Reduced Sugar Gluten-Free Recipes

Today I am sharing my Brown Rice Syrup Toffee at The Gluten-Free Homemaker. It is my favorite toffee because it has a nice buttery toffee flavor without being overly sweet.

I have found that as I have gotten older I have a lower tolerance for sugary items. I have done some experimenting with reducing the amount of sugar I use in recipes. In my Pumpkin Bread and Pear Bread recipes I used just enough to lend a sweetness. It is amazing how much of the sugar you can cut and still have a sweet baked good! I start by cutting the called sugar in half ( which I have discovered is often enough!) and gradually increase it as necessary to produce the desired sweetness.

One way that I have been able to cut more sugar from a recipe is to replace all or part of the oil with applesauce, which is naturally sweet. This has the added benefit of reducing the fat content as well.

I have found that I can cut out sugar by using brown rice syrup, which has the added benefit of being less sweet than sugar. I first discovered it when looking for a replacement for corn syrup in Chewy Granola Bars. I fell in love with the mild flavor that does not distract from the other flavors in the way that honey can. My kids still have a sweet tooth, so sometimes when I bake with brown rice syrup, I increase the amount I use to give it a sweeter flavor. But I have noticed that even when I increase the brown rice syrup in recipes like German Chocolate Cake, I do not get what I call “the sugar dumps”, which is the incredible need to take a nap after consuming sugar. Brown rice syrup, happily, does not have the same negative impact on me that sugar does.

Linda graciously hosts Gluten-Free Wednesdays each week. Bringing gluten-free bloggers together to share recipes and learn from each other.  Linda’s Gluten-Free Challenges for this month is Gluten-Free Cookies. I am already playing with ingredients in my mind, perhaps my cookies will even be sweetened with brown rice syrup…