Best sweeteners to make my favorite baked goods a little lower in calories?

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abbynormalartist
abbynormalartist Posts: 318 Member
in Recipes
I haven't used anything but straight up white or brown sugar in baking before but am looking to make some of my favorite sweets a little lower calorie. I've made some of the usual switches- applesauce for oil, etc, but some of my treats take a cup or two of sugar so I want to try to tone that down! What are the best sweeteners to use when baking? Anything I should know about any of them? - like use less, bake longer, etc?

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  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    It depends on what sugar is doing in the recipe. If the recipe is depending on a caramelizing effect, only sugar will do.

    If the sugar is simply sweetening the product, you may substitute an artificial sweetener.

    Splenda brand is good for baking. Try the brown sugar blend where brown sugar is called for.

    Stevia is pretty decent too. I find it has a tingle aftertaste that is well masked by cinnamon.

    You may try cutting the sugar in half to see what it does.

    You may skip or replace the icing with something lower cal.

    Or you can leave a decent recipe alone and cut smaller squares.
  • Treehugger_88
    Treehugger_88 Posts: 207 Member
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    I also use the stevia/cinnamon combination with good results.
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
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    Stevia
  • MogwaisGrandma
    MogwaisGrandma Posts: 196 Member
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    Sukrin
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    I like the Splenda version specifically for baking. The other sweeteners you have to play around with to get the right amount. But the baking Splenda - IIRC - is 1:1. Or maybe it says on the package how much to use - maybe both.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    edited July 2017
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    Baking is a science, so substitutions, particularly when sugar contributes more than sweetness to a recipe (it does a lot for texture, leavening, and crunch, too http://www.finecooking.com/article/what-every-baker-needs-to-know-about-sugar) can be trial-and-error. What I've seen my lower-calorie desserts do (and again, you'll probably need to play around to get the right balance) are:
    • Less sweetener, more fruit. Raisins are great.
    • Less oil, more unsweetened applesauce or other viscous liquid, like pureed prunes. That may not cut sugar, but it will cut calories.
    • More egg whites, fewer whole eggs

    I haven't really seen much baking with sugar substitutes, but I agree that Splenda, which is partly formulated for baking, is probably a good bet.
  • trisH_7183
    trisH_7183 Posts: 1,486 Member
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    mledford0116 wrote: »
    This might too specific but when I bake chocolate chio cookies, I cut the sugars to a third of what it calls for and the chocolate chips in half and add very finely chopped dates. My kids have never noticed.

    How do you chop dates? Maybe my knife wasn't sharp enough,but the few times I tried,ended up with a large sticky mess.Do you add something,or chop in a food processor?

  • Tried30UserNames
    Tried30UserNames Posts: 561 Member
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    Often I just use less sugar. If a baked good calls for a cup of sugar, I might use 2/3 or half a cup. Depending on the recipe, it may be barely noticeable. For artificial sweeteners, I think Swerve tastes pretty much like sugar without that funny artificial taste or the horrific taste of stevia. It is grainy so it doesn't work in something like a cream cheese frosting. It has to be in something that is going to be heated, baked or cooked so it "melts" into the food. However, different people seem to taste different things in artificial sweeteners so you probably have to try them to see what is most like sugar to your taste buds.

    I've used dates to sweeten things. I just chop them with a knife. I've chopped them in the food processor when I want more of a paste, but it does get sticky.

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