Keto Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies

Gluten free, Grain free, Low Carb & Sugar Free…. But NOT FREE of Deliciousness!!!!!

Nutrition information will vary depending on what brands of ingredients you use. However, here is a general break down of the nutrition info (for 16 servings): Calories 158 Carbs: 5 grams Dietary Fiber: 3 Net Carbs: 2 grams Fat: 15 grams Protein: 3 grams

Keto Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies by Noreen’s Keto Kitchen

Servings: 16

INGREDIENTS:

Cheesecake Layer

1 cup cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup low carb sweetener (I use Swerve/Erythritol or Monkfruit)

1 egg at room temperature
1 -2 teaspoon Peppermint Extract or Essence (to taste)

** Green Food Coloring ( Optional– gives that minty green appearance **

Brownie Layer

1/2 cup Superfine Almond Flour

3 Eggs at room temperature

12 Tablespoons of butter

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

2 oz of unsweetened baking chocolate coarsely chopped

3/4 cup low carb sweetener (Swerve/Erythritol or Monkfruit)

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, making sure to cover the bottom and sides.

Cheesecake Layer

Make the cheesecake layer first. Add softened cream cheese and sweetener to a bowl and cream together using an electric mixer until creamy and smooth. Mix in the egg, Green Coloring and Peppermint Extract ( 1- 2 teaspoons based on your taste) until fully combined. Set aside for later.

Brownie Batter

In a microwaveable bowl add the butter and the chopped unsweetened baking chocolate.

Microwave for 30 seconds, stir and back in the microwave in 30 seconds intervals until butter and chocolate are completely melted. You can also let the mixture melt on a double boiler if you don’t use a microwave.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: superfine almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder and baking powder.

In a big bowl crack the 3 eggs and beat them with the mixer for about 30 seconds.

Add the melted butter and chocolate mixture to the eggs and continue mixing for about 30 seconds.

Slowly stir in the all dry ingredients with a wooden spoon or spatula until you get that delicious brownie batter consistency.

Pour 2/3 of the mixture into the parchment lined prepared pan, followed by all of the cheesecake layer.

Add the remaining brownie batter in dollops onto the cheesecake layer and swirl the two batters together using a knife.

Bake for 15-25 minutes or until the center is just set and still a bit wiggly jiggly.

The baking time really does vary drastically from oven to oven, or batch to batch, so I give them a check at the 15 minute mark. A clean knife inserted into the middle should have a little bit of wet batter but not be totally covered in batter. If it’s not done, bake another 5 minutes and test again with the knife.

***I would almost always rather they be a tad under cooked than over cooked. Overcooked will produce a drier, more cake like brownie, than the dense and fudgey ones I am after.***

Allow to cool completely on a rack. Lift brownies using the edges of the parchment paper and cut into desired size.

Store in the fridge. Let sit out a few minutes before devouring, as it lets the cheesecake layer soften slightly. If you completely lack self-control, they freeze amazingly well!

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!!!! Tried and Tested From Noreen’s Keto Kitchen!!!!

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In a microwaveable bowl add the butter and the chopped unsweetened baking chocolate. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir and back in the microwave in 30 seconds intervals until butter and chocolate are completely melted. You can also let the mixture melt on a double boiler if you don’t use a microwave.

In a big bowl crack the 3 eggs and beat them with the mixer for about 30 seconds.

Add the melted butter and chocolate mixture to the eggs and continue mixing for about 30 seconds.

Slowly stir in the all dry ingredients with a wooden spoon or spatula until you get that delicious brownie batter consistency.

Pour 2/3 of the mixture into the parchment lined prepared pan, followed by all of the cheesecake layer. Add the remaining brownie batter in dollops onto the cheesecake layer and swirl the two batters together using a knife. Bake for 15-25 minutes or until the center is just set and still a bit wiggly jiggly.

Keto & Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie

Keto, Low Carb, Sugar Free, Gluten Free, Grain Free, & Dairy Free!!

If you WANT DAIRY in your pumpkin pie, please see the Variations Note below for those instructions!

Nutrition information will vary depending on what brands of ingredients you use and how big you cut the slices. However, here is a general break down of ONE SLICE (out of 8 servings): Calories: 258 Net Carbs: 4.75 grams Fat: 20.5 grams Protein: 8.75 grams

I have made many different Pumpkin Pies over the years. Gluten & carb filled, gluten free but with sugar, and gluten free/dairy free. But this attempt at a Keto/Gluten Free/Dairy Free/Sugar Free Pumpkin Pie was a lot easier than I anticipated! This pie set up beautifully and was devoured by my Non- Keto but Gluten Free family. They said it got better the longer it set in the fridge. So this would be something you could definitely make a day or 2 before Thanksgiving to free up your time on Turkey Day.

