Sugar-Free Panna Cotta

With autumn in full swing and sugary, baked goodies coming out of the oven, it's nice to have something a little lighter to kick the sweet tooth. Of course, you can make this recipe with real sugar; but why not make it skinny! It's not a secret that I love panna cotta, so I wanted to find a way to serve it with an autumn twist!

You will need:
2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup half&half
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tbsp. Splenda
1 envelope unflavored gelatin

To start:
1. In a medium bowl, dissolve the gelatin into 1/4 cup of the milk.
2. Add the remaining milk, half&half, vanilla and Splenda to a medium saucepan and stir over medium heat for 10 minutes.
3. Pour the cooked cream into the dissolved gelatin and stir. Be careful not to stir too hard to avoid creating bubbles.
4. Next pour the mixture into 4 ramekins. If you plan on turning them out, you'll need to lightly grease the ramekins (I suggest coconut oil.) I used a mini leaf and pumpkin mold by Wilton to make mine!
5. Cover the panna cotta and refrigerate over night.

I drizzled honey over these and served them with plum tarts and baked crusted apples! Its was the perfect way to get into the autumn spirit! These are fun for a brunch or dessert, but they're only good covered for about a 1-2 days after made- so eat em' up!

Happy cooking!

Yogurt Panna Cotta

I had always only seen or heard about panna cotta, but never tasted or made it! If you want to treat yourself without turning on the oven in the summer heat, panna cotta is a nice cool desert you should consider. Panna cotta is Italian for "cooked cream" and is basically just that!  This recipe uses yogurt, but it is not traditionally made with it.

You will need:
1. (approximately) 10.6 oz. plain Greek yogurt
2. 1/2 cup half and half
3. 3/4 milk
4. 1 envelope unflavoured gelatin
5. 1/3 cup granulated sugar
6. 2 tsp. vanilla extract

To start:
1. Dissolve the gelatin into 1/4 of the milk and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the rest of the milk, half and half, sugar, and vanilla on medium heat. Do not let the mixture boil or simmer. Only leave it on the heat 10 minutes before adding the yogurt.
3. Keep the pan on the heat until the yogurt is fully mixed into the milk.
4. Take the pan off of the heat and add the gelatin mixture, stirring for for about two minutes.
5. If you want to turn the panna cotta out of the containers after it's set, you'll want to (very) lightly grease them. Separate the mixture into three containers and cover. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until set like Jell-O.
NOTE: It is important that are no potent foods in your fridge or the panna cotta may absorb the smell.

You can top panna cotta with virtually anything! I used lemon curd and blueberries. I served it as a part of breakfast with a blueberry Dutch baby pancake and my sisters loved it! When someone as picky as my older sister liked this recipe I knew it was a success! I hope you enjoy making this delicious treat and keep cool for the rest of the summer. 

Happy cooking!