Recipes From Louise
By Louise McClain Special to The True Citizen

You have probably made your New Year's resolutions, and one of them may be to lose weight. You won't have to give up all your sweet treats when you prepare these delicious light desserts.

Sunny Cranberry Nut Bread

1¾ cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
2 cups Raisin Bran Cereal
1 cup milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup orange juice
¼ cup oil
1 TBSP grated orange peel
1 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped
½ cup chopped pecans

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Mix cereal and milk in medium bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in egg, juice, oil and peel. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. (Batter will be lumpy.) Stir in cranberries and pecans. Pour into greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Four-Layer Dessert

1 cup flour
½ cup finely chopped slivered
almonds
¼ cup (½ stick) margarine, melted
1 pkg. (8 oz.) fat free cream cheese,
softened
½ cup powdered sugar
2 cups thawed LITE whipped
topping, divided
3 cups fat-free milk
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O
Fat Free Sugar Free Instant
Pudding & Pie Filling, any flavor

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mix flour, almonds and margarine until well blended. (Mixture will be crumbly.) Press onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Mix cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping. Spread onto crust. Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes. Spread over cream cheese mixture; cover with remaining 1 cup whipped topping. Refrigerate several hours or until chilled. Store leftovers in refrigerator. Makes 12 servings.

Low-fat Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
2 egg whites
1/3 cup corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup raisins

In a medium bowl, combine the first 10 ingredients; mix well. Stir in raisins (dough will be stiff). Drop by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets that have been coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen.

Cherry Cheesecake Pie

2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese,
cubed
½ cup fat-free cottage cheese
¼ cup nonfat dry milk powder
Sugar substitute equivalent to ¼ cup
sugar
1 TBSP lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 reduced-fat graham cracker crust
(8 inches)
1 can (20 oz.) reduced-sugar cherry
pie filling

In a food processor, combine the first seven ingredients; cover and process until smooth. Pour into the crust. Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Cut into slices; top with cherry pie filling. Yield: 8 servings.