Looking for an alternative to pie dough or graham cracker crust, I decided to experiment with some mini phyllo dough shells. To lighten up the toffee bar crunch filling, I chose fat-free half-and half, sugar-free pudding mix and Cool Whip Lite. The original recipe called for a cupful of crushed candy bars, but I slash the fat and calorie count by using a mixture of crushed chocolate graham crackers and candy bar crumbs. My alterations to this filling cut the calories by 47 percent and the fat by 58 percent.
I slimmed down the frozen lemonade filling with some sugar-free drink mix, light ice cream and Cool Whip Lite, shaving off 35 percent of the calories and 39 percent of the fat.
To put my fillings into regular-sized pie shells for a lighter toffee bar crunch pie, make a double batch of my filling, pour it into a 9-inch graham cracker crust and freeze until firm, about six hours or overnight.
For a lighter frozen lemonade pie, make a double batch of my filling, pour it into a 9-inch pre-baked pie crust and freeze until firm. One-eighth of this pie contains 201 calories and 10 grams of fat. Both recipes are adapted from the "Red Hat Society Cookbook."
KATHY'S MINI TOFFEE BAR CRUNCH PASTRIES
3/4 cup cold fat-free half-and-half
Half of one (1-ounce) package sugar-free and fat-free instant vanilla pudding mix
Half of one
Half of one (1.4-ounce) chocolate-covered English toffee bar, finely crumbled
3 chocolate graham cracker squares, crushed
72 mini phyllo dough shells, such as Athens
Pour the fat-free half-and-half into a large bowl. Add the pudding mix. Beat with a wire whisk until well blended. Let mixture stand five minutes. Fold in the Cool Whip, cracker crumbs and toffee bar. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of filling into each shell. Freeze until firm, about one hour. Then let stand at room temperature for five to 10 minutes to soften. Store any leftovers in the freezer. Serves 18.
Per serving (4 filled mini shells): 104 calories, 14 carb grams, 108mg sodium, 5.4 fat grams, trace cholesterol, trace protein, no fiber.
KATHY'S MINI FROZEN LEMONADE PASTRIES
1 teaspoon sugar-free lemonade mix like Crystal Light
1/4 cup water
1 cup Edy's Slow Churned Light Vanilla ice cream, softened
Half of one (8-ounce) container Cool Whip Lite
72 mini phyllo shells
Optional garnish: lemon zest
Stir the powdered drink mix into the water. With an electric mixer, beat the lemonade mixture and the ice cream in a large bowl on low speed until blended. Fold in the Cool Whip and mix well. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of filling into each shell. Freeze until firm, about one hour.
Remove from the freezer and let stand at room temperature for five to 10 minutes to soften before serving. Store any leftovers in the freezer. Makes 72 shells. Serves 18.
Per serving (4 filled mini shells): 96 calories, 58mg sodium, 5.2 fat grams, 1 mg cholesterol, 6 carb grams, no protein, no fiber.
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