How to bake with monk fruit, a favorite keto-friendly sweetener - The Dallas Morning News

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Creating new recipes, playing around with ingredients, and working on healthy habits is always top of mind in January. Swapping out refined sugar for a natural sugar alternative is a great place to start, and monk fruit has a spot in my pantry this year. Monk fruit sweetener has gained some fans over the last few years and it’s making its way into desserts to create delicious recipes for the health-conscious.

Swapping out refined sugar for alternative sweeteners sounds like a pretty simple task. But in baking, sugar is not only a sweetening agent, it also affects the moisture level and leavening of a recipe. Honey, molasses, coconut sugar and agave are a few natural sweeteners that are tested and proven, and now we are experimenting with monk fruit.

What is monk fruit?

Discovered by monks in the mountains of China, monk fruit, also known as lo han guo, is a lime green melon-like fruit that grows on a vine. The sweetness comes from the mogrosides, which are extracted, pressed and processed into a crystal form or an extract. This fruit is rated a zero on the glycemic index, has zero calories and zero carbs, making it a good alternative for diabetics as it won’t cause a spike in blood sugar levels.

How to use monk fruit

It’s a perfect addition to baked goods, simple syrups or as a coffee or tea sugar substitute. Adding monk fruit to a recipe will not be a cup-for-cup substitution because it is substantially sweeter than traditional sugar. There will be a bit of trial and error when using monk fruit in baking, and it is best to start with 1/4 of the amount of monk fruit to sugar, and then adjust according to taste. Monk fruit will be measured by the sweetness it creates in a recipe over the volume.

Kristen Massad of Dallas, a pastry chef and graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York, blogs at joyoliver.com.

Monk Fruit Chocolate Chip Cookies(Kristen Massad)

Monk Fruit Chocolate Chip Cookies

Without a doubt, one of the most-loved desserts is a classic chocolate chip cookie, and the substitution of monk fruit for sugar will make this cookie a little more satisfying knowing that there is a lot less sugar. Made with gluten free flour, gluten free oats, monk fruit sweetener, butter, eggs, baking soda, vanilla extract and dairy-free chocolate chips, these chocolate chip cookies are also super soft and delicious. You won’t even miss the refined sugar.

1 cup gluten-free flour

3/4 cup gluten-free oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup monk fruit sweetener

2 eggs

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (dairy-free optional)

Heat oven to 350 F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, gluten-free oats, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and monk fruit and cream together until smooth.

Add the eggs, one at a time, until they are fully incorporated.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, scraping down the sides in between each addition.

Once the batter is combined and smooth, remove the bowl from the mixer and fold the chocolate chips into the batter.

Scoop the cookie dough into 2-inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheet approximately 3 inches apart, and press the cookie dough ball down. (These cookies will not spread very much.)

Add a few extra chocolate chips to the top of each cookie dough before baking if you like extra chocolate.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden and the center is cooked through.

Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely before removing them from the sheet pan and serving.

Monk Fruit Chocolate Chip Cookies(Kristen Massad)

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January 19, 2021 at 09:51PM
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How to bake with monk fruit, a favorite keto-friendly sweetener - The Dallas Morning News

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