Five Ingredient Low-Fat Pear-Cherry Crisp for St. Patrick’s Day

Coming up with five ingredient recipes can be really challenging as a Recipe Developer, especially when it comes to desserts. I love warm desserts such as cobblers and crisps. A crisp is a dessert of fruit that is topped with a crumbly pastry mixture, usually oats, brown sugar and butter. Using low-fat granola is a great way to cut down on the amount of ingredients. This recipe is very simple, low-fat, great for kids, and it works well in individual baking dishes, such as this clover for St. Patrick’s Day. 

 

Pear-Cranberry Crisp

Prep: 5 minutes

Cook: 35 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

4 very ripe pears such as Bartlett, Anjou, or Seckel pears, peeled, cored, and chopped  

1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries

1/21 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup low-fat granola (I used Udi’s original)

Preparation

1. Saute pears over medium heat in a large saute pan coated with cooking spray  7 to 9 minutes or until slightly softened; stir in cinnamon.

2. Transfer to a lightly greased 11/2-quart baking dish. Stir in cranberries and honey, stirring well.  Bake at 375F 20 to 25 minutes. Top with granola and cook 5 to 10 minutes more or until granola is lightly browned.

St. Patrick’s Day Dessert: Irish Bread Pudding

I usually prepare bread pudding during Thanksgiving since I love a traditional Southern Bread Pudding drizzled with whiskey sauce. This recipe is a twist on my recipe, and it’s a great dessert idea for  St. Patrick’s day. This bread pudding is flavored with Irish whiskey and is actually a low-fat recipe weighing in at 367 calories and 6.5 grams of fat. 

By the way, I will be on Fox 6 News, WBRC in Birmingham, Alabama this Sunday at 8:40 a.m central time.

 

Irish Bread Pudding

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 45 minutes

Stand: 10 minutes

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

1/4  cup  light butter, melted

1  (10-ounce) French bread baguette, cut into 1-inch-thick slices

1/2  cup  raisins

1/4  cup  Irish whiskey or 1/4 cup apple juice

1 3/4  cups  1% low-fat milk

1  cup  sugar

1  tablespoon  vanilla extract

1  (12-ounce) can evaporated skim milk

2  large eggs, lightly beaten

Cooking spray

1  tablespoon  sugar

1  teaspoon  ground cinnamon

Irish Whiskey Sauce

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Brush melted butter on one side of French bread slices, and place bread, buttered sides up, on a baking sheet. Bake bread at 350° for 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cut bread into 1/2-inch cubes, and set aside.

3. Combine raisins and whiskey in a small bowl; cover and let stand 10 minutes or until soft (do not drain).

4. Combine 1% milk and next 4 ingredients (1% milk through eggs) in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add bread cubes and raisin mixture, pressing gently to moisten; let stand 15 minutes. Spoon bread mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine 1 tablespoon sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over pudding. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until set. Serve warm with Caramel-Whiskey Sauce.

Irish Whiskey Sauce:

Prep: 5 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes

Yield: 1 1/2 cups 

Ingredients

1 1/2  cups  sugar

2/3  cup  water

1/4  cup  light butter

2  ounces  1/3-less-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel) (about 1/4 cup)

1/4  cup  Irish whiskey

1/4  cup  1% low-fat milk

Preparation

1. Combine sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Cook an additional 15 minutes or until golden (do not stir). Remove from heat. Carefully add butter and cream cheese, stirring constantly with a whisk (mixture will be hot and bubble vigorously). Cool slightly, and stir in whiskey and milk.

Note: Substitute 1 tablespoon imitation rum extract and 3 tablespoons water for the Irish whiskey, if desired.

It’s Easy and Low-Fat-Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie is one of the most popular Thanksgiving desserts (next to Pecan pie), and this particular low-fat version from Cooking Light magazine has been one of my Thanksgiving staples. One slice only yields 7 grams of fat, 35 carbohydrates and a little over 200 calories. If you really want to trim this recipe, use low-fat or nonfat whipped topping instead of the topping below. Your guests will never know that this recipe is light, but when you tell them they might just go for one more slice.

 

Pumpkin Pie

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 1 hour

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

3/4  cup  packed brown sugar

1 3/4  teaspoons  pumpkin pie spice

1/4  teaspoon  salt

1  (12-ounce) can evaporated low-fat milk

2  large egg whites

1  large egg

1  (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin

1/2  (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)

Cooking spray

1/4  cup  whipping cream

1  tablespoon  amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur)

2  teaspoons  powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Position oven rack to lowest position.

2. Preheat oven to 425°.

3. To prepare filling, combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add pumpkin, and stir with a whisk until smooth.

4. To prepare crust, roll dough into an 11-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under and flute.

5. Pour pumpkin mixture into the crust. Place pie plate on a baking sheet. Place baking sheet on lowest oven rack. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove pie from oven); bake an additional 50 minutes or until almost set. Cool completely on wire rack.

6. To prepare topping, beat cream with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Add the amaretto and powdered sugar, and beat until blended. Serve with pie.

Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light see http://cookinglight.com