Skinny White Chocolate Pudding

I've recently become obsessed with homemade stovetop pudding. It's quick, easy, and can be made in oh-so-many different ways. My favorite flavor I've tried so far is white chocolate with berries on top. It tastes so decadent, but is really low in points. You can easily vary this recipe by adding milk or dark chocolate chips, cocoa powder, or just leaving it plain vanilla.

Skinny White Chocolate Pudding

Serving Size: 1/2 cup

WW PointsPlus Value: 3

2 2/3 cups skim milk

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 Tablespoons honey or agave nectar

2 Tablespoons white chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of salt

Fresh berries, for topping

Directions:

• Whisk together milk, cornstarch, salt, and honey together in a saucepan. Cook over high heat for a minute then add chocolate chips and vanilla. Whisk until pudding thickens, then pour into ramekins, top with fruit, and serve hot. Or chill and serve cold, it tastes great both ways!

Skinny(ish) Homemade Oreos

Now these are by no stretch of the imagination healthy, and should absolutely be eaten in moderation (should your willpower allow...mine did not, so I'll be taking this batch into work). But they are a bit lighter than the original recipe, thanks to a few tricks I've learned in my many many years (actually about 6 months) of (somewhat) successful "skinny" baking. I've adapted the recipe from one of my absolute favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen.

Skinny(ish) Homemade Oreos

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen (who adapted it from Retro Desserts, Wayne Brachman)

Serving Size: 1 Oreo (2 cookies + 1/2 tsp of cream)

WW PointsPlus Value: 4

The Cookie Bit:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup white flour

1/2 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 sticks softened light butter

1 large egg

The Creamy In-Between-The-Cookies Bit:
1 stick softened light butter
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat to 375°F.
• Mix the flours, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. With an electric mixer on low, add the butter, and then the egg. Mix just until they're all combined.
• Place rounded teaspoons on paper-lined baking sheets, and with wet hands, gently flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes.
• While they're baking, mix the butter, sugar and vanilla with the electric mixer. Then put on some Devo, and whip it good for a couple minutes, until it's nice and fluffy.
• Once the cookies have cooled completely, you can assemble them into final oreo form. Put the cream in a large ziplock bag and cut a corner off (like a ghetto pastry bag), then squeeze out about a 1/2 teaspoon onto a cookie. Top with another cookie, and press to disperse cream evenly. Repeat until all cookies are assembled. Any misshapen cookies go into the reject pile for quality control and taste testing.
• Commence quality control taste test.