Grocery food list Archives - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Pastry Shell with Apple Dessert Filling (Low-Sugar)

Pastry shell with an apple filling is a dessert that’s versatile and easy. And most importantly, delicious! As in a Red Delicious apple or similar fruit filling that’ll be delightful. These ones are decked out with Muscadine grapes, the in-season “cherry” choice on top.

These are shiny, but first you have to make the pastry.

And pastry is unique over cookie and cakes (that can made with healthy fats). But there’s no skipping butt-ah in pastry or else you have a paste.

…And you don’t need much for the effect. 🧈

The healthier truth is you only need a smidge ‘o butter to get buttery tastes. Think a knife pat vs. a whole stick.

..But-ah, it’s forgiving.

In return, pastry loves back.

You can’t mess up the pastry love (tastes) with its 2 ingredients… butter and flour. Sugar is not a necessary trio. And that makes this apple pastry a tasty low-sugar dessert. And an economical one.

…So it pays2-try pas-try!

And it’s also a lower calorie dessert option if you count water as a 3rd ingredient.

Water is often the most important ingredient in many recipes including this one.

Cold water is the kind that matters here for this easy dough make and bake.

And using a cold butter-flour-water trifecta makes it magical out of the heated oven.

Maybe that saves you?… where you don’t need to do a local bakery run in a pinch if ya got flour and butter in your kitchen.

And this recipe can be used or any rough puff pastry, from a whole pie to an individual pastry shell dessert pan.

Except one twist…

And this one’s a doozy in my book…

To make food life more interesting. And easy. It’s also always about the healthier but tasty ways in my shared world.

Tools like a pasta maker help do this.

That if you’re on the fence of whether you need one, if you like shortcuts (…who doesn’t?) this is a tool that helps you get thickness uniformity.

There’s a time and place for rustic, and it you want a consistent thickness roll that works for pastry, a roller will do that and help with the crisp finish.

With a roller, it’s still by hand because you’re cranking the machine handle. But the dough won’t bounce back like it often does with a hand roller.

A pasta machine is more like a press or iron.

And you can roll a few times after each fold that will create some well-worth-it lamination and flakey crunch texture at the end. You’ll be glad you did. And for fun if nothing else! 🎉

That makes bringing out the equipment worthwhile.

Which btw, a pasta maker comes in handy during holiday cookie season. You can even make cookies this way to get even 1/4″ cookie dough.

And then turnaround and make homemade pasta from the same machine.

This is the pastry shell bottom with the recipe below:

To construct the sealed pastry shell bottom, instead of one flat round piece of pastry dough, I cut out a round piece with a round cookie cutter on the bottom and attach to long pastry strips that become the sides.

This way you get more of a deep basket to hold more apple filling (making it healthier). Like a wicker basket effect. 🧺

But you do you!

This yields delightful pastry tastes and textures I can only compare to Palmiers if you know those (like my younger self did 🧒🏻)… they’re a little crispy and very buttery (even with the little pat of butter)

To make the apple filling: you can rough chop apples, and add in an oven-safe bowl or skillet with a little water, and bake alongside the pastry. No need to heat separately.

Be sure to add water so the apples don’t dry out. I love to add cinnamon and it leaves the nicest oven potpourri aroma. Baking and heat invigorates the spice.

When the apples are soft, you can bring ’em out of the oven while you check on your pastry.

This comforting autumn bake can be a warming autumn ritual, that pairs with a steaming hot mug drink you sip on.

It’s comfort food. And maybe you just had a comforting potato soup bowl (that’s low-sodium).

If you want to freeze the baked pastry shell, they will be just as good.

Let them de-thaw overnight in the fridge and they’re as good as new for the next day.

And just in time for apple season!

How ’bout them apples? If you like this apple pastry shell recipe idea, you might also love an apple cheesecake. 🍎

