Tag: Low-To-No Sugar Showdown

Turtle Brownie Cheesecake

This Turtle Brownie Cheesecake is a delightful dessert that is super impressive, yet quite easy to make.

You start with a chocolate almond flour crust.

It creates a nice sturdy base for this cheesecake.

It’s also fun to press it into the pan.

On top of the crust layer, goes the layer featuring dark chocolate chips. (Both Hershey’s and Lilly’s have good options.) Next, you add chopped pecans and sugar-free caramel. An ice cream topping, such as Smucker’s, works great for this layer. The fourth layer is the cheesecake layer. Then you bake it. It takes just over an hour. An internal 150 degree temperature is perfect for knowing it’s done.

Do not be alarmed when it comes out darkened. It will resemble a Basque-type cheesecake that looks burnt. It’s not.

You top Turtle Brownie Cheesecake with more pecans and caramel drizzle. The pecan halves are so visual. So is the caramel drizzle. As a result, you’ll have a mouth-watering look to this dessert. Finish it with a sprinkling of sea salt or flaked salt and the flavor will really pop.

This is an example of a chocolate dessert you could compete with in the Splenda Magic Baker “Low-To-No-Sugar Showdown at the 2023 Minnesota State Fair. Learn more about the 2023 special contests here.

No-Sugar Gourmet Banana Bread

This award-winning No-Sugar Gourmet Banana Bread took 1st place at the 2022 Minnesota State Fair. The Splenda Magic Baker “Low-To-No Sugar Showdown” recipe contest was new this year. It called for quick and delicious quick breads.

This blue ribbon winning bread comes from Gina Walker, who won $200 and some bigtime bragging rights.

Gina had never before competed in a recipe contest or at the State Fair. Gina was cheered on by a good friend who has diabetes. In fact, Gina says she never would have entered without her friend’s encouragement.

Baking Tips

Here are some great tips about this recipe:

Make sure you bananas are overly ripe, fragrant and flavorful. Gina likes to tuck hers in a dark cupboard until they’re blackened. She often freezes mashed portions of them to have on hand throughout the year
Also, don’t skip the coconut extract or orange juice.
And don’t be scared of the amount of baking powder the recipe calls for: 1 1/2 tablespoons. No, it is not a typo.

We have made this no-sugar gourmet banana bread numerous times and can attest to it’s deliciousness. For some reason, because of how all the ingredients work together, this bread comes out tasting fantastic every time.

The most recent time we baked it, we made mini loaves and added shredded unsweetened coconut. YUM! They make great gifts for friends and freeze well. And with a smear of peanut butter, a slice is even more magical, if that is possible!

Enjoy!

-Cyndi

Sugar-Free Coconut Icebox Cookies with Low-Sugar Cookie Dip

These Sugar-Free Coconut Icebox Cookies are buttery, delicious and made with just a handful of ingredients. They are easy to make and pair perfectly with a low-sugar cream cheese cookie dip!

Icebox cookies simply means you chill the dough after making it and before baking. We shaped ours into a long rectangle but you could do round or oval instead. Then you just “slice and bake” when you’re ready for some fresh-baked cookies. You can even freeze the dough to have on hand whenever a craving hits.

A Short Ingredient List

For these sugar-free coconut icebox cookies, the short ingredient list includes flour, baking soda, salt, butter, and egg. Instead of sugar, you use a Splenda sweetener, like brown sugar or the new Magic Baker zero sugar baking blend (now available on Amazon and at Walmart or other stores). Then you can flavor the cookies like we did, with a coconut extract, or opt for your favorite flavoring. Personally, we are working our way through our favorite extracts, ranging from coconut and pumpkin spice, to cotton candy and citrus blends.

The cookie dip is such a fun idea, with the best part being you get to choose your cookie to frosting ratio. Or you can frost each cookie instead. A tip with the dip/frosting is to make confectioners type sugar out of Splenda granulated sugar and cornstarch. And just like with the cookie dough, you can flavor the dip/frosting with your favorite flavoring.

“Low-To-No Sugar Showdown” Recipe Contest

We created this cookie to celebrate the first year of our Splenda Magic Baker “Low-To-No Sugar Showdown” and the upcoming contest at the State Fair of Texas. The fair runs Sep 30 to Oct 23 (2022), with the contest landing on Wednesday, October 5, 2022. The fair’s Creative Arts Building is where all their cooking contests happen and they have a terrific line-up. Hats off to all the aspiring blue ribbon bakers and amateur chefs there. We’re rooting for you!

Whether or not you are competing, we invite you to bake these sugar-free coconut icebox cookies. Be sure to share and tag @BlueRibbonFoodies on Instagram and/or Facebook if you do! You never know when a giveaway will pop up.

And if you are at the State Fair of Texas please join us for all the ”Low-To-No Sugar Showdown” events.

Splenda “Low-to-No Sugar Showdown” 10/5/2022

@ Contest Kitchen (Creative Arts Building)

9am Entry Drop Off + Free Product Giveaway
10:30am Judging
12pm-ish Awards

@ Celebrity Chef Stage (Creative Arts Building)

4:30pm Sponsor Showcase + Free Product Giveaway
Diabetes-Friendly Baking & Cooking
Featuring Andrea Luongo; Dieticians of Dallas