Stonyfield Farm Oikos Greek Yogurt Peanut Butter Frosting

June 28, 2009

I have been a fan of Stonyfield Farm Yogurt for a long time. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I survived my college years on a habitual diet of Odwalla Bars, Peanut Butter & Co Peanut Butters, Pepperidge Farm Soft-Baked Chocolate Chunk Cookies and Stonyfield Farm Yogurt. So you can imagine my excitement when I found out about their new Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt! It’s tangy with a creamy texture, making it perfect for dips, smoothies, baked goods, breakfast or… anything really.

For what it’s worth, I don’t usually like ‘healthy’ baked goods. If I’m going to indulge in dessert, I want to go all the way and often I find that healthy ingredient substitutions generally result in a compromise in flavor. However, I’m happy to say that Stonyfield’s new yogurt proved me wrong and stands as a fantastic ingredient for baking without losing any of the fun!

I chose to try it out on Susan Spicer’s Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes, which is a familiar recipe in my kitchen. It calls for Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting, which is really the perfect refreshing accompaniment for her rich cupcakes. I figured that a frosting made with tangy yogurt wouldn’t be far off from a frosting made with tangy cream cheese.

I was happy to discover that both the original frosting recipe and mine are equally delicious, however the Oikos yogurt makes it a LOT healthier. Eight ounces of cream cheese is 800 calories (640 from fat) while eight ounces of Oikos Vanilla Yogurt is 166 calories (0 from fat)! I’m not one to calorie count if it means I’ll be missing out on a delicious dessert, but considering you’re not losing any flavor with the healthy alternative, it seems silly to go with the higher calorie option. Another plus is that the yogurt is a cool and refreshing topping for a cupcake made in the summer months, and you don’t have to sweat putting on that bikini after eating one!

FYI, it should be mentioned that in the same way that you have to love cream cheese in order to love cream cheese frosting, you have to love yogurt to love this frosting. I tried it out on a yogurt lover who loved it and a yogurt hater who well… you get my drift.

I hope you try Stonyfield Farm’s new Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt and enjoy it as a healthy alternative for this recipe and many others!