Apple Pastry Shell Dessert

This makes 4 regular (2-3") muffin diameter-size pastry shells.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

pasta maker or baking roller
cookie cutters
muffin or cupcake tin

Ingredients

1 cup flour, plus bench flour
2-3 Tbsp butter, cold
3/4 cup cold water

Instructions

Add flour to a bowl. Cut off small bits of cold butter (from the fridge) and add to the bowl. Add enough cold water to create a soft shaggy dough disc. If too wet, add some bench flour to the dough disc top and bottom.
Cover the dough and let chill for about 10-15 minutes in the fridge (or freezer), or overnight in the fridge.
Add bench flour on the outside of the dough so it doesn't stick to your fingers and pasta maker or dough roller.
Fold the dough a few times to create lamination that will help the flakey crunch at the end.
Roll dough at least twice after folding dough. If using a pasta maker, use higher settings. On my pasta maker, it's "7" for about 1/4" thick rolled dough.
Butter or baking spray the bottom of a muffin tin for non-stick. With the rolled dough, cut out 4 round bottoms with cookie cutter. Add one to each muffin pan cavity bottom. With the remaining dough, cut approximately four 1" long strips and wrap around as a ring for each cavity to make a basket shell, patching together with the round dough piece.
Bake at 375°F/190℃ for about 35 minutes until dark golden bottoms.

Cheesecake Bar – Feta Healthy and Lighter

Feta cheesecake bars are a great healthier dessert that can be a great protein starter with cheese, egg, and yogurt protein

Crumbly feta is a popular cheese that you don’t expect in a cheesecake. It’s lighter (less creamy), delicious and more healthy than traditional cheesecake ingredients.

And in fact, feta cheese has more protein, calcium and probiotics, and is lower fat than most cream cheeses. It has lower lactose and is usually easier to digest.

Both the probiotics in the yogurt (or Greek yogurt) and feta supports gut health.

And the best part is… this is such a a simple cheeesecake bar recipe!

You can make this feta cheesecake in the same baking dish or cup you will be using in the oven. So it’s less than one-bowl easy!

In just a few mixing spoon strokes, and then baked in the oven… it’s made from start to finish in less than an hour.

Tip: use a white ceramic, light color, or glass baking vessel to keep it baking slower (and not as likely to burn sides).

If you have dark or metal pans, turn down the temperature and bake for a few additional minutes.

The feta cheesecake bar prep steps:

I added the egg, and whisked the egg to break it up first. You can also do this with a fork or spoon that would be just as easy.

Then I added the Greek yogurt (or plain yogurt), the feta cheese crumbles, and a drizzle of honey.

Then combined together with a few spoon strokes.

And a few dollops of strawberry (or raspberry) jam that’s a delicious pairing with the slightly salty feta and tart yogurt… oh, and the chocolate that will be added.

I remember when I was a teen and I worked at an Italian restaurant in the pantry, and I would take a bamboo skewer to make swirly designs with the dotted chocolate syrup in the dessert before it was carried out to the table.

And in modern times, I did my Jackson Pollock with melted chocolate. That was the art mood I was in. And you can use your creative mood into your cheesecake masterpiece. This is the batter before it’s baked.

It was all made in this baking vessel, so it’s not one-bowl easy, it’s no bowls simple bake and clean up.

The lines will work well with a presentation of cheesecake bars that this will turn into.

…And you’re probably wondering how square bars will be made out of an oval dish?

First bake in the magical oven.

Let cool.

You could serve your cheesecake in your baking vessel with no extra effort, but the squares or bars are nice to share.

So cut out a big rectangle.

Looking at the oval dish as a clock, with a knife, draw a cut from 2 o’clock to 4 o’clock, 4 o’clock to 8 o’clock, 8 o’clock to 10 o’clock, and 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock as corners). Then cut/divide into squares.

Lift up the squares with a small spatula (palette knife).

You’ll have extra sides to nibble on. 😋

And since feta cheese is less creamy, you get cheesecake pieces that could be guiltless picked up by hand.

Feta Cheesecake Bars - Simple and Healthier

These are healthier cheesecake bars with feta cheese and yogurt, that you can make in the baking vessel you will oven bake with.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 large egg
1/2 cup Greek yogurt (or plain yogurt), thicker
1 Tbsp feta cheese
1 tsp honey
1 Tbsp jam (strawberry or raspberry)

Instructions

Break up egg in baking vessel.
Combine in yogurt, feta, and honey with a spoon.
Add small dollops of jam and spread in with a toothpick or skewer.
Drizzle melted chocolate (optional)
Bake at 350°F/180°C for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Fruit Pastry Tart – Low-Sugar

Fruit pastry tart is so easy to make. And such a tasty dessert that can be made light with just a little butter. They’re pop in your mouth friendly for any occasion (and especially brunch gatherings).

You’ve probably seen fruit pastries at bakeries or French pastry shops yesteryear. They’re vintage. But not these on the plate that were just made.

