QUICK OATMEAL COOKIES

Ingredients

1 ½ cups rolled oats

1 cup refined flour

¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp cinnamon powder

120 grams soft butter

20 measures Sugar Free (or preferred sugar substitute) 

4 tbsp milk, 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 °C or 375 °F or the Gas Mark 5. Grease and flour a baking tray. Sift flour together with salt, baking soda and cream of tartar. Mix in the oats and cinnamon powder. Cream butter and Sugar Free well. Fold in the flour mixture. Add the milk and vanilla essence and mix into dough. Wrap the dough in greaseproof paper or cling film and chill for about an hour in a refrigerator. Divide the dough into one–inch balls and flatten them between your palms. Place well apart on the baking tray and bake for about fifteen minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight jar. Makes 20 cookies.

WHEAT COOKIES

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups wholewheat flour (atta)

2 tbsp wheat bran

1/3 cup refined flour

110g chilled butter, diced

12 measures of Sugar Free (or preferred sugar substitute)

1/3 cup milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 160 °C or 325 °F or Gas Mark 3. Grease a baking tray. In a bowl, mix together the wholewheat flour, bran and refined flour. Add the diced butter and rub it in with your fingertips till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the Sugar Free. Add the cold milk (or water, or a mixture of the two) and knead lightly, making sure you do not overwork the dough. Sprinkle a little flour on the worktop and roll out the dough into a one-fourth inch thick rectangle. Cut out cookies with cookie cutters of assorted shapes. Place the cookies a little apart on a baking tray. Bake for twenty-five minutes, or till done. Remove from the oven and transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight jar. Makes 40 cookies.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients

¾ cup chocolate chips

60g low fat butter

1 egg white

½ tsp vanilla essence

¾ cup refined flour

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

15 measures Sugar Free (or preferred sugar substitute)

½ cup coarsely crushed walnut halves

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 °C or 350 °F or Gas Mark 4. Grease a baking tray. Cream the butter in a bowl. Add the egg white and vanilla essence and continue to cream till light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and fold into the butter mixture and mix well. Reserve a few chocolate chips and mix the rest with the Sugar Free and walnuts into the cookie dough. Divide the dough into twelve equal portions and shape each one into a round cookie. Place the cookies a little apart on the greased baking tray. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top and bake for twenty to twenty–five minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container. Makes 12 cookies.

PRUNE TART

Ingredients

Pastry Crust--

1 cup refined flour

40g chilled butter, diced

6 measures Sugar Free (or preferred sugar substitute)

Filling

1 cup (230 grams) pitted prunes

1/3 cups almonds, crushed

15 prunes, halved

2 plums, quartered

Method

Grease a nine–inch nonstick pie tin and dust it with flour. Sift the flour into a bowl. Rub the butter in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the Sugar Free. Make a well in the flour and five tablespoons of cold water; knead into a stiff dough. Cover with a damp cloth for fifteen minutes. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and wrap it around the rolling pin. Unwrap the dough in the prepared pie tin. Press the trim with the extra dough. Prick the base with a fork and place in a refrigerator for about fifteen minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 °C or 350 °F or Gas Mark 4. Blind bake the crust for ten to fifteen minutes. To make the filling, puree one cup of pitted prunes with half a cup of water. Place the prune puree in a nonstick pan and stir in two tablespoons of water and the almonds. Cook for one minute. Spoon the mixture into the crust and level the surface. Bake for ten minutes. Remove from the oven and decorate with halved prunes and quartered plums. Cut into wedges and serve hot or cold. Makes one 9-inch tart.

Photo: Collected