i think the 'sweet leaf' brand stevia products are great -- it makes perfect sweet tea for me -- i use the orange flavor liquid in my smoothies and the toffee flavor liquid in my coffee -- my grocery store put the plain big bottles of 'sweet leaf' brand liquid stevia on sale for $9 a pop -- score! they are usually around $20 so i'll be trying some more baking with some of that and subbing in applesauce to make up for the lack of the substance of sugar -- 

i can really taste the funky side of stevia when i bake with 'stevia in the raw' which is a stevia + sugar formula -- so i filled in with truvia again -- i mostly go with individual serving pies, brownies, a few cookies -- but the truvia is suspect because it initially tried to come off as being a stevia product but it's really a sugar alcohol with a green leaf printed on the packaging -- 

i've tried date sugar a very mild sweetener and coconut sugar which is awesome but has beaucoup calories -- but so far i've found that baking with actual fruit or chocolate like making date bars, apple pie and brownies, molten cakes works best -- 

i'll be posting some recipes eventually and just wondering if you have any experience or commentary on baking with these non-sugar ingredients -- would love to hear from you on this subject especially recipes --

best and sweetest to you all 

I find that setvia alone is overly sweet of has a funky taste. I usually combine it with something else. Have you tried xylitol? You can use it as a 1:1 substitute for sugar and it has a glycemic index of 0, I believe. The only downside is that if you eat it in large quantities it can cause stomach upset in some people.

thank you, marya, i agree stevia can really be nasty but the sweet leaf is the best i've had -- especially the flavored stuff -- but it's an acquired taste -- doesn't bake up well so far --

i don't think i've tried baking with xylitol yet -- but i have gotten way sick from sugar free candy -- didn't read the package -- like 2 pieces was one serving and i ate the whole bag -- it was a small bag but oh boy --

xylitol is made from birch bark i just learned and while i'm interested  another problem with xylitol is that it can be fatally toxic to dogs and i had to take mine to the vet because he accidentally ate some sugar free gum -- $1,000 later...

it does have about 10 calories per tablespoon and one tablespoon is the recommended daily amount -- and yes it's recommended for diabetics because of the low glycemic index -- but it would knock out quite a few calories out of my baked goods --

thanks, good idea, just gotta be real careful

Something that would be totally toxic to dogs would make me wonder if it would be any good for me to eat. I don't think I will try it. Sorry to hear that your poor dog got poisoned. Dogs are like a part of the family!!! Glad to hear that he is doing better now!!!

thank you, remnant -- it was tense for a while -- he never acted sick but he could have died or had permanent liver damage especially if we waited to see if he got sick -- it was one of those where you needed to act quickly -- he was overnight at the er and had several vet visits after that -- he thankfully got a clean bill of health --

i mean dark chocolate is also highly toxic to dogs so you gotta know where to draw the line -- milk chocolate is not as toxic -- weird huh -- and me on diet foods -- the darker chocolate is better for me --

and remnant's post made me think of this --

i got some dark chocolate chips made with stevia no sugar :)  they're good! no wonky aftertaste either --

Lily's brand dark chocolate premium baking chips sold at whole foods stores -- no sugar, vegan, non gmo -- and i mean my husband eats them out of the bag -- they are quite good -- yay -- but not for my dog!

25% fewer calories -- that's huge isn't it  --

maybe i should make something tonight....

so i was reading the packaging on the lily's choc chips and come to find out lily is a childhood cancer survivor and a % of the profits of lilly's sweets go to non-profit organizations that provide services to children with cancer and their families -- wow

more on that here: http://lilyssweets.com/our-story/

but the recipes! yes!  http://lilyssweets.com/baking-with-lilys/

and it's fair trade too

just found out they have erythritol in there too a sugar alcohol same sweetener in truvia and it has inulin also to boost flavor and texture -- stevia is the last ingredient so it's in there but there's more vanilla than stevia -- which irks me a little that on the outside of the bag it prominently says "sweetened with stevia" -- yes there's stevia in there but there's more erythritol and inulin -- phfft -- but still a worthy product --

from lilly's sweets faqs:

"Why does Lily’s say “Stevia Sweetened” when Erythritol is listed before Stevia? 

