I am a baker. I love to be in my kitchen and I love to bake and cook for my family. Through the years, I have been able to make some pretty amazing things and because my husband loves chocolate, I tend to use alot of recipes containing chocolate chips. I think it goes without saying that using pure sugar is the best way to cook but is it always the healthiest? Well, if you are on dietary restrictions or are trying to lose weight, pure sugar isn't always the best option. I once was on a yeast-free, sugar-free diet and let me tell you, my body went through some horrible withdrawal symptoms from all the sugar I was consuming. During my quest to not eat sugar or yeast, I found myself using products that contained artificial sweeteners and while they weren't pure sugar, they did the trick when I needed them.
Today, I am going to introduce you to a brand new sweetener that comes from a company called Xlear...the Xylitol Experts.  Lite&Sweet is a sweetener that not only sweetens your foods and beverages, but it is also beneficial to upper respiratory and oral health. Here are some more details about this company...


I never knew that there could be anything sweetener related in wood...interesting. I have many friends who are on gluten-free diets and they have used xylitol, which is one of the reasons I was interested in checking out Lite&Sweet.
So, for this review I was sent some Lite&Sweet to try out and was very excited when my package arrived.  Lite&Sweet not only comes in these single serve packets, but also comes in 1, 3 and 5 pound bags...which makes it super easy to use for baking.
The first thing I noticed about this sweetener is that it is not powdery like sugar, but rather looks like itty bitty balls of clear sugar. The flavor is very sweet and doesn't have any nasty after taste, like some artificial sweeteners cause.  The second thing that sets this sweetener apart from others is it's 1:1 ratio when used for baking. If your recipe calls for 1/2 cup of sugar, you can use 1/2 cup of Lite&Sweet. I hate when I have to try and figure out how much sweetener to use when I substitute it for sugar in recipes. There's no guess work here...just use however much your recipe calls for.

Now, I am going to share a recipe with you that I made recently using Lite&Sweet! This recipe turned out AWESOME and was a huge hit with my family. Here it is...

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Cinnamon Fruit Biscuits

1/2 cup sugar (I used Lite&Sweet)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, separated into 8 or ten biscuits (depending on the size of the can)
1/4 cup butter, melted
10 tsp. strawberry preserves

In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Dip top and sides of biscuits in butter, then in cinnamon sugar. Place on ungreased baking sheets. With the end of a wooden spoon handle, make a deep indentation in the center of each biscuit; fill with 1 tsp. of preserves. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 - 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes before serving, preserves will be hot.

Optional: Drizzle a confectioners sugar glaze over the top of each biscuit for an extra hint of sweetness.

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