Sugar just doesn’t seem as sinister today as it once did. That’s in part because people with diabetes have learned that sweet indulgences are OK, in moderation. But just because you’re allowed to eat sugar doesn’t mean you should blow your carbohydrate allotment on the sweet stuff. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), people following a 2,000-calorie diet should get no more than 40 grams of added sugars daily—the equivalent of 8 to 10 teaspoons of sugar, or the amount in one 12-ounce soda. The problem is that, according to USDA data, most people get more like three or four times that amount. “Even if you don’t have diabetes or if you have pre-diabetes, watching the amount of sugar in your diet is prudent,” says Marlene Koch, RD, a registered dietitian, cooking instructor, and author of Marlene Koch’s Sensational Splenda Recipes: Over 375 Recipes Low in Sugar, Fat and Calories. “Eight teaspoons of sugar may sound like a lot, but a piece of carrot cake with icing has 18 [teaspoons].”

Aside from being a major source of carbs, sugar has zilch nutritional content. By lessening the amount of sugar you get from each food, you can save your allotted carbs for healthier fare, like whole grains and fruits. Case in point: Knock just 3 teaspoons of sugar from your meal and you’ll save 12 grams of carbohydrate, the amount in more than a half cup of blueberries.

An easy way to slash sugar is by using sugar substitutes, many of which are calorie free and don’t raise blood glucose levels. They pack a wallop when it comes to sweetness, but with far fewer calories than the real deal. Of course, you must still mind your carbs and calories. “Just because we’re replacing the sugar doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all,” says Pauline Williams, MPA, RD, CD, a registered dietitian and the clinical nutrition manager at the Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City. “It still has carbohydrates, it still has fat, it’s still a treat, [and] it’s still a baked good. But maybe you can eat two instead of one.”

Still, sugar does more than lend cookies and cupcakes a sweet flavor; it keeps baked goods moist, gives them a golden-brown color, thickens recipes, and helps foods rise. (Drinks, dressings, and cold dishes made with sugar substitutes lose little in the translation because they rely less on sugar’s other properties.) “Whenever you’re going to replace sugar with sweetener, you’re just replacing one trait: the sweetness,” not the other factors that make for good baking, says Williams. But there are ways to trick your baked goods into behaving like full-sugar products. To sidestep common cooking quandaries, read on.