5 Guilt-Free & Oh-So-Good Holiday Desserts

This year don’t bypass the dessert table for the sake of staying on track. Use one of these five guilt-free (but oh-so-good) dessert recipes to whip up something you and your waistline will both enjoy!

Sweet Potato Chocolate Mousse with Apple Butter from Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa
The mellow, pumpkin-like flavors of sweet potatoes paired with tangy apple butter and a little chocolately heaven. Divine!
Serves 8

What you’ll need:

Sweet Potato Chocolate Mousse
3 large sweet potatoes
1-1/2 cups cocoa powder unsweetened
1/4 cup water warm
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup blueberries fresh (optional)

Apple Butter
3 medium apples Fuji, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 cup apple juice concentrate, undiluted

What you’ll do:

Sweet Potato Chocolate Mousse
1. In a 400°F oven, bake the sweet potatoes, each wrapped in foil, until their syrupy juices start to seep out, usually about one hour. Cool. Then peel and crush them. The yield should be 3 cups.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine cocoa powder, water, and vanilla extract. Mix well, using a whisk or wooden spoon, until smooth
3. Add cocoa mixture, sweet potatoes, and blueberries to food processor. Puree until smooth. Chill.

Apple Butter
1. In a medium nonstick sauté pan, combine chopped apples and apple juice concentrate. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are soft, about 10 minutes. Scoop mixture into food processor, and pulse until smooth. Cool and refrigerate.
2. Divide dessert into individual parfait glasses. Spoon in apple butter. Top with a dollop of mousse. If desired, garnish with raspberries and a sprig of mint.

Bananas Flambé from Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa
The typical calorie count in a serving of Bananas Flambé is often 400-plus calories. These are desserts that will burn not only bananas but your weight-control goals! Instead, enjoy all the sweet, rummy richness of our Pritikin chefs’ Bananas Flambé for just 132 calories per serving.
Serves 4

What you’ll need:

3 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
3 tablespoons water
4 medium bananas, peeled and halved lengthwise
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 ounces rum

What you’ll do:

1. Put juice concentrate and water in a medium skillet. Lay bananas halves side by side in the pan and turn them to coat them with the juice mixture. Lightly sprinkle with cinnamon. Simmer, basting occasionally, about 5 minutes.
2. In a small saucepan, heat rum until it just starts to steam. Ignite with a long match.* Pour flaming rum over bananas. When flame has died out, baste bananas with the sauce and simmer until it has become slightly syrupy. Serve hot.

* Safety note: Have lids to both pans handy. If necessary, flames can be easily extinguished by placing a lid on the flaming pan.

Nutrition Information: 132 calories | Less than ½g total fat | 0mg cholesterol | 2mg sodium | 1g protein | 25g carbohydrate | 2g fiber

Apple Crisp from Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa
Traditional apple crisp recipes often contain enough butter and sugar to make our hearts shudder. Their calorie counts are often scary, too. A serving of Apple Crisp at Denny’s Restaurants, for example, is a whopping 740 calories. Instead, treat yourself to our Pritikin chefs’ much leaner (220 calories per serving) yet deliciously satisfying take on this classic American dessert.
Serves 6

What you’ll need:

6 cups peeled, sliced apples
½ cup raisins
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
½ teaspoon cinnamon, divided use
¾ cup whole grain nugget cereal, no sugar added (such as Kashi® 7 Whole Grain Nuggets Cereal)
¼ cup old-fashioned oats, uncooked

What you’ll do:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, combine apples, raisins, ½ cup apple juice concentrate, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. In a smaller mixing bowl, combine remaining 2 tablespoons juice concentrate, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, cereal, and oats. Sprinkle evenly over fruit mixture. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 35 minutes.

Nutrition Information: 220 calories | 1g total fat | 0mg cholesterol | 95mg sodium | 3g protein | 52g carbohydrate | 5g fiber

Caramel Apple Crumb Cake from The Umstead Hotel and Spa
Pastry Chef Evan Sheridan shares his own family recipe for a Caramel Apple Crumb Cake. Featuring sweet seasonal flavors
Serves 8

What you’ll need:

Crumb
5 ounces all purpose flour
3 ounces light brown sugar
4  ounces melted butter
Pinch kosher salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake
9 ounces sugar
5 ounces vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
9 ounces grated apple (Do not worry about peeling them)
2 ounces pecan pieces (roasted)
9 ½ ounces all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ ounces dried currants

What you’ll do:

For the Crumb
Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl or stand mixer. Slowly add in melted butter and mix either by hand or at a low speed until it forms the shape of “pea gravel.” Spread out on a sheet pan and refrigerate.

For the Cake
Paddle the whole eggs with the sugar at a medium speed until light and fluffy. Slowly add in oil being sure not to break the “emulsion.” Alternate additions of whole milk and sifted dry ingredients. Add in Grated Apples with Currants and Pecans and mix until combined. Allow batter to rest 8-12 hours for best results.

To Finish
Pour batter into a well-oiled/sprayed baking pan. Sprinkle Crumb over the top of the cake and bake at 350F for 20-40 minutes or until the cake is set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Dr. Will Clower’s Holiday Party Chocolate Brownies

What you’ll need:
1¼ cups sugar
¼ cup cocoa
½ chopped walnuts
1½ teaspoons finely ground coffee
1 cup flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup chopped bittersweet chocolate
3 eggs, slightly beaten
½ cup melted butter

What you’ll do:

1. In a small bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt. In medium size bowl mix butter, and eggs. Add all other ingredients and flour mixture. Mix until well blended.
2. Spread batter in a well greased 13X9 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out clean.
3. Cut when cooled.

Chocolate Souffle from Hilton Head Health
Serves 10

What you’ll need:

Fresh raspberry sauce:
1 pint fresh raspberries
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice, puréed in a blender and strained

4 large egg yolks, reserve the whites
1¼ cups milk
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 large egg whites, room temperature, including reserved
½ teaspoon cream of tartar

What you’ll do:

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 375⁰F. Butter 10 (4-oz.) ramekins. Coat the insides with sugar, tapping out any excess.
2. In a 3-quart saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt. Over medium heat whisk until the mixture bubbles about 4 minutes; may be lumpy. Continue simmering, while whisking until smooth and very thick, about 2 minutes more.
3. Remove from heat and whisk in the chocolate, butter, and vanilla until smooth and glossy. Transfer to a large bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water and whisk often until cooled to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, on a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites on high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. With the mixer running, add the cream of tartar and continue beating until the whites form soft peaks, 30 to 60 seconds more.
5. With mixer still running, add confectioner’s sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and beat until whites hold a glossy, pointed, stiff peak when beaters are removed.
6. With a spatula, stir pastry cream to loosen it, then stir in a third of the meringue until combined. Gently fold in another third of the meringue from edge of the bowl to the center, repeating until a few white streak remain; add remaining meringue and fold just until combined, leaving no visible white streaks.
7. Divide mixture among prepared ramekins and smooth tops with spatula. Run index finger around edges of the ramekins to create a shallow trench. Put ramekins on a large rimmed baking sheet and bake until skewer inserted in center comes out clean with wet tip, 15 to 20 minutes.

It is a myth that when baking soufflés you must walk lightly or they will fall while baking. When beating the egg whites, avoid overbeating which causes them to curdle from heat generated by the beating and resulting in difficulty in folding into pastry cream. Stiff peaks can form even while meringue is creamy, so check periodically while beating.

Nutrition Information: 194 calories | 1g fat