Fat Free Baking: A Few Good Recipes

Fat-Free Pumpkin Muffins just out of my oven

While I enjoy cooking authentic foods and embrace Julia Child's no holds barred approach to butter usage, you just can't eat like that every day. In general, I try to cook sensibly--reducing fat and using monounsaturates, sneaking in fruits and veggies in unlikely places, and upping the fiber with whole grain flours and flax meal.


Lately, I have been trying to be more mindful of the the kinds and portions of foods I eat. I am totally a carb addict so I can not go without an occasional treat. Plus, I live with two boys and Jim who appreciate those little homemade goodies. Over the past couple weeks I have been testing out and revisiting various fat free baked good recipes.


First, I made Chewy Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies (originally from the Dr. Cookie Cookbook). They were a lot more cakey than my usual oatmeal cookies, but still enjoyable. They were filled with chewy fruit, nuts, and oatmeal. Very nutritious. The boys enjoyed them and I felt pretty good about letting them eat 'em up. 
MY CHANGES, I subbed prune puree for half of the applesauce and used my trusty combination of oat and whole wheat flours in place of the all-purpose flour. Instead of wasting a bunch of egg yolks, I used 1/2 cup of EggBeaters instead of egg whites. In place of the recommended nuts and fruit, I used dates and pecans. I also upped the amount of oats by nearly a cup. These make a nice breakfast cookie with a cup of Earl Grey tea.

Moist and spicy with bits of chocolate chips. Mmmm.

Next, I made Fat Free Pumpkin Muffins. I found this recipe a while back when Jim's mom was on a fat-free diet. Most of the muffins I make are pretty healthy, but these definitely took it up a notch. Pumpkin puree is a great way to reduce or remove fat from baked goods. These are moist and springy. 
MY CHANGES: I added cinnamon and other pumpkin pie spices, chopped dried cherries, and a handful of bittersweet chocolate chips. Also used EggBeaters and my whole grain flour mix. I used pumpkin that Jim had roasted and frozen in the fall. I used honey in place of the corn syrup and reduced the granulated sugar by half. Also, tried it with butternut squash with excellent results. These were such a hit with Sam, Ethan, and I that I made them 3 weekends in a row!  Nice with Chai.

Very chocolatey! Don't they look good?

Then, I was just having one of those I-could-eat-a-bucket-of-chocolate days. I needed brownies! Once again I decided to try a fat free version. I have had good luck in the past with reduced fat versions, but the only time I tried a fat free version, it was too spongey. This healthy brownie recipe from Spork or Foon is not quite as dense and fudgy and chewy as full fat brownies, but it did satisfy my chocolate craving. They have a strong bittersweet taste and are somewhere between fudgey and cakey. I will likely make them again. 
MY CHANGES: I used egg beaters instead of egg whites, part oat flour, reduced sugar to 3/4 cup, added 1-2 extra Tbs. cocoa and omitted coffee granules. I also added a 1/2 tsp. baking powder.  No tea with these; maybe a small cup of milk.


Here are my observations in general. First, while the recipes I started with had no fat, they were still lllllloaded with sugar. I reduced it somewhat, but truth be told it could easily be reduced much more. What can I say? I like sugar! But I do plan to use less refined sugar and more natural products like honey, brown rice syrup, and agave. Second, there is definitely something lost in the texture when you take out all the fat. No crispiness, and the outside becomes sticky after being stored overnight. But they are satisfying still and much more guilt free. 


Good as an everyday kind of treat, but I'll be keeping the full fat recipes for those occasions when you just need the taste and crispness only butter can produce.