Bikini-Friendly Indulgences Sticky Buns & Fudge Recipes

Monday, June 16th, 2008

Bikini-Friendly Indulgences Sticky Buns & Fudge Recipes

Even when preparing for swimsuit season, you still need a treat now and then. Two new cookbooks will help you find delectable desserts that you don’t have to feel guilty eating. Simple or sophisticated, you’ll find recipes in both books to satisfy the need for something sweet.

The Most Decadent Diet Ever!:The cookbook that reveals the secrets to cooking your favorites in a healthier way, is the companion book to Devin Alexander’s television show of the same name. Her recipes rich and satisfying but are healthier than the original versions. Recipes include Chipotle Chili with Blue Cheese Crumbles, “Fried” Jumbo Shrimp, Super-Stuffed Steak Soft Tacos, Fettu-Skinny Alfredo, Godiva Brownie Sundaes, and Chocolate Chip Pancakes.

Lisa Lillien’s Hungry Girl:Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World is a cookbook for cooks as well as non-cooks. Her recipes are generally short and sweet and often use packaged or convenience foods. Recipes include Ooey Gooey Chili Cheese Nachos, Big Bopper Burger Stopper, Lord of the Onion Rings, 7-Layer Burrito Blitz, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sweet Potato Pie and Cookie-rific Ice Cream Freeze.

Dreamy Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
Makes 36 servings

Ingredients:
One 18.3-ounce box Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies Traditional Chewy Brownie Mix
2 cups canned pure pumpkin
2 Tablespoons reduced-fat peanut butter, at room temperature

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine pumpkin with the brownie mix in a large bowl and stir until smooth (batter will be very thick, but don’t add anything else!)

Spray a square baking pan (9×9 works best) with nonstick spray and pour in the mixture. Spoon the peanut butter on top and use a knife to swirl it around the top of the batter. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. (The batter will remain very thick and fudgy, and it should look undercooked.) Allow to cool.

Cover pan with foil and place pan in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Cut into 36 squares.

Per serving (1 piece) 65 calories, 1g fat, 57 mg sodium, 14g carbs, 1g fiber, 9g sugars, 1g protein

Sinless Yet Sinful Sticky Buns
Makes 20 Sticky Buns; 20 Servings

Ingredients:
1 cup fat-free milk
1/3 cup light brown sugar (not packed)
1 tablespoon light butter
1/4 cup fat-free, artificially sweetened vanilla yogurt
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
3-3/4 cups plus 4 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Butter-flavored cooking spray
1 recipe Cinnamon Filling
1 recipe Sticky Topping

Combine the milk, brown sugar, and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for about 2 minutes, until the milk is hot (130°F). Whisk in the yogurt and continue whisking until the sugar dissolves (some small lumps of yogurt may be visible). Add the egg and egg white. Whisk to mix well. Add the yeast and whisk in until dissolved.

Combine 3-3/4 cups flour, the cinnamon, and the salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or in a large mixing bowl. Mix with the hook or stir by hand with a wooden spoon. Pour in the milk mixture, and then mix on medium or stir vigorously until well combined. The mixture will be very sticky. One tablespoon at a time, add up to 4 tablespoons of the remaining flour, mixing or stirring to incorporate the flour into the dough until it is just a bit sticky.

Turn the dough onto a floured work surface. Add more flour, no more than 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed, as you knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. The dough should be soft and barely sticky.

Lightly mist a large bowl with spray. Place the dough in the bowl and mist the top of it with spray. Then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, prepare the Cinnamon Filling and the Sticky Topping.
When the dough has doubled, gently punch it down and place it on the lightly floured surface. Knead for 1 minute. Cover with the plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

Lightly mist a 13 X 9-inch ovenproof glass baking dish with spray. Stir the Sticky Topping just enough to recombine the ingredients, and then pour it into the bottom of the baking dish. Set aside.

Cut the dough in half. Return half of it to the bowl and re-cover it. Use a floured rolling pin (don’t reflour the work surface if at all possible) to roll the remaining piece of dough into a 24 X 7-inch rectangle, making sure the ends are as wide and as long as the center. Use a butter knife to spread half of the reserved butter for the Cinnamon Filling evenly over the dough. Sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture evenly over the top. Starting at one longer side, roll the dough snugly in jelly-roll fashion into a log. Cut the log into 10 equal rounds. Place each round, spiral side up, evenly spaced, in the dish on top of the Sticky Topping. Repeat with the second half of the dough and add the rounds to the dish. Lightly mist a piece of plastic wrap with spray and use it to cover the dish. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until the sticky buns have risen.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Uncover the dish and bake for 21 to 25 minutes, or until just barely golden brown on top and a tiny bit doughy in the very center. Run a butter knife around the sides of the dish to loosen the sticky buns. Turn the hot buns out onto a platter. Cool for about 30 minutes. Brush any of the topping pooling on the platter over the buns, or pull them apart and dip them in it. Serve immediately.

Cinnamon Filling
2 tablespoons light butter
3 tablespoons light brown sugar (packed)
1-1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Place the butter in a small bowl and set it aside to soften. Stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon in a second small bowl.

Sticky Topping
1/4 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup light butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
Use an electric mixer fitted with beaters to beat the brown sugar, butter, honey, and corn syrup in a medium mixing bowl until well combined.

Each 2-Decadent-Disk serving (1 sticky bun) has: 190 calories, 5g protein, 37g carbohydrates, 4g fat, 2g saturated fat, 19mg cholesterol, 1g fiber, 137 mg sodium
You save: 82 calories, 8g fat, 2g saturated fat
Traditional serving: 272 calories, 5g protein, 38g carbohydrates, 12g fat, 4g saturated fat, 29mg cholesterol, 1g fiber, 359mg sodium

——-Amy Sherman

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