ZSweet® Cocoa Cream Cheese Mints

yields 50-60 mints

Ingredients:
1 cup ZSweet®, ground to powder (I do this in the coffee grinder)
2 tablespoons cocoa*
few drops of mint oil (to taste)
4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
addtl. 1/4 cup ZSweet®, ground to powder, for rolling mints in

*Note: If you leave out the cocoa, be sure to add a pinch spirulina or 1 teaspoon ground mint leaves for green color

Equipment you will need:
bowl
wire whisk / 2 forks / pastry cutter
wax paper lined baking sheet
flexible molds or a rolling pin
small container (to shake mints in)


Mix 1 cup ground ZSweet® and cocoa together in a medium-sized bowl. Cut in cream cheese with a wire whisk or a couple of forks (or a pastry cutter, if you have one). The resultant mix will be dry and crumbly. At this stage, mix in the mint oil to taste and knead the mixture with your fingers until it starts to clump up into a dough (the heat from your hands helps to further soften the cream cheese).

Once you have one big ball of dough, pinch off pieces to put in your flexible molds and fill them, one at a time, mashing them in well, and scraping off the excess. If you do not have molds, you can also roll out the dough onto wax paper with a rolling pin till about .25" thick and cut into 1" squares with a butter knife.

Take the small container and put the 1/4 cup of powdered ZSweet® into it. Pop out a few mints at a time into the container and shake until well-coated, and tap each coated mint against a flat surface (I use the container lid) to release any extra ZSweet®. Lay each mint onto the wax paper-lined baking sheet in rows. When all the mints are finished, cover with a dry cloth and let sit for 24-48 hours to dry out completely. Put in a sealed container and store in the fridge (if they have not dried out yet, the container will get condensation on the inside of the lid). They will last in the fridge for a couple weeks, or can be frozen for up to 6 months.

Recipe Author: Paula Bishop, North Carolina

Mmmm.... Cake.

photo credit: www.theyucadiaries.blogspot.com

How good does this cake look? Foodie-blogger Roxanne Buil adapted a sugar-free, gluten-free red velvet chocolate cake recipe from Healthy Indulgences to exclude the red food coloring, but the result is just as yummy & even healthier.
She used ZSweet® in place of sugar & graciously allowed us to share the fruits of her labors here with you.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
9 large eggs
1 cup ZSweet
1/4 teaspoon stevia extract ( I use the Now brand)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup yogurt
3/4 cup sifted coconut flour
3/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Set out butter and eggs to bring to room temperature. Butter a cake pan and coat with cocoa powder removing the excess powder. Separate the egg yolks from the whites and beat the whites until they form stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, beat the yolks with vanilla extract. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. In another bowl , cream butter until it turns to a pale yellow color. Add the ZSweet in a steady stream and cream together for 2-3 minutes, or until light, fluffy, and close to the color of cream cheese. Make sure to incorporate well. Add the egg yolks to the butter and cream and beat. Once the yolks are added, add dry and wet ingredients until the mixture is combined well leaving the egg whites until the very end. Fold in the egg whites gently and once the mixture is combined, pour the batter into the cake pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, and test with a toothpick. Remove and invert very gently onto a cooling rack. Once cool, use a cake leveler to cut the loaf evenly in half. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
2-8 oz packages cream cheese
1/2 cup ZSweet, powdered (using a coffee grinder combine ZSweet with a little arrowroot)
1 tbsp arrowroot powder
1/4 teaspoon stevia extract
1 stick butter
Pinch of salt

Bring cream cheese to room temperature. Beat until smooth and creamy, then add powdered ZSweet and beat until the mixture is combined well. This will take a little while because the ZSweet has to dissolve into the mixture well.