Testing Less Sugar Apple Crisp

When I was about 16 years old, a very long time ago, I started thinking ahead to one day getting married, having a family and cooking. At the time, I knew nothing of cooking, really. My sisters and I did on occasion try our hand at making a box cake. Making icing was somewhat less a success. With Mom's supervision, we made cookies for holidays. Though I didn't cook then, and did not until I was actually married and moved to Guatemala, I knew there would come a time for it. I began tearing out pages from some of Mom's magazines that had recipes sounding good to me at the time. 

One of the things I tore out was a little insert of a few pages on things to do with apples. From adding applesauce to meat loaf to desserts, this little flyer had it. The one recipe I took from there was an apple crisp. Ever since first making this recipe, I was totally in love. For me it is even better than apple pie, which is hard to beat. Mom never made an apple crisp, in my recollection. Her Mom made what she called an apple cake - not a cake at all but more like a deep dish sort of drier apple pie. I do not know what ever became of that recipe. I know I had it once. I know I tried making it once. It did not come out at all as I remembered, so I never made it again.

Less Sugar Apple Crisp

So back to the apple crisp. The recipe as it stood was small, filling only an 8 x 8" or 11 x 7" pan. I doubled the recipe later on and kept it that way, though some of the measurements had to be changed slightly to work better. I have made this recipe so often and for so long that I feel it is mine. The topping for this apple crisp is not your usual oatmeal topping, but a sort of streusel-like mixture given the texture by adding eggs. I have never ever seen a recipe like this anywhere else. I love it so much I have called it my Best Apple Crisp, Ever. I get nothing but raves, every time. It is so simple. Far easier and quicker than making a pie.

But.

Lately I have had more difficulty keeping my blood glucose numbers at an acceptable level. I bought that Stevia in the Raw that is used cup for cup like sugar. I used it with less than perfect results in some "Half the Sugar Chocolate Chip Spice Cookies" recently. The cookies were good but with a texture I was less fond of. I am not crazy about the idea of maltodextrin being the main ingredient in that "stevia" either. I have it in the pantry though, so I will use it.

Sugar is a funny thing to try and replace. I am seeing this more now that I am experimenting with less or no sugar in recipes. Sugar creates moisture. Use less sugar, and a recipe is less moist. The cookies turned out somewhat dry and without the chewiness I associate with chocolate chip cookies. They were delicious. Just not what I wanted. The same happened with my apple crisp yesterday. I substituted a fourth of the brown sugar in the apples themselves, and a full half of the sugar in the topping with Stevia in the Raw. 

Another thing different in this recipe was the fact that I used dehydrated apples. I had a glut of apples coming to me last Fall, so when my freezer could hold no more I started slicing and dehydrating apples. I used 2 bags of what would have been 8 cups fresh apples EACH, setting them into a bowl of water to reconstitute. These dehydrated apples do grow, but not to original size. I used all these apples in a 9 x 13 pan, adding in the brown sugar and stevia, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg as usual for my recipe. The apples were moist all through. Yet they did not make the juicy sauce in the pan that I normally see. The topping is nice, though less moist, but that is fine as I like the topping crisp. The difficulty is that the apples did not compensate for the dry topping with the usual sauce. The flavors are perfect. It's just more dry. A little cream or ice cream would likely make the dryness less noticeable. Obviously this can be made with fresh apples also. Here is what I did:

Less-Sugar Apple Crisp

Less Sugar Apple Crisp

Makes one 9 x 13-inch pan

8 cups apples, peeled, cored, sliced
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Stevia in the Raw
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

TOPPING:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup Stevia in the Raw
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 on Convection). Place the first 6 ingredients into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and mix with spoon or hands to combine. Whisk together in a large bowl the first 5 topping ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the 2 eggs. Pour the eggs into the dry ingredients and quickly mix with a fork until the mixture looks like crumbs. Pour this over top of the apples in the baking dish. Drizzle the melted butter over top of the crumb mixture and sprinkle with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the apples are bubbling.

When I had this in the oven I thought , "Drat! I could have tried making it Gluten-Free!" I have never attempted that either, though I cannot imagine why it would not work out. Particularly if made with all real sugar and no Stevia in the Raw. Another day.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Using Stevia in Half the Sugar Chocolate Chip Spice Cookies

My stevia plant

When shopping last week, I finally decided to buy some of the "Stevia in the Raw" that works 1:1, cup-for-cup of sugar in a recipe. I have been wanting to try this product, but am always leery of the added fillers. I prefer stevia to any other sugar substitute and have used the liquid version and the flavored liquid versions in my morning oatmeal for years. I use Sweet Leaf brand packets in substitute for the sugar called for when making some other foods such as Basic Cole Slaw where it is indistinguishable from sugar or even in my Red Cabbage with Bacon and Apples. In these last two recipes I usually use 2 or 3 packets in a recipe. I  like the fact that stevia is a natural plant rather than a construct from some laboratory. When living in Florida, I had a stevia plant (right) and I dried leaves for my own use (below). 

