I know if you’re like me, you really don’t need an excuse to splurge, but now you can indulge without the bulge!  I’ve found 8 fantastic HEALTHY dessert recipes you can enjoy, GUILT FREE!!

Enjoy!

1)

Pear-Raspberry Jelly Roll Shortcakes

From woman’s day

Ingredients

Topping

• 2 ripe red-skinned pears, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup(s) sugar
• 1/2 pint(s) raspberries

Jelly Roll

• 1 tablespoon(s) cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1/2 cup(s) cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
• 5 large egg whites, at room temperature
•  cup(s) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup(s) fat-free egg substitute
• 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon(s) minced crystallized ginger
•  Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
• 1/2 cup(s) reduced-calorie raspberry preserves
• 1 1/3 cup(s) reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed

Directions

1. Topping: Toss pears and sugar in a bowl; stir in raspberries. Refrigerate.
2. Jelly Roll: Heat oven to 400°F. You’ll need a 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1-in. jelly roll pan coated with nonstick spray; line with wax paper. Coat paper with nonstick spray; dust with 1 Tbsp cake flour. In small bowl, whisk remaining 1⁄2 cup flour and baking powder.
3. In large bowl with mixer on medium-high speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks start to form. Gradually beat in 1⁄2 cup of the sugar. At high speed, continue to beat whites until stiff yet billowy peaks form.
4. In a medium bowl, beat egg substitute with remaining 1⁄4 cup sugar 3 minutes, until lightened in color. Add vanilla. At low speed, beat in half of the flour mixture; fold into egg whites with remaining flour mixture and ginger. Spread in prepared pan. Bake 12 minutes, or until top springs back when pressed. Let cool on rack 2 minutes.
5. Dust a clean kitchen towel with confectioners’ sugar. Loosen cake from sides of pan; invert cake onto towel. Remove pan; peel off paper. Starting from a short end, roll up cake in towel; place seam-side down on rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes.
6. Scrape preserves through mesh sieve to remove seeds. Unroll cake; spread with preserves. Reroll cake; place seam-side down on cutting board. Trim ends of cake roll.
7. To serve, place a 1⁄2-inch slice jelly roll on a plate. Top with 1⁄4 cup fruit and 2 Tbsp whipped topping. Lean another slice against stack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Nutritional Information
(per serving)

Calories	191
Total Fat	1g
Saturated Fat	1g
Cholesterol	0
Sodium	81mg
Total Carbohydrate	44g
Dietary Fiber	2g
Sugars	n/a
Protein	4g
Calcium	—

 

2)

Chocolate Meringues with Raspberries and Caramel Sauce

(found here)

makes 6 meringues

Meringues:
4 eggwhites, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups caster sugar (I reduced it to 1-1/4 cups but I still found it too sweet.  Suggest reducing it to 1 cup) 
a pinch of salt
1 tbs cocoa, sifted
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp corn flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g raspberries

Whipped Cream:
150 ml thickened cream
2 tbs icing sugar, plus extra to dust (I didn’t mix the icing sugar into the cream as I thought the whole dessert would be too sweet)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Caramel:
(I made only half of the quantities stated below and it was more than enough for drizzling over 6 meringues)
1 firmly packed cup brown sugar
110g unsalted butter
1/4 cup pure (thin) cream

Directions
– Preheat oven to 150*C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
– Whisk eggwhites in the bowl of an electric mixer with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form.  Add caster sugar, 1 tbs at a time, whisking until thick and glossy.
– Fold in cocoa, vinegar, cornflour and 1 tsp vanilla until well combined.
– Dollop 6 rounds of the mixture onto the line tray.  Use the back of a spoon, make a slight indent in the top of each one.
– Place in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 120*C. Bake for 45 minutes then turn the oven off and leave the meringues in the oven to cool completely.  (This meringue as a soft centre, if you want a crisper meringue, suggest baking for 1 hr.  Cooling should take about 3-4 hrs.  I took mine out after 2 hrs and they were still slightly warm) 

– Meanwhile whisk thickened cream and sifted icing sugar with 1/2 tsp vanilla.  Cover and chill until ready to use.

– Place brown sugar, butter, pure (thin) cream and 1 tsp vanilla in a pan over low heat.  Stir until butter has melted, then simmer for 2 minutes or until a golden caramel.  Remove from heat then set aside to thicken and cool.

– To serve, top each meringue with whipped cream and raspberries.  Drizzle with caramel and dust with icing sugar.

