Piled high with cupcakes, brownies and creme brulee, a high-powered trio of Bay Area pastry chefs arrived in The Chronicle test kitchen to put the artificial sweetener Splenda through its paces.

The stuff is in the baking aisle, after all, tucked between brownie mixes and baking tins. So why did I feel slightly queasy about lacing otherwise normal chocolate chip cookies with artificial ...

? Really rich food loaded with butter, right? Doesn't she even say, "I'm your cook, not your doctor?" Well, maybe so, but she has a few triks up her sleeve when it comes to recipes that are a little ...

Most of the artificial sweeteners available for home use do well at sweetening beverages, but they can't handle the heat of cooking or baking, or they deliver results with a lot to be desired. Splenda ...