43
Pretty pastries with pizzazz
When you make desserts on a smaller scale, both your sweet tooth and your waistline will give thanks. Plus, these tiny treats can be a great fit for parties, group meetings or church potlucks.
Looking for an alternative to pie dough or graham cracker crust, I decided to experiment with some mini phyllo dough shells. You can find them in the freezer section near the pie dough or bread dough, and these shells helped me turn high-calorie pies into bite-sized delights.
To lighten up the toffee bar crunch filling, I chose fat-free half-and half, sugar-free pudding mix and Cool Whip Lite. The original recipe called for a cupful of crushed candy bars, but I slash the fat and calorie count by using a mixture of crushed chocolate graham crackers and candy bar crumbs. My alterations to this filling cut the calories by 47 percent and the fat by 58 percent. You can have four of my mini toffee bar crunch pastries for 104 calories and 5.4 fat grams.
I slimmed down the frozen lemonade filling with some sugar-free drink mix, light ice cream and Cool Whip Lite, shaving off 35 percent of the calories and 39 percent of the fat. Four of my mini frozen lemonade pastries contain 96 calories and 5.2 fat grams.
Want to put my fillings into regular-sized pie shells? To make a lighter toffee bar crunch pie, make a double batch of my filling, pour it into a 9-inch graham cracker crust and freeze until firm, about six hours or overnight. This pie serves eight people, and one slice has 301 calories and 14 fat grams. For a lighter frozen lemonade pie, make a double batch of my filling, pour it into a 9-inch pre-baked pie crust and freeze until firm. One-eighth of this pie contains 201 calories and 10 grams of fat.
KATHY’S MINI TOFFEE BAR CRUNCH PASTRIES
3‚Ñ4 cup cold fat-free half-and-half
1‚Ñ2 of one (1-ounce) package sugar-free and fat- free instant vanilla pudding mix
1‚Ñ2 of one (8-ounce) container Cool Whip Lite
1‚Ñ2 of one (1.4- ounce) chocolate-covered English toffee bar (such as Heath), finely crumbled
3 chocolate graham cracker squares, crushed
72 mini phyllo dough shells, such as Athens
Pour the fat-free half- and-half into a large bowl. Add the pudding mix. Beat with a wire whisk until well blended. Let mixture stand 5 minutes. Fold in the Cool Whip Lite, graham cracker crumbs and crumbled toffee bar. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of filling into each mini phyllo shell. Freeze until firm, about 1 hour. Remove from the freezer and let stand at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes to soften before serving. Store any leftovers in the freezer.
Serves 18.
Per serving (4 filled mini shells): 104 calories, 14 carb grams, 108mg sodium, 5.4 fat grams, trace cholesterol, trace protein, no fiber.
Adapted from the “Red Hat Society Cookbook”
KATHY’S MINI FROZEN LEMONADE PASTRIES
1 teaspoon sugar-free lemonade drink mix, such as Crystal Light
1‚Ñ4 cup water
1 cup Edy’s Slow Churned Light Vanilla ice cream, softened
1‚Ñ2 of one (8-ounce) container Cool Whip Lite
72 mini phyllo shells, such as Athens
Optional garnish: Lemon zest
Stir the powdered drink mix into the water. With an electric mixer, beat the lemonade mixture and the ice cream in a large bowl on low speed until blended. Fold in the Cool Whip Lite and mix well. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of filling into each mini phyllo shell. Freeze until firm, about 1 hour. Remove from the freezer and let stand at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes to soften before serving. Store any leftovers in the freezer.
Makes 72 shells. Serves 18.
Per serving (4 filled mini shells): 96 calories, 58mg sodium, 5.2 fat grams, 1mg cholesterol, 6 carb grams, no protein, no fiber
Adapted from the “Red Hat Society Cookbook”