Sugar-Free Sunday--Another Old Favorite, Butterscotch Yum-Yum

Sugar-Free Butterscotch Yum-Yum

I know this post is late this week--I started it on Sunday, but didn't have a chance to finish, and "Sugar-Free Wednesday" just doesn't have the same ring to it, so I'm leaving the title the same!

The recipe I want to share with ya'll today has to be one of my very favorite sugar-free desserts.  It's based on the familiar Chocolate Layered Dessert, aka Mississippi Mud Pie, aka Chocolate Yum-Yum, that we all know and love.  But for the sugar free version, I chose Butterscotch, and can I just say, it's the best Yum-Yum Layered Dessert, ever.  I made this recently right before the holidays, when my son & I were trying to "good" as much as possible, knowing that we were about to indulge in a non-stop barrage of food and especially goodies.  I brought it to the table to be served, and I have to confess, my husband (who is not a sugar-free-er), my son, and myself, finished the entire dessert.  All of it.  We just kept sitting around the table, talking and eating, and eating and talking.  It's really just that good. 

Ingredients:

Layer 1: The first layer is a basic "press in" crust:

• 1/4 c (1/2 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 c flour
• 1/3 c chopped nuts
• 1 T sugar or Splenda (optional)

Toss together the flour and sugar or Splenda; cut in the butter, then add the chopped nuts. (I used walnuts because they're about half the price of pecans in the grocery store.) Press the mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until set and just slightly brown around the edges. Set aside to cool.
Layer 2: While the crust is cooling, mix together in a medium bowl

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 c sugar or Splenda
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 c whipped topping (I used sugar free)

Mix everything together until well blended. Spread on cooled crust.
Layer 3: This is where you can get creative with the flavor

• 1 small pkg instant pudding (I used sugar free butterscotch)
• 1 1/2 c milk

Whisk together until blended and the mixture starts to thicken. Pour over the cream cheese layer and smooth the edges.
Layer 4: Add a layer of whipped topping (again, I used the sugar-free)

Cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve. I usually cut this into squares, but I didn't let this one set up long enough, so I just sort of scooped it out onto the plate (see the top picture) then I had to eat along the edge to straighten it out. Sometimes we all have to make sacrifices for the sake our art. Cough.

If you have a sugar-free recipe, please feel free to post your link.

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

Sugar Free Sunday--Butterscotch Yum-Yum

This has been one of the worst years for heat and drought across the Gulf Coast south that I can remember. (And trust me, my memory goes back a long time. Really long.) But the weather has finally moderated enough for me to do some cooking again. Not much, I admit, but a little. And at the same time, my son and I have decided to go back sugar-free, at least most of the time. We just feel better when we do. But because we just started, we're struggling to change our eating habits, and I'm struggling to remember to change my grocery-buying habits, as well.

I decided to go back through some to sugar-free (and otherwise) goodies that I've made in the past, and revisit them, seeing where I can make improvements to tastes and texture.

This recipe, while sugar-free (or can be made regular) is a purely convenience goodie--fairly quick to make, not homemade at all, except in the sense that it's "made at home"! But so, so, good when you're craving something sweet and creamy.

Layer 1: The original recipe calls for a basic "press in" crust:

• 1/4 c (1/2 stick) butter, softened







• 1/2 c flour







• 1/3 c chopped nuts







• 1 T sugar or Splenda (optional)

Toss together the flour and sugar or Splenda; cut in the butter, then add the chopped nuts. Press into the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until set and just slightly brown around the edges. Set aside to cool. Quick and easy option: If you happen to have a roll-up, refrigerated pie crust floating around in the back of your fridge, you can use it instead. Unroll, fit to your pan, and cut off the excess. Sprinkle a few chopped nuts on the crust and press into the dough. Add a sprinkle of sugar or Splenda if you want. Then bake just like the homemade press in crust. Works for me.

