Creamy Lemon-Vanilla Ricotta Soufflés

OMG, I need a set of ramekins! I totally wasn't thinking, and made these cute little souffles in a giant muffin tin - and when it came time to eat them.... omg! I need ramekins! Dave and I stood there and blinked at each other with "what now?" looks on our faces! Its a good thing we aren't fussy, because we huddled together over the tin with our spoons and ate right out of it! (It was actually pretty cute!)

One of the non-food things I miss during our SBD phase is baking desserts. I might only bake once a week, or every other week, but I miss knowing that I could whip up a batch of brownies or cookies or more of that Winning Hearts and Minds cake just because I felt like it. Its even harder with all of the tasty sweets you guys have been cooking up lately! Know that I have a full file folder full of them, so that when I'm free, I can bake up a storm! (My new work people had better watch out!) :)

These souffles were light and dainty and very refreshing. While I really dug them as they were, I imagined them being even better with a nice sauce! On top of that, the flavoring was so easy, I think I'm going to try to fiddle with it, to give us some souffle dessert options.

I'll keep you posted! In the meantime - do you guys have any flavoring suggestions?

Creamy Lemon-Vanilla Ricotta Soufflés
From: The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, separated
3 tablespoons granular sugar substitute
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon lemon extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly coat 4 (4 ounce) ramekins with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk ricotta, egg yolks, 1 tablespoon of the sugar substitute, lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla until combined.

In another large bowl, with an electric mixer at high speed, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar substitute and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold a third of the egg whites into ricotta mixture until combined. Repeat with remaining egg whites.

Spoon ricotta mixture into prepared ramekins and bake until soufflés have risen and are set and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 (1/2 cup) servings.

Per serving: 130 cals, 7 g fat, 4 g sat fat, 10 g protein, 5 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 180 mg sodium