The Cure for that Chocolate Craving....

Healthy Dessert: Dark Chocolate-Bourbon Torte

By Southern Living
http://www.southernliving.com/food/healthy-light/healthy-desserts-recipes-00400000063245/page8.html
Ingredients:

• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1/2  cup  dark chocolate morsels
• 1/4  cup  butter, softened
• 3/4  cup  granulated sugar, divided
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1  large egg
• 1/4  cup  fat-free milk
• 2  tablespoons  bourbon (optional)
• 1/4  cup  Dutch process cocoa
• 2  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
• 4  egg whites
• 1/4  teaspoon  cream of tartar
• 1/2  cup  thawed reduced-fat whipped topping
• 1  tablespoon  powdered sugar
• 1  tablespoon  unsweetened cocoa

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 300°. Coat bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray.

2. Microwave chocolate morsels in a small microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) for 1 minute or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals.

3. Beat butter and 1/2 cup granulated sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add vanilla and egg; beat 1 minute. Add milk and, if desired, bourbon; beat 1 minute. (Mixture will look curdled.) Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended. Gradually add cocoa and flour, beating at low speed just until blended.

4. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Add remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold one-fourth of egg white mixture into batter; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

5. Bake at 300° for 45 minutes or until set. (A wooden pick inserted in center will come out with just a few crumbs on it.) Remove torte from oven; immediately run tip of a small knife around edge of torte. Let cool on wire rack 30 minutes. (Torte will rise to top of pan while baking but will sink while it cools.) Remove sides of springform pan.

6. Spoon whipped topping into a zip-top plastic freezer bag. (Do not seal.) Snip 1 corner of bag to make a small hole. Pipe dollops of whipped topping around base of torte. Sprinkle torte with powdered sugar and cocoa.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips.

Healthy Dessert: Lightened Chocolate-Coffee Cheesecake 

By Southern Living
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1176228
Prep: 20 min.; Bake: 1 hr., 10 min.; Stand: 30 min.; Cool: 1 hr.; Chill: 4 hrs.

Yield: Makes 10 servings (serving size: 1 slice cheesecake and about 1 tbsp. mocha sauce)

Ingredients:

• 2  cups  crushed chocolate graham crackers (about 18 crackers)
• 1/3  cup  reduced-fat butter, melted
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 4  (8-oz.) packages reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1  cup  sugar
• 1/4  cup  coffee liqueur
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1  teaspoon  instant coffee granules
• 4  large eggs
• 4  (1-oz.) bittersweet baking chocolate squares
• Mocha Sauce

Preparation:

1. Stir together crushed graham crackers and melted butter; press mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray.
2. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
3. Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add liqueur, vanilla, and coffee granules, beating at low speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition.
4. Remove and reserve 1 cup cream cheese mixture. Pour remaining batter into prepared crust.
5. Microwave chocolate in a medium-size, microwave-safe bowl 1 minute or until melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Stir reserved 1 cup cream cheese mixture into melted chocolate, blending well. (Mixture will be thick.) Spoon mixture in lines on top of batter in pan; gently swirl with a knife.
6. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until almost set. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven, with door closed, 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven, and gently run a knife around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen from sides of pan. (Do not remove sides of pan.) Cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.
7. Remove sides of springform pan. Serve with Mocha Sauce.
Note: For testing purposes only, we used Kahlúa for coffee liqueur.

Mocha Sauce:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1176229Yield: Makes 3/4 cup (serving size: about 1 tbsp. mocha sauce)

Ingredients:

• 1  cup  semisweet chocolate morsels
• 1/4  cup  half-and-half
• 2  teaspoons  reduced-fat butter
• 3  tablespoons  strong-brewed coffee

Preparation:

1. Cook first 3 ingredients in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring often, 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in coffee. Serve warm.

Other Guilt-Free Healthy Desserts from Southern Living Magazine:

 Banana Pudding

 Lemon-Cheesecake Bar

 Cherry Bread Pudding

 Peach-Rhubarb Crisp

 Key-Lime Pie

 Vanilla Ice Milk

 Chocolate-Oatmeal Parfaits














Photos courtesy of Southernliving.com