Gingerbread People

This recipe comes from the December 2012 issue of Cooking Light magazine. It reminds me of the gingerbread cookies my Gran used to make when I was a child. She always made at least one gingerbread man and woman, just for me. Of course, this recipe has way fewer calories and that is always a plus.

Gingerbread People

11 ¼ oz. all-purpose flour (about 2 ½ cups)
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup golden cane syrup
2 tablespoons molasses
1 large egg

Icing
½ cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons 2% reduced-fat milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare cookies, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, stirring mixture well with a whisk.

Place brown sugar and butter in a bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add can syrup, molasses, and egg; beat 1 minute or until well combined. Add flour mixture, and beat on low speed 1 minute or until just combined. Gently press mixture into a disc, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.

Divide dough in half. Roll each dough portion to a 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut with 5-inch cutters to form 26 cookies. (Reroll scraps as necessary.) Place cookies 1 inch apart on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheet; cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare icing, combine powdered sugar and milk, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Spoon icing into a small zip-top plastic bag. Snip a tiny hole off one corner of the bag. Pipe icing onto cookies as desired.

Makes 26 cookies at 124 calories each.

Two-Potato Gratin

This recipe comes from the December 2012 issue of Cooking Light magazine. I love that it’s possible to have some wonderful comfort food without having to consume a huge amount of calories.

Two-Potato Gratin

2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices (about 3 cups)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices (about 4 cups)
2 quarts no-salt-added chicken stock (such as Swanson)
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 ½ cups 2% reduced-fat milk
2 thyme sprigs
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 oz. aged Gruyere cheese, shredded (about ¾ cup)
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 oz. fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (about ¼ cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place potatoes in a large stock pot; cover with stock. Bring mixture to a boil; cool 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Carefully remove potatoes from pot using a slotted spoon, reserving cooking liquid. Arrange potato slices in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan; set aside. Strain cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl; reserve 1 cup cooking liquid. Discard solids and remaining cooking liquid.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oil to pan. Sprinkle flour over oil; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Combine milk and 1 cup reserved cooking liquid. Gradually pour milk mixture into flour mixture in pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add thyme springs to pan. Bring mixture to a boil; cook 4 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl, reserving sauce; discard solids. Stir ½ teaspoon salt, pepper and Gruyere cheese into sauce.

Spread ½ cup sauce in bottom of a broiler-safe 1-quart ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange a single, flat layer of sweet potato and then baking potato slices over sauce. Over flat layer, alternate baking potato and sweet potato slices, in shingle-like fashion. Sprinkle evenly with remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon chives, and chopped thyme; pour remaining sauce over potato mixture. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife.

Remove gratin from oven. Preheat broiler to high.

Place gratin in oven. Broil gratin 3 minutes or until browned. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon chives.

Makes 8 servings, at 218 calories per

Ginger Carrots

It's almost time for the garden to start producing. Well, maybe in a month or so. We planted a little late this year. Still, don't you love fruits and vegetables? They are so tasty and good for us too!

Here's an example of an easy vegetable. The recipe comes from the original Cooking Light cookbook from Southern Living. I love it. You may want to double everything though. It's designed for only two people. And what Southern woman ever cooks for only two people?!

Ginger Carrots

3 medium carrots, scaped and cut
1 teaspoon margarine
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

The original recipe calls for cutting the carrots into strips. I just slice them so that they're round and about 1/4 inch thick. It's faster for me to do it that way.

Put them with water in a boiler and boil until tender. I only cook them until they're just tender enough for a fork to stick through. I don't like mushy carrots. So don't overcook! Unless you like mushy carrots. If you do, just cook until you're satisfied.

When the carrots are just tender, drain the water out. Then add the margarine, brown sugar and ground ginger. Stir. It only takes a minute or so for the margarine to melt and to coat the carrots. Then they're ready to serve. The original recipe called for low-cal margarine. (It is from a Cooking Light cookbook after all.) I use whatever is available.

This is a nuitritional and tasty way to cook carrots.