Rose Reisman’s Miniature Chocolate Mud Pies

Thanks to her cookbooks, Rose Reisman was one of the first people to teach me how to bake. One of the reasons I love her approach is that she likes to make low fat food, including low fat desserts. Most “healthy” desserts end up being a disaster for my tastebuds but Rose really has a unique approach.

When I won the title of “Hot Pepper” on Food Network Canada’s web site I got all sorts of treats and swag, including Rose’s cookbook Rose Reisman’s Family Favorites. I have been recipe testing ever since and really could not wait to make one of her dessert recipes once again.

Lightly oil two six-cup muffin tins. In a small bowl combine 1 cup of chocolate cookie crumbs with 1 tbsp of water and 2 tsp of vegetable oil. Divide between the tins and pat down to make the crust.

Here is what I love about Rose. Normally I would NEVER combine chocolate with water or coffee but here she goes, thinking out of the baker’s box. Combine in a small bowl 2 tbsp of chocolate chips, 2 tbsp of hot water and 1 tsp of instant coffee. Microwave on high for 40 seconds until the chocolate begins to melt.

Throw everything else into a food processor and blend… love it Rose! In the food processor you will need 1 cup of packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, 2 tbsp of flour, 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp of softened light cream cheese, 2 large eggs, 1/4 cup low fat sour cream, 3 tbsp of corn syrup and 1 tsp vanilla. Blend until smooth.

Pour in chocolate coffee mixture and blend together.

Divide into 12 muffin tins lined with cookie crumb crust and bake in a preheated 350F oven for 12-14 minutes.

You want the centres to be slightly loose. Cool and you are supposed to chill for at least two hours. Decorate with icing sugar.

My husband LOVED these! He is a chocolate fiend and loved the earthy crust with the goopy almost cheese-cake like topping. I am not as big a fan of chocolate. I mean I like it but I wanted something more so I tried making my own quick caramel sauce.

I had some caramels leftover from the holidays and read online that if you nuke them, add heavy cream and stir you can make a caramel sauce so that is what I did. Normally I would just make a homemade sauce but I had zero time and you know what happened?

A very weird thick caramel spider covered the top. Not only that, it really, REALLY hardened so when you bit into it, the whole thing came off at once. I ended up chewing and chewing for a long, long time before my mouth was free for another bite of the mud pie! Yup, not a good idea but at least I tried.

If you are a chocolate lover, you will adore these! If you want a dessert with minimal flour, this is also for you. Individually they are only 200 calories and if you are on a low-fat diet, these only have 5.8 grams of fat and only 2.1 grams is saturated fat. These are lovely dense and moist treats made with minimal effort, thanks to the food processor. I give these treats four out of five wooden spoons.