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Sweets and a lean menu are compatible things. This is a delicious way to diversify a limited diet and cheer up the body with useful elements. Children and avid sweeteners will be especially happy with such delicacies. And for indefatigable creative housewives, this is also an opportunity to practice cooking new desserts. We offer to discuss interesting recipes for lean treats.
Handmade halva
During the fast, sweets in the daily diet are quite acceptable. The main thing is that there are no ingredients of animal origin in its composition. In this sense, homemade halva is a suitable solution. Fry 400 g of peeled sunflower seeds in a dry frying pan for 10 minutes. Pour out the seeds and in the same pan, stirring continuously, fry 200 g of flour until it becomes creamy. Grind the seeds with a blender into a paste and mix with fried flour. Cook the syrup from 200 g of sugar and 100 ml of water on low heat for about 10-12 minutes. We mix a mixture of seeds and flour into it, cool it a little and beat it with an immersion blender until a homogeneous consistency. We transfer the mass to a plastic mold with parchment paper, level it with a spatula and put it in the refrigerator for the whole night. If desired, you can add pieces of nuts or dried fruits — you will get halva with an oriental flavor.
Candied fruits are like amber
Candied fruits in the post-sweetness is what you need. We offer to cook them from ginger. Peel 3 medium ginger roots, cut into thin long cubes, pour cold water in a deep bowl and leave to soak overnight. This is necessary to get rid of the bitter taste. Next, mix 100 ml of water and 150 g of sugar in a saucepan, completely dissolve and bring to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 2-3 stars of star anise. We lay here slices of peeled ginger, cook over low heat for an hour. Do not forget to stir the contents of the pan periodically. Now we dry the ginger slices, put them on a baking sheet with parchment paper and put them in the oven at a minimum temperature for 2 hours. After that, we roll the cooled ginger in powdered sugar and put it in a glass jar. Such candied fruits can be added to the dough for the Easter cake.
Truffles with a riddle
Do you want to surprise the fasting sweethearts with something unusual? Treat them to chickpea truffles. Soak 100 g of dry chickpeas in water overnight. The next day, we boil it until it is completely softened in water without salt. In the bowl of a blender, combine the cooled boiled chickpeas, 70 g of pitted dates, 3-4 tablespoons of cocoa powder or carob, 1 tablespoon of honey, a pinch of salt and vanilla on the tip of a knife. Whisk the ingredients into a homogeneous thick paste and put them in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. With wet hands, we mold balls the size of walnuts from the cooled mass. We hide a whole hazelnut kernel inside, roll it in a mixture of cocoa and cinnamon, give the sweets the shape of truffles. Put them on a tray in the refrigerator so that they are properly frozen. For fun, you can arrange a competition between the household: who will guess faster what this delicacy is made of.
Jam of the color of the sun
Lemon jam is a lean sweetness, for which you can find many ways of delicious application. Carefully wash 2 lemons, pierce with a fork in several places, pour water and bring to a boil over low heat. Again, fill them with cold water and bring them to a boil. Repeat the procedure again and cook until completely softened. This is easy to check with a wooden skewer. We cut the finished lemons in half, remove the bones and grind them together with the peel in a blender in a puree. We cook a thick syrup of 250 g of sugar and 60 ml of water. The ideal consistency is when a drop of syrup, flowing down from the spatula, forms a thin thread. We put lemon puree in the syrup and simmer on low heat until it becomes transparent. Lemon jam can be eaten just like that with tea, make sweet sandwiches, add to pastries and various drinks. All of them will acquire an incomparable citrus aroma.
Muffins with an orange mood
In the post, there is nowhere without recipes for sweet pastries. That’s where you can dream from the heart. We suggest starting with carrot muffins. Grate a large large carrot on a grater. Add a ripe banana mashed into a pulp and 80 ml of vegetable oil. In turn, we introduce 100 g of sugar, 50 g of crushed walnuts, 50 g of light raisins, 1 tsp of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Gradually sift 240 g of flour with 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla sugar. For a more saturated color, put 0.5 tsp of turmeric. Using a mixer, knead a viscous homogeneous dough. We distribute it on greased molds, melt a banana cup on top and send it to the oven for 40-45 minutes at 180°C. Instead of walnuts, you can take any other, or even better-assorted from several varieties. Dried fruits will also feel organic here.
Mannik instead of chocolate
Homemade sweetmeats are longing for chocolate? Bake a chocolate mannikin with prunes for them. Mix 200 g of sugar and semolina, pour 200 ml of boiled water at room temperature and leave for at least an hour. Pour 80 g of prunes with boiling water and also leave to swell. After that, we dry the dried fruits on a paper towel and cut them into small strips. In a separate container, sift 80 g of flour with 4 tbsp. l. cocoa powder and 1 tsp. baking powder. By this time, the semolina will absorb all the liquid, and you can add flour to it and knead a thin dough. Also, we add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, chopped prunes and knead it again. Fill the baking dish with parchment paper with the dough and put it in the oven at 180°C for 45 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle the mannikin with powdered sugar or nut crumbs.
The beauty of lean sweets is that they can be prepared from products that can be found in every kitchen. Moreover, you can do this quite quickly and without any special difficulties. Look for more interesting desserts on the culinary portal “We Eat at Home”. And what lean treats do you usually cook? Share your favorite family hits in the comments.