[Sca-cooks] Cookie Question (OOP, but close to our hearts)

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Dec 12, 2007, at 2:57 PM, <euriol at ptd.net> wrote:

> I've done a little baking with sucralose (Splenda) and found that  
> the best
> is to replace half the sugar with splenda. In a side by side  
> comparison you
> can tell the subtle differences, but those people who I've seen  
> enjoying a
> cookie stand alone did not detect the difference. If a recipe calls  
> for
> brown sugar & white, I'll just substitute the sucralose for the  
> white sugar.
>
> Euriol

Well, okay, but just a thought here, heretical though it may be, to  
add to the mix:

when I've done sugar-free baking, I've used polydextrose, which is an  
indigestible, fiber-type carbohydrate that bulks like sugar, and to a  
great extent conditions and shortens doughs like sugar. It's not  
nearly as sweet as sugar, though, so adding some Splenda (I still have  
some liquid in the house, I think; I didn't think the granulated stuff  
with the maltodextrin was in itself a very good substitute for white  
sugar) helps a lot. For me, a combination of polydextrose, Splenda,  
and sometimes a small percentage of something like xylitol (it's  
really interesting how a mixture of sweeteners can cloud the issue and  
prevent people from saying "this tastes too much like X").

Yes, it sounds kind of strange to be adding all these weird chemicals  
to food, but chemicals are chemicals, and they're probably not a lot  
more weird than the chemicals we normally use, and less than some of  
the ones in the commercially-prepared foods we often eat.

Because, in the end, they're _not_ going to taste exactly like white  
sugar, no matter what you do, and it's not really a fair or reasonable  
goal or expectation. Rather, we're preparing foods that can occupy the  
niche normally occupied for most people by foods made with sugar, and  
there's all sorts of ways to do that...

Adamantius (stopping short of analyzing ways to make tofu behave more  
like meat, etc.)

>
>
> Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu> said:
>
>> Splenda at least has a website that addresses some of the questions.
>> http://www.splenda.com/index.jhtml
>> On the whole the situation of substituting Splenda for sugar seems to
>> yield mixed results.
>> Some are quite pleased; others less so with the results.
>>
>> Johnnae
>>
>> chawkswrth at aol.com wrote:
>>> I do have a question for the experts on the list;
>>> We all know it isn't the Holidays without cookies, right?
>>> But, for those of us who much watch those nasty Carbs/sugars,  
>>> cookies
> can be a Bad Thing (waaa)
>>> How well would sugar substitutes work in regular cookie recipes  
>>> and what
> would be the equivilent to use?
>>> Would they not interfere with the chemical reaction that takes place
> between the regular sugar, the butter and the flour to give you the  
> proper
> cookie texture?
>>> Say, you were to make the usual, standard Shortbread. Can you fully
> substitute somenthing like Splenda for the Sugar, or will you get an  
> unusual
> texture? No crispy cookie, just a lump of weird tasting dough....
>>>
>>> Helen
>>>
>>>
>>
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>
>
>
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