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!

Fresh Lemon Curd

Love lemons as much I do? Wanna put them on everything you make? Whip up a batch of lemon curd and pour it on all your citrus-lacking food! It's fairly easy to make, as long as you remember patience is  the key.

You will need:
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest from 1 lemon
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tbsp. butter (softened)
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1  1/2 tsp. vanilla

To start:
1. Put the lemon zest and sugar in a food processor together and finely mince them together. You may need to stop the processor and shuffle the mixture around to avoid clumpy lemon-sugar.
2. Next, thoroughly  cream together the butter, vanilla, egg & yolks, and lemon-sugar.
3. Now, stir the lemon juice into the creamy mixture. It won't want to combine and will look curdled, but this is normal.
4. Pour the mixture into a medium sauce pan and turn your stove to low heat. Constantly stir the pot until the mixture is smooth and consistent.
5. Next, turn up the heat to medium. Continue to stir as it thickens. Once it has thickened to a pudding-like consistency. Pour the curd into a jar or container and allow to cool completely before putting a lid on it or serving it.

After making fresh lemon curd for the first time, I've realized it's very important to make this on a regular basis. I used it with panna cotta and a blueberry Dutch baby pancake (recipes to be posted soon!), but you could use it for practically anything! It would be good in crepes or to serve with scones. Many people like to use lemon curd to top blueberry pies! If you love lemons, you don't really need a reason to make this! Just whip up a batch to keep in your fridge for whenever you get a citrus craving! I hope you found this recipe to be helpful and delicious!

Happy Cooking!