Stevia Sweetens Holiday Desserts around the Globe By Diane Quagliani, RDN

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1 Stevia Sweetens Holiday Desserts around the Globe By Diane Quagliani, RDN Cuisines around the globe are wonderfully diverse, but one common thread is that almost all cultures enjoy traditional desserts and sweets to celebrate holidays, festivals and other special events. These treats come in a mouthwatering array of varieties such as cakes, candies, cookies, custards, pastries, tortes and more. While savoring favorite treats is an integral part of celebrations, calories, carbohydrates and added sugars remain a concern for many people. But using stevia in place of some of the sugar in holiday dessert recipes can help you enjoy their wonderful flavors with less calories and/or sugar. Below are just a few examples of traditional recipe ingredients before and after using stevia and the resulting reductions in calories and/or sugar in a serving of each. We hope you ll try the delicious stevia-sweetened versions at your next celebration!

2 SUGAR COOKIES In the United States, sugar cookies are enjoyed during the Christmas holidays and often find their way onto a plate for Santa on Christmas Eve. Basic sugar cookies are made with butter, flour, eggs, vanilla and, of course, sugar. Snickerdoodles, an especially popular type of sugar cookie, are crackly-topped and rolled in cinnamon sugar. Substituting stevia for some of the sugar in the dough and topping trims 10 calories and 2 grams of added sugars per cookie that s a 40% decrease in added sugars per cookie. Before: Snickerdoodle Recipe Ingredients (Makes 6 Cookies) COOKIE All Purpose Flour, Unbleached, 222g Sugar, 167g Eggs, 1Whole Large Butter, Unsalted, 63g Vegetable Shortening, 53g Cream of Tartar, 3g Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate), 3g Salt a pinch TOPPING Sugar, 28g Cinnamon, 3g After: Snickerdoodle Recipe Ingredients with Stevia (Makes 6 Cookies) COOKIE All Purpose Flour, Unbleached, 246g Sugar, 86g Eggs, 1 Whole Large Butter, Unsalted, 6 Vegetable Shortening, 44g Corn Starch, 38g Stevia (PureVia), 18 packets Water, 2 tsp Cream of Tartar, 4g Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate), 3g Salt a pinch TOPPING Sugar, 14g Cinnamon, 3g Stevia (PureVia), 1/3 packet METHOD FOR SNICKER- DOODLE WITH STEVIA Whip sugar, butter, shortening, and eggs together until creamed Separately, sift flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt Slowly add sifted powders to creamed fats using paddle until well incorporated and dough starts to stick together Remove from mixer and mix by hand until dough ball is formed Blend sugar and cinnamon for topping Measure cookie dough into 6 balls In a plastic Ziploc bag, combine the cinnamon, sugar and stevia Add cookie dough balls to cinnamonsugar-stevia mixture, seal bag, and shake until cookie dough is coated with all cinnamon sugar Remove from bag and bake at 400 F for 6.5 minutes Enjoy. Nutrition Information per Serving (1 Cookie) Snickerdoodle Snickerdoodle % calories 14% decrease kilojoules 14% decrease Total Carbohydrates 1 9g - carbohydrates 10% decrease 3g -2g total sugars 40% decrease 3g -2g added sugars 40% decrease Fat 3g 3g