Although the volume of erythritol used in Lily’s is higher than the volume of Stevia, erythritol is only 60% as sweet as sugar, while stevia is 200-300 times as sweet as sugar. Therefore, Stevia contributes to most of Lily’s sweetness, while erythritol and the natural fibers contribute to rounding out Lily’s delicious flavor profile and mouth-feel."

Hi,

I can't tolerate ANY non sugar substitute, but don't know if I would be able to really tell in baked goods. This would be an issue for me if I was requested to make a non-sugar cake. I don't know what I would do!

can't tolerate because you don't like it or because it makes you sick? oh you can detect it with some substitutes and not with others --

doing specialty baking beyond one's treasured hard earned formulas is most difficult and time/money consuming -- i pass on special effects baking -- they select from my established menu or they order elsewhere --

especially when they request 'aunt louise's' special recipe -- i say, 'no sorry, i don't do legends' how could i right? how could i create something to match the memory in their taste buds and brains -- nope not moi --

but you could work on sugar free and different popular trends after you get more of the basics down -- but another thing is i never do anything with allergies for a client -- when there's death or an epi pen hovering over my heart and their thigh i'm out -- fast! this sugar free here is just for my personal baking

I use Stevia on a regular basis and have found a couple of hints that may be helpful.  I do not buy Stevia from the grocery store at all.  Those all have some kind of additive to them not making it true Stevia.  I get mine through mail order (Vitacost, IHerb, etc.) when they have sales.  I make sure the Stevia is just pure ground Stevia with no additives.  

The best way to utilize the Stevia in baking is to dissolve it in a warm, wet ingredient.  The heating of the Stevia helps to bring out the Stevia's sweetness.  Also, you must know for sure what grind of Stevia you are using.  Some are extracts and some are pure ground making a big difference in the amount used for sweetening.  Be sure to try your Stevia in a cup of tea or coffee to test the sweetness.  The first time I tried to bake something was awful because I didn't have the correct sweetening ratios and my result was an awful, bitter tasting bread; too much Stevia.  I have an extract powder that I use 1 teaspoon for 1 cup of sugar.  But I also have ground Stevia leaves that are 2 Tablespoons for 1 cup of sugar - a big difference.

It is expensive so I don't use it to bake for others unless family.  I have never tried to use it for a cake or cupcakes so unfortunately I can not be helpful there.  I have baked pies with it and they came out fantastic.

Hi,

I can taste it and they usually make me nauseous. I am working on some gluten free recipes - that seems to be a big market here, and I'm not sure how it will go because the flours are so much more expensive!!!! It's amazing!! I made a bread for my friend's party, and the flour cost $7 for 2 pounds. wow!!!

And the peanut free makes me nervous, too, although I generally don't have peanuts in the kitchen in which I bake (and no one else uses it right now) and since I don't use mixes, there is not any peanuts in anything I use, but I would have to do a LOT more research before I made a cake for a very allergic child. Too scary!!

theresacarol, thanks for the information i really appreciate hearing from another stevia user -- makes sense to dissolve it into a liquid -- thanks -- yeah i don't think it would make a good cake but i need to experiment more -- i've just been trying safe recipes with a lot of fruit or chocolate -- we'll see --

that's very interesting about the ingredients -- the liquid sweetleaf has purified water, organic stevia leaf extract and natural flavors which can cover a lot of sins i know but...the powdered form has inulin kind of a texturizer as i understand it --

then the vitacost stevia extract also has stevia extract although not listed as organic plus vegetable glycerin and deionized water so they seem fairly similar and if you catch it right at the store you get a huge discount -- our local store has a health food section where i'm sure they just write off half the stuff -- to my delight :)

and in other stevial news -- i tried lily's milk chocolate bar and it is excellent -- not to mention it was on sale too -- love a tasty bargain 

Thanks for telling me about lilly's chips from whole foods. I am going to try them.

they are on sale right now here in elvistown

20-25% fewer calories come to momma hahaha