Integrating applesauce into recipes helps to cut the fat content.
Dieting doesn't have to mean missing out on your favorite baked goods, but it just might require reworking some of your favorite recipes to make them healthier for day-to-day enjoyment. Applesauce can easily be substituted for butter or oil to reduce the fat content of a recipe.
Uses
Applesauce is a popular replacement for oil in recipes for muffins, pancakes and quick breads. With a high water content and a naturally mild taste, it will help to keep recipes moist and tender without interfering with the taste. Baking 911 suggests adding 1/4 tsp. baking soda to balance out the acidity of applesauce, while you might consider adding some extra flavor extract or other spices to compensate since one role of fat is to accentuate flavors. Be sure to look for unsweetened applesauce to keep your recipe from being loaded with sugar -- after all, oil does not add any sweetness so the substitution does not need to either. During preparation, stir in the applesauce with the liquid ingredients and proceed as usual.
Texture Changes
When replacing oil with applesauce, you will need to decide how much of the original texture you want to maintain. Cutting out all fat can lead to a super-chewy baked good, something that could work for some cookie recipes but not as well for others. To keep chewiness to a minimum, only stir the recipe as much as needed to blend the ingredients, then stop because overmixing leads to toughness. To further minimize changes to the final product, replace only part of the oil -- for instance, replace 1 cup of oil with 3/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup oil.
Applesauce Not Invited
There are some instances in which replacing the fat with applesauce will not work but most of those recipes call for butter. Pie crusts and some pastries, for instance, depend on solid fat for their flaky layers. Since cakes and cupcakes are generally more tender than muffins or bread, replacing the oil with applesauce may result in a product more like a muffin or bread since it will cause recipes to be a bit tougher. In some cases, moderation is a better plan than changing the recipe -- especially when the tenderness or flakiness is most important.
Nutritional Comparison
Since oil contains around 11 g of fat per tablespoon and 218 g of fat per cup, it's often one of the first ingredients to go when a low-fat diet is being followed. Applesauce has zero fat per cup, and makes a great substitution because its flavor is mild and won't interfere with the ingredients already being used. Although some other fruit purees can be used to substitute oil, the University of Iowa suggests using them in spicy, flavorful baked goods where the unique flavor of the fruit will accentuate instead of distract.
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