These homemade ones are inspired by those past turn of the century desserts…

And I first saw them at a gourmet food market called Sutton Place Gourmet that’s now branded as Balducci’s. “Gourmet” was the word we used for foodie today.

The bakery section had the fruit desserts with strawberry, kiwi, and blueberry on a curd pastry base (that I now know how to make and you can too!).

Besides fruit colorful, they were one of the few individual desserts out there… as in, no need to share. So they stood out!

Plus, the desserts also had a shiny glaze ontop, even more than the one in my strawberry gaze plate. 🍓🍓 They looked like shiny food magnets you’d stick to your fridge.

Those were the days that I worked in hotel catering.

And never back then did I think I would make these fruit pastries at home.

Each can get her own tart.

Also, below I’ll tell you how you can make a fruit pastry tart and keep this dessert recipe, low-sugar… with sweet and sour-tart tastes.

Basically, a tart tart. And a sweet tart (for the sweethearts 💕).

Oh, and you can also make these low-fat. I already pointed out the little butter than can be added.

…It’s a myth that you need a lot of butter to make pastry. I think we learned buttery habits from pies that are a kind of pastry.

It’s true you need a little butter (as in a pat or two, but not a whole stick). Measuring is not so important with butter in this application.

And unlike cake, neutral oil will not work well the same in taste or texture in a sweet pastry. If you’re a cake girl 🙋🏻‍♀️, see my butter vs. oil notes.

The less butter in pastry gives it a less buttery taste, but the compromise is well worth it if you want to keep it more healthy. The hint of butter tastes are definitely still there in moderation.

And you can still work with the dough to make pie and pastry shapes.

You can even make these checkered pie design (with you know the country cross hatch pastry pie-style 🥧)… or simply just place them on a checkered napkin 😊for a homemade effect.

The obvious simpler way (like the open-face fruit tart photo’d above) can be done easily with 5-10 minutes of total prep time, 35 minutes baking time, and 5 minutes or less curd (stove) making time.

There are 3 simple steps for a dozen or half-a-dozen fruit pastry tart: make the tart shells, curd, and arrange the colorful fruit (the fun-nest part!).

The prep steps are: bring out the ingredients (including the butter first to not forget like I often do) for the pastry, preparing fruit you’ll use, and separating an egg yolk from egg white for curd (easier to do when an egg is cold).

Some tips:

Save the egg white for a savory meal or a light, but protein-full dessert like cottage cheese chocolate mousse or a ricotta semi freddo dessert.

For the butter, since it’s a modified smaller amount used in this recipe, you can set it ontop of the stove while the oven is preheating. If you’ve got a standard kitchen appliance setup like mine, one or more of the stove burners turns warm when the oven is turned on (even though the stove itself is turned off).

Heat rises.

And as that happens, you can make the curd on the stove. They work great in mini fruit tarts too.

Like these (cute?) ones! I paired strawberry with tart rhubarb on a lemon curt tart that I’m taking to a picnic. Two tarts in one. 😋

They look like little dessert sushi. 🍱 And they make great catering dessert adds.

…Oh look, one extra for moi!

It looks a bit craggy, haha. Like a wheel that won’t go far!

But truth is, I never aim for perfect shapes. Good is good enough. Because I know they’ll get gobbled up in nanoseconds.

I kinda like that they’re rustic, as there’s no mistake that these are home made!

And make no mistake they are as delicious (if I may say so) when you pop them in your mouth.

…Did I already mention they have no added sugar (as a bonus)?

I kept mine without added sugar (besides the sweetness in natural fruit).

But on that note, for a glazed look and to keep it low-sugar, you can add a healthy drizzle of honey that pairs well with the fruit flavors and especially well with pastry buttery flavors. This keeps the dessert bite sweet and in good balanced taste proportions…

The small amount of lemon curd goes exceptionally well with strawberry.

…Maybe serve with a strawberry lemon trifle parfait?

Some like raspberry, but I think straw-lemon is a heavenly balanced pairing. And butter and honey is on that same high level.

You’re in for a sweet treat (…even if it’s bite size sweet craving one!).

Ready to make this?

