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!

Plum Tarts

In case it's not obvious by now, I absolutely love plums paired with short butter crust! This recipe is the perfect thing to ring in the autumn weather! Making pastries can be tricky, but I think you'll find this recipe to be fairly simple!

For the crust:
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 stick softened butter
1 tsp. baking powder
1 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2-3 tbsp. cold water

For the tarts:
24 plum slices (any color is fine! I used red)
12 tsp. brown sugar (roughly)
1 egg
Brown butter frosting OPTIONAL

To Start:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a 9x13 baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and 1/3 cup brown sugar.  Cut the butter in using a pastry cutter or large fork. The mixture should be crumbly and clumpy. Add the cold water and knead dough. (If the dough is too dry, add a little more water. If the dough is too wet add a bit more flour.)
3.  Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is about 1 inch thick.  Use a medium sized drinking glass to cut out 8 pastries. Carefully transfer them to the baking sheet. Spread a small amount of brown sugar across the surface of the dough circles.Use the rest of the dough to cut 8 more circles out and place them on top of the other ones on the baking sheet.
4. Make an egg wash by whisking an egg and 2 tsp. of water together and lightly brush the pastries with it. Spread a small amount of brown sugar on top of this layer of pastry.
5. Place 3 plum slices to each pastry, pressing them in slightly.
6. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until the pastry is crusty and no longer soft.
7. Allow to cool completely before drizzling with brown butter frosting and serving.

These are so tasty! You can get away with no frosting, but I think it really compliments the tartness of the plum. It had a warm flavor which just reminded me of autumn in the best way. You'll be happy you made them!

Happy baking!