Better for You Recipes from Hershey's Kitchens

Everyone loves desserts, especially those from Hershey's kitchens. Today I'm going to show you some common, better-for-you substitutions that you can use, when making your favorite recipes. One way that you can up the fiber in a recipe is to substitute whole wheat flour for a portion of the white flour in the recipe. Most of the time, you're not going to be able to even tell the difference. You just keep increasing the ratio of whole wheat flour to white flour until you get a flavor and a texture that you like. Fruit is another easy substitution and still makes your baked goods taste delicious. Applesauce can be used to substitute almost all the fat in most recipes, with the exception of cookies, where you can only substitute up to about half the amount of fat. It's a good substitution for oil. Check it out yourself, with these low-fat and fudgy brownie cutouts. They use applesauce instead of oil, and they also use egg whites instead of regular eggs. And by the way, they're very good. Fruit isn't the only better-for-you choice that can serve as a substitution for fat. Vegetable puree -- such as squash, sweet potato, and carrot -- are especially good as a substitution for all or part of the fat in muffins and breads. This works especially well with recipes that call for cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, or ginger. The flavors meld together well, and you get an especially moist treat. If your recipe calls for dairy, you can try substituting fat-free buttermilk or Greek yogurt. It's another way to reduce the fat in your recipes. And remember, when trying these substitutions, a good rule of thumb is to lower your baking temperature by 25 degrees and to shorten your baking time. I hope these better-for-you substitutions and tips are helpful, as you bake up your favorite goodies in your kitchen. For more recipes and ideas, go to Hersheyskitchens.com. Happy baking.