like cakey brownies. The second is that the edges of the brownies must become crisp with a bit of a chew to it.

I set out making the brownies with high expectations that I hoped the recipe held to. And guess what. They did. They were exactly what I expected. Fudgy with a crispy edge on the outside pieces. The recipe was easy to follow and provided the perfect after-sledding snack at 16 carbs per brownie for my son who has diabetes.

By the end of the day, the entire batch was gone.

The next recipe I made was the Tropical Cloud Pie. I thought it would make a nice refreshing dessert for after dinner. It's described as being "Like a piña colada in a crust...." It was more like a mushy mess in a crust. The filling contained unflavored gelatin that was supposed to set it to become firm enough to slice through. I followed the recipe exactly, yet the filling never set as firmly as it was supposed to. To be fair, I will make it again to see whether it's a flaw in my cooking skills rather than a flaw in the recipe. But, for now, it remains to be seen.

Lastly, I made the Crispy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies. They're crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. I tossed a couple of cookies (no pun intended AT ALL) in the kids' snack bags for school and have repeatedly caught my youngest son's hand in the cookie jar. I would say that this recipe was a success.

I look forward to making more recipes from this cookbook. There are plenty of desserts that fit into the 15 carb perameters that a lot of adults and children have. Also, Jackie provides plenty of recipes that contain fruit so that you don't have to feel too guilty about having her decadent, yet healthy desserts.