Holiday Healthy Sweets: Delicous Chocolate Recipes

December 21, 2009 by Administrator
Filed under Activities & Fun

By: Rona Lewis.

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When it’s cold out, there’s nothing better than a little mother-daughter bonding baking in the kitchen together. I’m giving you three sweet treats that are easy, fun, and the chocolate-peanut butter bars even work as a nice holiday treats for teachers, parents, neighbors, and kids.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars

I grew up on a version of these. My Mom and I used to make these on snowy weekends when we were stuck inside. Choose natural peanut butter that is either smooth or chunky. The nuts are a great source of protein. And they’re also extraordinarily high in polyphenols – the strong man of antioxidants. While a little high in fat, it’s the “good” kind — monounsaturated fat. They also contain magnesium, folate, vitamin E, copper, arginine, and fiber – all of which are known to lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Prep Time-10 minutes
Cook Time-25 minutes
Makes about 30 bars

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
1 cup natural peanut butter, chunky or smooth
5 packets of Stevia or Splenda (more or less depending on how sweet you like it)
1 egg
4 oz. Dark chocolate, broken into pieces

Pre-heat oven to 325. Mix peanut butter, stevia and egg until blended. Press the dough into a 10×7 inch baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes. Immediately arrange chocolate on top and cover lightly with aluminum foil. Let it stand 3-4 minutes until chocolate is melty. Spread chocolate over the entire surface and cut into 2×1” bars. Cool.

Per Serving: Calories: 75; Total fat: 6gr; Sodium: 4gr; Carbohydrates: 4gr; Protein: 2gr; Sugars: 3gr

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Chocolate-Glazed Pears

My favorite pear for this recipe is the Comice. They’re juicy and flavorful and work very well with the chocolate. The pears are high in fiber and Vitamin C.

Prep Time- 30 minutes
Cook Time-10 minutes
Serves 6
Extra Time: 20 minutes (for cooling and setting)

Ingredients:
3 cups water
4 packets of Stevia
1 lemon peel twist (2-inch)
6 USA Bosc or Comice pears
6 oz dark chocolate or semi sweet baking chocolate
2 tbsp Smart Balance butter spread

Combine water, stevia and lemon twist in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Pare pears and trim slightly to level bottom; core pears, leaving stem intact. Add pears to poaching liquid; reduce heat. Cover and simmer gently about 8 to 10 minutes or until tender when pierced with the tip of sharp knife; turn and baste occasionally.

Remove pears from liquid; stand them on flat dish to cool. Melt chocolate and Smart Balance over very low heat. Dry pears completely with paper towels. Holding each pear carefully by the stem, spoon or drip chocolate mixture over pear to coat. Let stand in cool place to set chocolate. Arrange pears on serving dish.

Per Serving: Calories: 264; Total fat: 9gr; Sodium: 32gr; Carbohydrates: 46gr; Protein: 2gr; Sugars: 32gr

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Chocolate Cheesecake

Any cheesecake worth eating is usually sinfully fattening–I’ve just reworked this one so one slice didn’t equal a whole day’s worth of fat grams.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: About 2 hours
Serves 10

Ingredients:
1 lb (2 – 8 oz. Packages) low fat cream cheese
4 oz. Dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 tsp. Cocoa
5 packets Stevia
3 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
3 C fat free sour cream

Preheat oven to 375. Finely chop chocolate in a food processor or use a knife. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sweeteners until smooth; add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and finely chopped chocolate, and then beat in the sour cream until just blended. Put in a pre-formed pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, depending on your oven and how brown the top gets. Then turn off the oven and don’t open the door for another hour. Remove from oven, cool, then chill completely before serving.

Per Serving: Calories: 239; Total fat: 13gr; Sodium: 253gr; Carbohydrates: 21gr; Protein: 9gr; Sugars: 6gr

Rona Lewis 175