 

3)

Pina Colada Pops: 

{found here}

Blend and freeze the following ingredients (don’t forget the sticks!): (Makes 6 servings)

• 1 can pineapple chunks, in juice
• 1 banana
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Calories: 117 per pop 🙂

 

4)

Chia Seed Peanut Butter Cookies

{found here}

makes about 12

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup all purpose or gluten-free flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons chia seeds
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar or 1/4 cup Stevia baking blend
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup dark or semisweet chocolate chunks or chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together oats, baking powder, flour, and chia seeds. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat coconut oil with sugar until creamy. Add peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla. Slowly stir in oat mixture to combine. Stir in chocolate chips.
Place heaping tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheet. Press dough into balls with hands, as dough will be crumbly. Bake 12 minutes. Cool.

 

5)

Individual Chocolate Chip Refrigerator Cakes

Weight Watchers Recipe {found here}

 

4PointsPlusValue

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 0 min

Serves: 12

Ingredients 36 item(s) chocolate wafer(s) 6 1/2 oz aerosol whipped cream 1/3 cup(s) mini chocolate chips Instructions Spread out 12 wafers on a large, rimmed baking pan. Spray a single layer of whipped cream in a circular motion over each wafer; top with a second wafer. Top the second wafers with a second layer of whipped cream and then a third wafer, being careful not to press down too hard on wafers. Cover pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. Just before serving, spray each cake with a final layer of whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Yields 1 cake per serving.

 

6)

Healthy No Bake Peanut Butter Fudge

{found here}

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup peanut butter (or your favorite nut butter)
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened chocolate powder
• 3 tablespoons coconut nectar (agave or honey also work great)
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Sea salt to sprinkle on top

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix together all of the ingredients except the sea salt in a medium bowl until completely smooth. A couple of times I’ve needed to warm the mixture up just a bit to get the coconut oil to be smoothly incorporated. If you find you need to do this, create a bain marie by heating a pot of water to a simmer. Reduce the heat. Place the mixture into a metal mixing bowl and place the bowl over the hot water. Gently stir occasionally until it’s completely melted.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper, folding it into the corners. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth with a spatula.

Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or until completely hardened. Cut into squares, and sprinkle with sea salt before serving.

 

7)

Individual Peach Pastries

{Found here}
For this recipe, any thinly sliced, very fresh fruit will do.

Ingredients

• 2 phyllo sheets, covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 2 very ripe peaches, halved, pitted, quartered, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 8 teaspoons light brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Remove one sheet of phyllo from under the wrap to a clean work surface. Brush it with half of the melted butter. Lay the second sheet of phyllo on top and brush with the remaining butter. Cut the phyllo in half lengthwise, then quarter lengthwise, to make 8 rectangles.
3. Place 4 of the rectangles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Place the remaining rectangles on top of each, making four 4-layered pastries. Arrange about 10 to 12 peach slices on each pastry and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of brown sugar over each. Bake for 10 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and sprinkle each pastry with an additional teaspoon of brown sugar. Return to the oven and bake 5 to 7 minutes more, until the sugar has melted and is bubbly.

 

8)

Apple-Berry Hand Pie

good for your heart and oh-so-delicious.

{found here}

ACTIVE TIME 30 minutes
TOTAL TIME 45 minutes
MAKES 7 servings (15 pies)

1½ c. peeled, chopped Granny Smith apples
¾ c. blackberries
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
¼ c. plus 2 tsp. sugar
½ tsp plus ⅛ tsp. apple pie spice
10 (9″ by 14″) sheets phyllo dough, thawed
Nonstick cooking spray
¼ tsp. kosher salt or coarse sea salt

MAPLE TOPPING
1 c. plain nonfat Greek yogurt
3 Tbsp. maple syrup

1. In med. bowl, mix apples, blackberries, lemon juice, flour, ¼ c. sugar, and ½ tsp apple pie spice.

2. Place 1 phyllo sheet on work surface; lightly coat with cooking spray. Top with another sheet; spray top. Cut lengthwise into 3-in.-wide strips. Mound 1 heaping Tbsp. filling at the end of 1 strip, about 1 inch from corner. Fold 1 corner of phyllo diagonally across filing to opposite edge to form a triangle. Continue to fold triangle onto itself to end of strip. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets and filling.

3. Preheat over to 400°F. Lightly spray cooking sheet with cooking spray. Place pies seam side down on prepared sheet; spray tops with cooking spray. In small bowl, mix salt and remaining 2 tsp. sugar and ⅛ tsp. apple pie spice; sprinkle over pies.

4. Bake 10 to 12 min or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool slightly.

5. For topping, stir together yogurt and maple syrup. Serve pies warm with topping. Garnish with apple slices and additional berries if desired.