One Smart Cookie Cookbook
Wonderful Low Fat Baking From Julie Van Rosendaal
Cookbook author, mom and the “Queen of the Skinny Sweet,” Julie Van Rosendaal knows a thing or three about low-fat baking. Sound like a contradiction? Not in Julie’s books or more specifically in her much lauded revised and updated One Smart Cookie cookbook. The book’s tagline “All your favourite cookies, squares, brownies and biscotti… with less fat!” makes this humble scribe sit up and pay attention (especially post-Valentines when a few extra gym sessions are much needed).
Walking the Walk
Van Rosendaal practices what she preaches. Along with providing cookie jar-snatching worthy treats, she lost an incredible 165 pounds by learning how to make all her favourite dishes with less fat. Now she shares her invaluable tips and tricks with us, offering everything from rolled cookies, icebox cookies, biscotti, squares & bars to Holiday treats, frostings and drizzles.
So how does Van Rosendaal manage to cut the fat in baking without affecting her creation’s flavour, texture and mouth-feel? After much experimentation, testing, tasting and re-testing, Van Rosendaal says, “One of the most important things I learned from years of owning a low-fat cookie bakery… is that most cookie recipes contain far more fat than they need. Another major discovery was that when you remove something from a recipe (such as fat or sugar), you don’t always need to replace it with something else.” Bottom line, Van Rosendaal’s meticulous "trial and error "as she calls it means that she’s taken the guess work out of her melt-in-your-mouth recipes for you, so you can enjoy the fruits of her labour. Nothing crummy about that!
The Proof is in the Pudding (or cookie, bar, square...)
Van Rosendaal also offers readers alternative sweetening options, dairy products and leavening agents. But best of all, her recipes speak for themselves. If you’re a fan of New York City deli favourite, Black and White Cookies, this book has you covered. Carrot Cake Cookies with a swirl of cream cheese frosting look divine as do the Devil’s Food Crackles (a time saver as it’s made with cake mix no less!).
Classics like fat-reduced gingersnaps, peanut butter cookies and chocolate chip cookies are on stand -by along with more celebratory hazelnut cappuccino biscotti and white chocolate truffles. In all, there are 300 tempting recipes from which to choose with each recipe’s Nutrition Facts chart neatly printed beside each offering for your information. Making a tasty decision was never so fun or easy – unless of course you’re stymied by choice!
In my next posting, Julie Van Rosendaal kindly offers up a recipe or two for Food Trend readers from "One Smart Cookie." Come back soon- you Don’t want to miss this tasty treat!