3 GULAB JAMUN Gulab Jamuns are deep-fried milk balls soaked in a sugar syrup flavored with rosewater and spices that are a favorite dessert in India and Pakistan, where they are a part of special events such as festivals, birthdays and marriage celebrations. A serving of traditional gulab jamun may contain up to 380 calories, 71 grams of carbohydrates and 60 grams of added sugars. But substituting stevia for some of the sugar in the syrup can slash those numbers to 280 calories, 46 grams of carbohydrates and 34 grams of added sugars per serving. That s a reduction of 26% in calories, 35% in carbohydrates and 43% in added sugars. Before: Gulab Jamun Recipe Ingredients (Makes 20 Pieces) Full Fat Milk, 5 Unbleached Wheat Flour, 5 Nonfat Milk Powder, 3 Vegetable Shortening, 14g Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda), 1/8 tsp Citric Acid, 1/8 tsp Oil for frying Hot Water, 320ml Sugar, 30 Cardamom, a pinch Rose flavoring, as desired Nutrition Information per Serving (4 Pieces) Carbohydrates Gulab Jamun g 7 64g 6 After: Gulab Jamun Recipe Ingredients (Makes 20 Pieces) Full Fat Milk, 5 Unbleached Wheat Flour, 5 Nonfat Milk Powder, 3 Vegetable Shortening, 14g Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda), 1/8 tsp Citric Acid, 1/8 tsp Oil for frying Hot Water, 355ml Sugar, 169g Cardamom, a pinch Rose flavoring, as desired Stevia (PureVia), 4 packets Gulab Jamun g 46g 38g 34g Fat 9g 9g calories -418 kilojoules -2 carbohydrates -26g total sugars % 35% decrease 41% decrease -26g added sugars 43% decrease METHOD FOR GALUB JAMUN WITH STEVIA Pulse flour, milk powder, shortening, baking soda, and citric acid in a food processor With processor running, slowly add milk until just incorporated Scoop batter out with a spatula onto a cutting board Use the spatula to fold the batter until a smooth dough is created Use a knife to cut the dough into 20 equal pieces Roll each piece between your hands to create small spheres. Jamuns should be about the size of a gum ball Heat the oil over medium heat When the oil is hot enough, add the jamuns 5 at a time and cook until brown, CAREFULLY stirring to ensure even browning. If the oil is not hot enough, your jamuns will absorb too much and taste oily. If the oil is too hot, the jamuns will cook too quickly and be under cooked in the middle and overcooked on the outside Remove from heat to paper towels for drainage of excess oil. In a saucepan, combine water and sugar Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil Add cardamom and hold boil for 5 minutes. Stirring might be required to release seeds from shell. Remove from heat Carefully add jamuns to the hot syrup When the syrup has cooled enough, remove the gulab jamun to a large container for soaking. It is important to note that they will increase in size 2-3X, so be sure that the container can accommodate this much, and that all jamuns will be in contact with the syrup Soak for about 8 hours at room temperature Serve slightly warmed.

4 MANGO SAGO Mango sago is a chilled mango pudding that s a favorite in China, Japan and Southeast Asia. The pudding ingredients include coconut milk, sago pearls (made from a tapioca-based starch) and sugar, with the resulting delicious pudding topped with cubed mango. Replacing some of the sugar with stevia can reduce calories from 230 to 210 per serving a 9% reduction and added sugars from 10 grams to 5 grams per serving an impressive 50% reduction. Note that the mango is not included in the recipe or nutrition information per serving. That s so you can add as much or as little mango as you desire. Before: Mango Sago Recipe Ingredients (Makes 10 Servings) Coconut Milk, 500ml Water, 500ml Sugar, 10 Sago Pearls, 13 After: Mango Sago Recipe Ingredients (Makes 10 Servings) Coconut Milk, 500ml Water, 550ml Sugar, 5 Sago Pearls, 13 Stevia (PureVia), 1/2 a packet METHOD FOR MANGO SAGO WITH STEVIA Dissolve the sugar into the coconut milk. Bring to boil and cool down Soak the sago pearls into approximately 150ml ambient water for 30 sec In another separate bowl boil 1L of water Transfer the soaked sago pearls into the 1 L of boiled water and bring to boil (Do not stir) Once boiled, stir gently. Once the sago pearls turns transparent with a small white dot in the center, turn off the heat and hold for 10 min Transfer the cooked sago pearls with a strainer and cool down in cold water Once cool down, remove from the cold water and keep the sago pearls aside Transfer the sago pearls into the coconut milk and put in diced mango cubes as desired Chill and enjoy. Nutritional Information Serving (177 g or 6 oz) Mango Sago Mango Sago % calories 9% decrease kilojoules 9% decrease 2g 2g Total Carbohydrates 32g 27g - carbohydrates 16% decrease 19g 14g - total sugars 1 - added sugars 50% decrease Fat 12g 12g

5 Tips for Using Stevia in Your Favorite Holiday Desserts With a little experimenting, you can use stevia in your favorite holiday desserts to replace all or some of the sugar or other caloric sweeteners like honey or maple syrup. For success, remember these points: Stevia leaf extract is much sweeter than sugar, so tabletop stevia doesn t always substitute measure-for-measure with sugar in recipes. For example, in a recipe calling for one cup of sugar, you may need only ¼ cup or less of tabletop stevia to get the same level of sweetness. Always check the manufacturer s conversion chart, but expect a bit of trial and error to get your recipe to your preferred level of sweetness. Tabletop stevia and sugar perform differently in recipes. For instance, stevia lacks some of sugar s qualities, like helping to brown foods or adding a tender texture to baked goods. Some recipes may require a mix of sugar and stevia or even a mix of other caloric or non-caloric sweeteners to get the taste and texture qualities of the finished product just right. This blending approach is a great way to help reduce total calories, while maintaining the functional benefits offered by other sweeteners.