My Own Dried Stevia Leaf

The large package of Stevia in the Raw states that the filler is maltodextrin. Turns out that maltodextrin is not necessarily that good for you, and sometimes also adds a lot more sweetness factor. It also translates into something nearly worse than sugar - but there are many sites out there that talk about all this. Any time there is a 1:1 ratio of usage with a sugar substitute, there has to be a filler product, so it just boils down to what you choose to accept. I will use the package of Stevia in the Raw because I bought it. I don't think I will purchase it again.

My real preference, as I mentioned, is using the liquids with flavors. I own quite a few flavors, though the ones shown in this photo above are my favorites. I just love using English Toffee stevia in my oatmeal as it approximates a brown sugar flavor that I miss. If I use fresh berries in my oatmeal I use the Mixed Berry flavored stevia. I could go on and on. 

Stevia Extract & flavors: English Toffee, French Vanilla, Mixed Berries, Chocolate Raspberry & Cinnamon

Meanwhile, since I bought the large bag of Stevia in the Raw, I wanted to try the recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies. The package suggests using half the sugar called for and substituting the stevia for the other half, as sugar has an effect on the moisture content in a recipe. I used the brown sugar called for and used the Stevia in the Raw for the white sugar called for. I didn't have another bag of the Andes "Creme de Menthe" baking chips, though I did have bags of dark chocolate chips on hand. 

"Half the Sugar" Chocolate Chip Spice Cookies

While assembling the ingredients for these cookies, I once again noticed on my counter a spice mixture I created some time back, but had yet to put to any use. At first I thought, "Why mess with flavors even more?" Because of my desire to taste this spice mixture in something - anything - I gave it a go in this recipe, sparingly. Two teaspoons of the mixture went into the dry ingredients. Ultimately, it gave a little extra flavor which did not detract from the enjoyment of the cookies, but did make you stand and wonder, "What IS that flavor?" The spice blend is of some very unusual spices when placed all together that would be equally at home in a sweet application, as with these cookies, or in a savory application. I will put some thought to a savory use for it sometime soon. Meanwhile:

CMR Spice Blend I

CMR Spice Blend I

Makes about 3/4 cup

3 tablespoons fennel seeds
10 whole cloves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 whole star anise
2 teaspoons mace blades (or ½ teaspoon ground mace)
1 tablespoon unhulled white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon good quality black tea leaves
1 tablespoon ground ginger

Use whole seeds whenever possible. Mace blades may be harder to find. Place all the whole spices except the tea into a dry skillet and heat, stirring constantly, until very fragrant. The sesame seeds will be lightly colored. Turn the hot spices onto a plate to cool. Once cooled, place them with the tea leaves into a spice grinder or coffee mill used only for spices. Grind to a fine powder, then add them to a bowl with the pre-ground spices. Mix well and store in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid in a cool, dark place.

As you can see, the mixture uses some of the sweeter spices such as fennel, star anise, cloves and ginger, while bringing in the unusual element of black pepper, sesame and tea, among others. It is an unusual mixture, but can bring some really stellar results. The addition of this spice is not necessary to make the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, nor is the use of the Stevia in the Raw. The one big difference in the outcome of these cookies using the Stevia in the Raw was that instead of the cookies flattening out after baking and becoming chewy, they stayed domes and - while not crunchy - they do have a soft crispness to them. The flavor is great.

"Half the Sugar" Chocolate Chip Spice Cookies

Makes about 50 to 60 cookies, depending on size

"Half the Sugar" Chocolate Chip Spice Cookies

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons CMR Spice Blend I, optional
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
¾ cup Stevia in the RAW (or use granulated sugar)
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 bag Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (350 on Convection Bake). In a bowl, sift or whisk together the first 4 ingredients and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with the Stevia in the Raw and brown sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and beat well, then the vanilla. If using an electric mixer, lower the speed while adding the dry ingredients just until combined. Add in the  chocolate chips and nuts until incorporated.

Drop the dough onto ungreased cookie sheets using rounded teaspoons or use a 1 tablespoon capacity cookie scoop, setting the cookies at least 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for 9 to 11 minutes, until golden. Allow them to set for about 30 seconds on the cookie sheet before removing to a rack to cool. 


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.