Thumbprints

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup Splenda

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup no sugar seedless jam

Heat oven to 250°. Combine butter and Splenda in the bowl of an electric mixer. Cream using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, add egg and vanilla, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated. Dough will be soft. Roll two teaspoons of dough between your hands into a 1-inch ball. Repeat, spacing two inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Using a thumb, which has been dampened, make an indentation in the center of each ball of dough. Fill each indentation with ½ teaspoon jam of your choice. Bake at 350 degrees 10 to 11 minutes until lightly golden brown bottoms. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Orange Coconut Cookies

1 ¾ tsp. Splenda

1 cup floour

¼ cup orange juice

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. baking powder

4 Tbs. butter

2 Tbs. coconut

Combine sugar substitute with orange juice and vanilla. Cream butter. Sift dry ingredients together and mix with shortening and liquid. Kneed in the coconut and wrap in wax paper. Chill until firm. Cut in slices 1/8 inch thick and place on cookie sheet. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees until brown around edges for about 10 minutes. Makes 30 cookies.

Harvest Pumpkin Spice Cake

1 ½ cup Splenda

1 cup unsweetened pumpkin

½ cup butter or shortening

1 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

½ cup finely chopped dates

2 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cups chopped walnuts

2 tsp Baking powder

2 tsp grated orange rind

1 tsp salt

shortening

¼  tsp ground ginger

Brown sugar-orange glaze

Beat sugar and shortening or butter at medium speed with an electric mix mixer eat eggs one at a time until blended.Combine flour and next seven ingredients; stir together pumpkin and buttermilk until blended.  Gradually add flour mixture to shortening mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.  Stir in  dates, ½ cup toasted walnuts, and orange rind. Grease a 10 cup Bundt pan with shortening; flour pan. Pour batter into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to55 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Place cake in pan on a wire rack. Make holes in cake in pan, using a long wooden pick. Pour 2/3 cups Brown Sugar-Orange Glaze (see below) over cake, sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup walnuts, and let cool completely.

Brown Sugar-Orange Glaze

½ cup firmly packed Splenda brown sugar

1 tsp grated orange rind

1/3 cup sugar-free syrup

2 Tbs fresh orange juice

Stir together sugar and syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low.

Fruit Trifle

1 Sugar free angel food cake

2 pkgs. Instant sugar free Jell-O pudding mix

2 cups whipping cream

½ small jar of any no-sugar added fruit jam divided

1 18 oz pkg frozen fruit or fresh fruit

Tear angel food cake into small pieces. Place cake into footed bowl. Combine pudding mix and whipped cream. Pour ½ of pudding and whipped cream over first layer of cake. Mix in your choice of no-sugar-added jam. Place ½ of the frozen fruit thawed. Repeat for second layer. Top with whipped topping and rest of fruit.