Fruit Pastry Tart (Low-Sugar)

This is a simple dessert that makes for a great catering table. This will make 6 mini tarts or 2 hand-size pastry tarts.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, French

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp softened butter
1 Tbsp water (plus more)
lemon curd (instruction below)
fruit of choice
honey (optional)

Instructions

Cut the softened butter into small pieces and incorporate (fully coat) into the flour. Use just enough water to bring the butter and flour together. The water will make up for the small amount of butter that will adhere to the the flour. Make a pastry disc. Cover and refrigerate for a few minutes.
Shape pastry in muffin tin. Bake at 350°F for about 35 minutes or until edges and bottom are golden brown. Let cool at room temperature.
Make the lemon curd. On low heat, combine 1/4 cup flour, 1-2 Tbsp butter, 1 egg yolk, and 1/2 tsp lemon juice or zest. Add the egg yolk last. Stir constantly so egg doesn't cook. Once the mixture comes together, remove from heat. Refrigerate for a few hours.
Add a small amount of curd in pastry tart shells. Add fruit of choice on top such as as seasonal berries.
For a glaze look you can drizzle a small amount of honey ontop.

Butter vs Oil – Which to Use in Moist Cake

Butter vs oil is a question I have in many sweet bakes. And maybe you too?

…And so I tested this fun debate in a cake (cupcake 🧁), which is a great application way to test in case you’re curious.

…Plus I LOVE cake!

And it’s not difficult to make basic moist cake with 4 ingredients you may already have on hand in your refrigerator and pantry: flour, egg, milk, and a fat (…plus you want to add a rising agent and sweetener for an elevated cake experience).

…Ah, but which fat to use?

My difference between butter and oil cake notes are below…

Btw, can you guess which is which?

…The muffin or cupcake (depending on your perspective) on the left is baked with butter, and the one on the right is baked with canola oil.

But that could have been any type of edible cooking oil, like healthy light olive oil. And it includes coconut oil (one of my fave oils to bake with).

Depending on what final effect you want to have on your cake, you will want to ask yourself and consider: should I use butter or oil?

Some things I tested with both were: taste (of course! 😋), size, and texture.

But all things are not created equal because butter has water.

Oil does not…. remember, the old saying that oil and water don’t mix (as they’re opposites and oil repels water).

Because of this fact, butter will need less liquid in the final cake batter. And also less flour for the butter batter to get a similar texture batter to the more liquid oil batter, before baking.

For moist cake texture modification (for 1/4 cup butter or oil), you can use:

3/4 cup gluten/all purpose flour with butter (or 1 cup flour for oil)

3/4 cup milk of choice with butter (or 1/2 cup milk for oil)

And so… you can see a slight butter vs oil variation changes a recipe.

Where you have your choice of fat.

If you have both available, choose wisely!

…It’s a matter of preference (or what you have in your kitchen).

And if you can’t remember which to use, use the path of least resistance (aka easy) as your guide… that’s what I do!

Think of store-bought box cakes as a standard model in this case…

Most the box cake ingredients on the back of the box list adding (your) oil.

It yields a more consistent cake.

It’s also easier overall as most people have an oil bottle handy and ready to go, that’s sitting at room temperature in a cabinet.

Unlike butter, that needs to be creamed for a cake batter, but only when conditions are favorable.

Butter needs to be softened, which means it needs to be out at or warmed slightly in some way to room temperature.

…So the baker has to remember to bring out butter of the refrigerator in time or heat it up as an extra prep step. You can do this if you have a pep in your step!🦶But not all of us do… or by the end of the week.

…And that prep in butter vs oil difference alone is a BIG difference that can delay a cake being made and baked. 😊

I know it would be for me as I don’t usually think to take out the butter and eggs (🧈+🥚) in advance.

…And I bake a lot! So oil is more practical for that reason alone.

And for a taller final cake, oil turned out better in my simple cupcake test.

But before you determine oil as the winner for moist cake!… see the notes below (because you could change your mind 💭).

Size – Butter vs oil

For size, there’s a HUGE difference. The cupcake on the right is oil and the muffin looking one on the left is made from a batter with butter. They came from the same baking pan out of the oven (and only the slight modifications above).

Taste – Butter vs oil

Butter vs oil don’t make a big taste difference in a cake if you use a mild tasting oil.

In cookies, pastries, and other sweet bakes, butter vs. oil can and will make a big taste (and other) difference.

But for cake… if you have both butter and oil on hand, think easy cupcake or easy cake! 🎂

Texture – Butter vs oil

So then, the other important question is about texture. You would think since an oil cake is taller, it would have a nicer texture.

