Whether you're a dieter or a diabetic, your days of waving away the dessert tray are over, thanks to Xylitol, a natural sweetener that can be used as a stand-in for sugar in virtually any recipe that satisfies your sweet tooth.
In 2003, nutritionist Karen Edwards wrote an entire Xylitol cookbook -- "Sweeten Your Life the Xylitol Way" -- and three years later unveiled an expanded version containing more than 100 recipes for cookies, cakes, pies, even ice cream and condensed milk, adapted to suit the tastes of those who crave carbohydrates but have concerns about sugar content.
Xylitol, a sweetener that occurs naturally in plants and in small amounts in human tissue, is sold in granulated form and has the sweetness of sugar, but contains roughly 40 percent fewer calories and produces neither the insulin spike of sugar nor the aftertaste of artificial sweeteners like Splenda and aspartame.
Because Xylitol and sugar react similarly to heat, Xylitol can substitute for sugar in cooking and baking on essentially a one-to-one ratio. But experts recommend starting with a smaller amount of Xylitol and adjusting to taste. In recipes calling for white flour, a good rule of thumb is to use a half-cup of Xylitol where you would normally use one cup of sugar and gradually add more until the batter is sweet enough.
Yeast bread is the exception to the rule, however. The same chemical compound that inhibits the production of harmful microorganisms in the mouth has the same effect on the microorganisms in yeast, making Xylitol unsuitable for use in baking yeast-based breads.
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