These past few weeks I’ve had many people ask me how I’m doing with my sugar addiction and if I’ve discovered any sure-fire ways to at least cut back on the stuff.

I have to answer that it’s still an up-and-down deal for me, but has been improvement. And it’s come by way of a more temperate approach. I’m in the “cutting back” phase while augmenting my diet with loads and loads of fresh fruits and veggies and good quality protein.

It’s always a challenge for those of us that like to bake, right? But maybe I’ve found something that’ll make meeting this challenge easier. The really helpful website, How Stuff Works (www.how stuffworks.com), features an article, “Tips for Low-Sugar Baking” from the editors of Easy Home Cooking Magazine. (This article seems like a hug from heaven.)

Following are their tips on successfully creating delicious low-sugar baked goods by relying on a few key strategies.

The first technique is using flavor enhancers such as orange or lemon zest. These bring out the fruitiness in a dish and heightens the flavors of the ingredients used. Vanilla, butter flavoring, and nut flavorings produce an aroma of "fattening" sweetness and buttery nuts without the use of butter or excessive use of nuts.

Then there’s sweet-enhancing spices such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg. These intensify flavors in a dish. Or try combining several spices instead of using just one for a fresh, uplifting flavor.

Or, consider topping baked goods with fruit, fruit spread, or a generous amount of cinnamon mixed with some sugar substitute (I recommend stevia). This allows the flavors to be on top and tasted immediately.

Adding dried fruits, such as plums, raisins, apples, pears, peaches, apricots, cherries, and cranberries also provide bursts of sweetness. Cutting each one into very small pieces helps distribute the flavors and sweetness more evenly. (In the same vein, using mini morsels of chocolate rather than the standard-size chips helps guarantee chocolate flavors in every bite.)

And overripe fruits, such as bananas, provide a tremendous amount of sweetness, moisture, and flavor. Always buy fruits -- especially apples -- individually, not in plastic bags. The flavors and sweetness are much more intense when the fruits haven't been packaged in plastic.

A smart trick to use when making pie is to sprinkle a small amount of sugar on the top crust that’s been coated with cooking spray. This will create the taste and appearance of sugar while using no-sugar or sugar-reduced filling.

And when reducing the sugar in cookie dough, it’s important to know that when they’re made using sugar substitute or very little sugar, they usually won’t spread enough while baking to cook evenly. Thus, you’ll need to flatten the surface of each cookie before baking with a fork coated with cooking spray. (The cooking spray prevents the fork from sticking to the dough.)

When it comes to baking muffins and cupcakes, just know that reducing sugar will diminish their rising as high as usual. To remedy this, simply bake your batter in small mini muffin tins rather than the standard size. You’ll still get the desired shape and this way they’ll reach a higher rise. Also, adding 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to a recipe helps the product to rise in a shorter baking period (which may be necessary when using mini muffin tins).

Besides rising issues and spreading concerns, there’s also the issue of baked goods not browning properly when sugar has been reduced (or substitutes used). But you can always sprinkle cinnamon or nutmeg atop an item before baking; this gives the impression of browning. And using a small amount of dark brown sugar with fruits will give the dish an intense, buttery, rich color.

Finally, you can always rely on a few decorating strategies to help you with the challenge of reducing sugar, especially when making cookies and cupcakes.

• Drizzle on a bit of chocolate icing made from melted bittersweet chocolate and nonfat half-and-half.

• Press the tops of reduced-sugar cookies into crushed sugar-free hard candies before baking.

• Brush the tops of cookies or muffins lightly with a glaze of no-sugar-added jam thinned with a small amount of juice or water.

What I’ve found lately is that while a challenge for sure, successful reduced-sugar-baking is doable. The key is practice and calling on the expertise of pros. Let me know how it goes for you, and I’ll report back as well!