And before it goes in the oven, the batter I made looks slightly different. The butter one on the left has more of the pretty “ribbon effect.” The oil one on the right reminds me of sourdough starter 😁

But they look similar in amount of water/flour (from above quantity modifications).

But out of the oven is what matters… AND surprise!

The cakes look similar, but the butter one on the left is slightly better with more of a pronounced crumb if that is important to you.

And as you saw above, the exterior (before you slice into) will look about the same except for height difference.

So if you want more of a homemade-style traditional cake, use butter. And for a southern cake, use butter 🧈

But for an easier, sky-high taller cake, use oil.

Modern, easy cakes = oil.

So there you have it!… butter vs oil in a cake.

I pick oil almost ever time for a cake, but there’s one other point to consider in my low-sugar baking world…

It you want to use a sweetener that’s not granulated or brown sugar, such as honey (that also I tested for this butter vs oil cake test)… butter and honey are a sweet pairing.

They go hand-in-hand in taste.

And if you’re using coconut milk (vs other milks) like I like to use, it goes well with oil in cakes.

Regular milks will be better with butter. They are slight preferences but the more you bake from scratch, the more you recognize them.

Happy baking! 🎉

Easy Cake - Butter vs Oil

You can decide which to use in this easy cake you can make into a loaf, round, or cupcakes

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1/4 cup neutral oil or butter
3/4 cup milk for oil (or 1/2 cup milk for butter)
1 cup all purpose flour for oil (or 3/4 cup flour with butter)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar

Instructions

Combine wet and dry ingredients in one bowl.
Bake at 350°F/180°C for 20-25 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).

Ricotta Dessert (No-Bake) – Semi Freddo

Ricotta dessert with meringues, that’s a (no-bake) frozen semi freddo dessert I can eat any day. Especially hot summer days!

And if you like the 2xx protein (ricotta and egg whites) combo, you’ll love this low-sugar healthy dessert.

I added a lemon custard because that’s the fruit tasty season we’re in. And some toasty coconut vibes that pairs well. It’s light. And it looks light.

The lemony color and egg white color is so pretty.

Btw, lemons are citrus and are actually a winter fruit. 🍋

But they are enjoyed in desserts in summery, so you can enjoy lemons year round like you can bananas.

And if none are at hand, this would be delicious with simply raw honey or a vanilla extract. Or your blue or red berries. You decide!

And you can make this dessert so easy, and as easy as you can put together food layers in a breakfast parfait.

Here, with a dollop of smooth ricotta and pillowy light egg whites combined, you’ve got a summery low-fat dessert to enjoy!

And when you freeze your dessert, then you can a delightful frozen (semi freddo) dessert good for balmy hot days when you want to peel off layers and jump in the water.

I first heard about the half cold dessert when I was consulting with an Italian restaurant in Capitol Hill where the food was freshly prepared daily by a Tuscan chef.

And I had seen half spoon decorative (and tasty) smears on dessert plates… in lieu of ice cream. The semi freddo held up better (after all it’s half cold!) and didn’t slide off of a plate like ice cream does, when the melty temperature hits.

But if you’re not near authentic Italian eats, then making this frozen dessert can become your new home gelato flavor wheel of choice.

This is a gelato wheel I saw out and about..

And using a wheel as inspiration, the best part of this ricotta semi freddo recipe is you don’t need an ice cream machine or special gelato maker to make this semi freddo ricotta dessert! You just need a freezer and some basic kitchen tools.

Gotta love that this is one freddo you don’t need to be ‘fraidy of!

Also check out these lighter (great for summer!) desserts, that are restaurant delicious!

Ricotta Dessert - Semi Freddo (Low-Sugar)

This is a delightful healthy protein dessert.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American, Italian

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

mixer

Ingredients

2 egg whites
2 Tbsp ricotta
curd or sweet (honey) drizzle

Instructions

Beat the egg whites on a mixer into a fluffy meringue about 3-4 minutes on medium-high setting. This is a low-sugar recipe so there is no sugar add to the egg whites (if you choose). You won't get peaks but you will get a fluffy meringue cloud that will work well in this meringue dessert.
Add ricotta by hand and combine fully. Add to a freezer safe bowl or glass.
Freeze for at least 30 minutes and then add curd if adding. Freeze again for a cold elevated dessert experience or enjoy!