Layer 2: While the crust is cooling, mix together in a medium bowl

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened







• 1 c sugar or Splenda







• 1 t vanilla







• 1 c whipped topping (I used sugar free)

Mix everything together until well blended. Spread on cooled crust.

Layer 3: This is where you can get creative with the flavor

• 1 small pkg instant pudding (I used sugar free butterscotch)







• 1 1/2 c milk

Whisk together until blended and the mixture starts to thicken. Pour over the cream cheese layer and smooth the edges.

Layer 4: Add a layer of whipped topping (again, I used the sugar-free)

Cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve. I usually cut this into squares, but sometimes I don't let it set up long enough, so I just sort of scoop it out onto the plate. (see the top picture) Then I have to eat along the edge to straighten it out. Funny how that happens, huh?

This gets two thumbs up from the sugar-free-ers in my household, including me! As a matter of fact, this flavor has become our favorite, so I make a special trip to a particular grocery store to find the butterscotch sugar-free pudding mix. One of the draw-backs of living in a small town with small grocery stores--not much variety at some of them sometimes.

If you're not a sugar-free-er, just use regular pudding and whipped topping, and sugar instead of Splenda. It's a good basic recipe that can be adapted with any flavor of pudding, or even fruit topping.

Until next time, good cooking and good eating!

This post linked to:

My Meatless Mondays at My Sweet and Savory
Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family
Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
Recipe Swap at the Grocery Cart Challenge
Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home

Butterscotch Yum-Yum, Regular or Sugar-Free

We've been having a heat wave around my house--both inside and out. Outdoor temperatures have been from the high 90's all the way into triple digits, and to make a bad situation worse, our air conditioner at the apartment decided that now would be a good time to die! We actually had to spend one night at a hotel; it was close to 90 degrees inside the apartment that night. It took several days and nine --yes, nine--visits from building maintenance, but we finally got a new outside unit, new electrical breaker and a new thermostat. Not all at once, but that's the winning combination that finally made everything work long enough to really cool things down.

And so I've finally been doing some cooking again! Nothing too exotic, I'll be leaving for Louisiana next week and I've been trying to use up as much of my pantry and stockpile as possible so I won't have to move it all! But it was definitely time for cool and delicious "goodie", so I decided to make a sugar-free version of an old favorite, and to change the flavor up a little by using butterscotch instead of chocolate.

Layer 1: The first layer is a basic "press in" crust:

• 1/4 c (1/2 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 c flour
• 1/3 c chopped nuts
• 1 T sugar or Splenda (optional)

Toss together the flour and sugar or Splenda; cut in the butter, then add the chopped nuts. (I used walnuts because they're about half the price of pecans in the grocery store.) Press the mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until set and just slightly brown around the edges. Set aside to cool.

Layer 2: While the crust is cooling, mix together in a medium bowl

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 c sugar or Splenda
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 c whipped topping (I used sugar free)

Mix everything together until well blended. Spread on cooled crust.

Layer 3: This is where you can get creative with the flavor

• 1 small pkg instant pudding (I used sugar free butterscotch)
• 1 1/2 c milk

Whisk together until blended and the mixture starts to thicken. Pour over the cream cheese layer and smooth the edges.

Layer 4: Add a layer of whipped topping (again, I used the sugar-free)

Cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve. I usually cut this into squares, but I didn't let this one set up long enough, so I just sort of scooped it out onto the plate (see the top picture) then I had to eat along the edge to straighten it out. Sometimes we all have to make sacrifices for the sake our art. Cough.

This got two thumbs up from the sugar-free-ers in my household, including me! If you're not a sugar-free-er, just use regular pudding and whipped topping, and sugar instead of Splenda. It's a good basic recipe that can be adapted with any flavor of pudding, or even fruit topping. Umm, fruit topping, that gives me pause...maybe next time!

This recipe is linked to:

Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace

Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free

Tuesday at the Table at All the Small Stuff

Delicious Dishes at It's a Blog Party

What's on the Menu at Dining With Debbie

Recipe Swap at the Grocery Cart Challenge

Until next time, good cooking and good eating!