The Sweetleaf Stevia "Sugar Free" Guide to Surviving the Holidays

Tangy, Tantalizing Cranberry Sauce

4 cups (1 pkg.) fresh or frozen cranberries 1/2 cup orange juice 1/2 cup dried cranberries 10 pkt. SweetLeaf Stevia® Sweetener Zest of 1 orange 5-6 drops SweetLeaf® Liquid Stevia, Valencia Orange flavor

Add all the ingredients to a heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a boil. Simmer and stir every few minutes until the berries start to burst and the sauce thickens. Add more orange juice if necessary to desired consistency. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Remove from heat and transfer to a shallow dish to cool.

String Beans Rustica

About 2 pounds fresh string beans 1 cup olive oil 2 medium yellow onions 1 clove garlic Salt and pepper to taste 1 lb. tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped (yes, you can used canned) 3 Tbsp. chopped parsley 1 tsp. oregano 2 pkt. SweetLeaf Stevia® Sweetener

Remove ends of string beans. Heat oil in heavy saucepan. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add salt & pepper. Add beans, tomatoes, parsley, oregano and SweetLeaf Stevia^® Sweetener. Stir to combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat for about 1/2 hour. Check and adjust seasoning prior to serving if needed. Serves eight.

Yummy Holiday Yams

6 cups peeled yams cut into 1/2- to 1-inch cubes 4 Tbsp. cooking oil (saffron oil is great) 1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste) 1/8 tsp. pepper (optional) 3 Tbsp. maple syrup 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 2 pkt. SweetLeaf Stevia® Sweetener

Preheat oven to 350^oF. Toss the cubed yams and oil together and spread the coated cubes onto a parchment-lined cookie or baking sheet. Season with the salt and optional pepper. Bake to desired softness (you can test with a fork after about 20 minutes or so). While yams bake, combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. When yams are done, toss the yams with the syrup mixture and serve. For an extra treat, top with toasted sliced almonds.

Sweet & Spicy Ham Glaze

40-50 whole cloves Large smoked, cured ham 1/3 cup Dijon mustard 1 cup orange juice 1/2 cup maple syrup 4 pkt. SweetLeaf Stevia® Sweetener

Push cloves into ham, spacing about 1 inch apart until entire ham is covered. Whisk remaining ingredients together in a small pot. Bring to a boil and simmer on LOW until the glaze thickens. Brush onto ham and bake per package directions on the ham. Continue to brush glaze onto ham every 15 minutes during baking time or until glaze is gone.

SweetLeaf Pumpkin Pie

10 12 ounces soft or silken tofu, drained 1/3 cup vegetable oil 2 cups cooked pumpkin (packed) OR 1 15-oz. can of plain pumpkin 2 Tbsp. maple syrup 1 Tbsp. agave nectar 1/2 tsp. maple flavoring 2 pkt. SweetLeaf Stevia® Sweetener or 1/2 tsp Stevia Pumpkin Spice 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. ginger 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 tsp. cloves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Blend all the ingredients for the filling until smooth and creamy in a blender or food processor. If using a blender, start with some of the tofu and oil. Gradually add the rest of the ingredients. Pour into an unbaked pie shell. We used an off-the-shelf, unsweetened piecrust. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Chill and serve!

Tasty Sugar-Free Apple Pie

Pastry dough for 9" 2-crust pie 10 pkt. SweetLeaf Stevia® Sweetener 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 2 1/2 to 3 Tbsp. arrowroot powder 3 to 4 large, firm, tart apples 2 Tbsp. butter 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum

Preheat the oven to 425^oF (220^oC). Peel, core, and slice the apples. Line a 9 inch pie pan with half the pastry dough. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add apples to the dry mixture, coating them well. Pile them into the lined pan and dot with the butter. Roll out the top crust and drape it over the pie, or lattice weave strips of dough over the top. Brush the latticed dough with egg and dust with cinnamon. Crimp the edges and cut several vents in the top. Bake 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 350^oF (180^oC) and bake 30-40 minutes more or until the apples are tender when pierced with a skewer and the crust is browned.

Christmas Apple Walnut Cake

2 cups applesauce 8 pkt. SweetLeaf Stevia® Sweetener 1/2 cup soy margarine or butter 3 eggs 3 cups sifted whole-grain flour 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract 1 cup chopped walnuts 3 cups chopped Macintosh apples 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350^oF. Butter and flour one 10-inch tube- or Bundt-cake pan. Cream together the applesauce, butter and SweetLeaf Stevia^® Sweetener. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Set aside. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in the vanilla, walnut and apples. Mix well and pour into the prepared cake pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool. Once cool, slide knife along the outer edges of the pan to release pan bottom, the along the bottom and inner tube of the pan to release cake onto serving surface.

Stollen

HISTORY:
Weinnachtstollen or Christstollen can trace its roots back to Medieval Prussia. The shape of the stollen was meant to represent the baby Jesus in swaddling clothes. The Christmas season was a time of fasting and because of this the bakers were only allowed to use oil, water, flour, and yeast. In 1490, after petitioning the church in Rome, pope Innocent the VIII granted permission to use butter in the stollen.

PROCEDURE:
Warm the milk to 100^oF-110^oF. Add in the 2 packages of yeast and let it stand for ten minutes. In a stand mixer place all the dry ingredients inside the bowl and mix on a low speed to combine all the ingredients. When the yeast is ready add all of the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Mix with the bread hook for 4 minutes on a low speed and follow by mixing on a medium speed for 2 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl and let it sit for one hour. place in the refrigerator overnight to ferment. Preheat the oven to 325^oF The following day divide the dough into three equal pieces. Pound into a 6 x 9 rectangle and roll into a tube. Place all three onto a cookie sheet and loosely wrap in plastic film. Let this stand for 30 minutes in a warm area. Place into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes, until golden brown. Once removed from the oven liberally brush with melted butter and immediately wrap each stolen with plastic film. When it is cool place in the refrigerator for future eating. When using dust with powdered sugar and slice.

Tiramisu

1 lb. mascarpone 25 pkt. SweetLeaf Stevia® Sweetener 2 cups heavy cream 1/2 coffee extract

Mix all the above ingredients together and pipe into shot glasses.

Warm-Your-Heart Cocoa

3 Tbsp. cocoa powder 2 pkt. SweetLeaf Stevia® Sweetener 5 cups soymilk or regular milk 2 Tbsp. honey or maple syrup 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix the cocoa and SweetLeaf Stevia^® Sweetener together in a two-quart saucepan. Add about 1/2 cup of the milk to make a paste. Gradually add about 1/2 of the remaining milk, stirring to thin the paste. Turn on the heat under the saucepan, add the honey and bring the mixture to a slow boil. Boil for two or three minutes, and then turn the heat down. Add the rest of the milk and the vanilla and bring the heat back up. Heat until hot enough to drink, but keep stirring to be sure the mixture does not scorch! Serve with a dollop of whip cream and sprinkle of cinnamon for a tasty winter treat!

SweetLeaf^® is safe for cooking and baking, and is heat and freezer stable. Please refer to the conversion chart below when substituting SweetLeaf Stevia^® for sugar.

Yes, You Can!


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