Mix the flours
You may not want to completely let go of all purpose flour, but it is a good idea to include low gluten spelled for some nuttiness or rye flour for rounding out the pie crust. If you want your dessert to be gluten free completely then it is a good idea to combine different alt-flours for varied taste and a balanced texture. For instance, Ko uses almond and coconut flours in blueberry muffins.
Use fruit
The more fruit you add the lighter will be your dessert. You can reduce the usage of sugar by adding applesauce to bind granola and keeping the quick bread moist for the day or use avocado to thicken the pistachio pear pudding. Another natural way of sweetening your treats are dried fruits.
Don’t fear vegetables
One of the most stunning uses of vegetables can be seen in Ko’s forever shelf stable frosting which is made completely from sweet potato puree and semisweet chocolate. The result of this innovative thinking is a fluffy spreadable cake topper with no added sugar. On the other hand, she has made use of beets in red velvet cake, golden beets in yellow cupcakes and these are just some of her genius tricks.
Think savory
You can be bold and innovative with ingredients like adding miso to macadamia blondies or garam masala to the toasted nut and this will keep you mind from focusing on sugar. The other innovative ideas are adding Tahini to still-buttery fig financiers and orange marmalade thumbprints. At the same time, you can use goat cheese instead of cream cheese in rugelach dough.
Find a better butter
It is not necessary to completely do away with the butter completely in order to make something feel healthier. It is always a good idea to add healthy fats like olive oil which will take the heavy lifting off butter and will also introduce a well-rounded flavor. The other options are an almond paste, yogurt, and peanut butter.
You will find many other innovative tips on how to make your desserts healthier in the book by Ko. You can also add your own creativity to these recipes and think of extra tasty desserts which are also healthy for you.