Keto & Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie by Noreen’s Keto Kitchen!

Servings: 8 slices from a 9-Inch Pie

Ingredients

Pie Crust:

2 cups of Superfine Almond Flour

1 Medium Egg

2 Tablespoons of Lard (cold from the fridge) (You could use coconut oil here)

1/2 Tablespoon of Cinnamon (or to taste if you like it spicier)
1 Tablespoon of Swerve Low Carb Sweetener or Monkfruit
1/4 teaspoon of Salt

Pumpkin Pie Filling:

1 2/3 cups of Canned Pumpkin Puree (make sure to get one without any added sugars/starches, etc.)

8 teaspoons of Swerve Low Carb Sweetener or Monkfruit

3 teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix (or to taste if you like it spicier)
1 1/2 teaspoons of Cinnamon (or to taste if you like it spicier)

2 Medium Eggs
1 cup of Unsweetened Coconut Milk or Unsweetened Almond Milk

Instructions:

For the Pie Crust:

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a medium bowl, add the Almond Flour, Salt, Cinnamon and mix until well blended.

Next, add the cold Lard & Egg to the Almond Flour mixture.

Use a fork or pastry blender to mix & mash the Lard & Egg into the dry ingredients.

The mixture will start to resemble crumbly breadcrumbs.

Continue mixing until the pie dough starts to come together. Use your hands to gently kneed the dough to form a ball.

Put the pie dough in between 2 pieces of parchment paper and roll it into a circular shape a bit bigger than your pie dish. I used a 9-Inch pie dish for this recipe.

Remove the top piece of parchment paper and flip the pie crust over into your pie dish, releasing the dough from the parchment.

If it breaks or falls apart at all, use your fingers to shape the dough back into place. This pie dough is very forgiving so don’t be scared of it! (Pics Below)

Set the prepared pie crust aside and start on the filling.

For the Pumpkin Pie Filling:

Add the Pumpkin Puree, Low Carb Sweetener, Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix and Cinnamon to a large bowl.

Mix with a whisk or electric mixer until it is well combined, about 30 seconds or so.

Next, add in the Coconut or Almond Milk and mix until well combined.

Add your 2 eggs and whisk it well again, for about a minute.

Pour the pumpkin pie filling into the prepared 9- Inch Pie Crust.

Bake for about 40-45 minutes. The center may look a little wet but should only be slightly jiggly. If the crust is browning to quickly, lightly drape the pie with a piece of aluminum foil.

Remove from the oven and let cool. When completely cool, place in refrigerator, tightly covered for at least 3-4 hours, or even overnight.

Variations:

To make this recipe WITH DAIRY, simply substitute out the Lard in the crust for cold butter and use heavy cream in the pie filling instead of the coconut or almond milk. The measurements will remain the same as the non-dairy version.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!!!! Tried and Tested From Noreen’s Keto Kitchen!!!!

pie crust — Pie Crust: Use a fork or pastry blender to mix & mash the Lard & Egg into the dry ingredients.
The mixture will start to resemble crumbly breadcrumbs.

piecrust5 — Continue mixing until the pie dough starts to come together. Use your hands to gently kneed the dough to form a ball.

piecrust2 — Pie Crust: If it breaks or falls apart at all, use your fingers to shape the dough back into place. This pie dough is very forgiving so don’t be scared of it!

pumpkin5 — Pie Filling: Add the Pumpkin Puree, Low Carb Sweetener, Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix and Cinnamon to a large bowl.
Mix with a whisk or electric mixer until it is well combined, about 30 seconds or so.
Next, add in the Coconut or Almond Milk and mix until well combined.
Add your 2 eggs and whisk it well again

pumpkin6 — Pour the pumpkin pie filling into the crust prepared 9- Inch Pie Dish. Bake for about 40-45 minutes

Out of the oven and ain’t that a Pretty Keto/ Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie!!!

Here are some of my Keto Kitchen essentials when making this recipe (you can click on the pics for more details):

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Dirty Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nutrition information will vary depending on what brands of ingredients you use. However, here is a general break down of nutrition info for ONE COOKIE (batch made 24 cookies): Calories: 118 Carbs: 3 grams Dietary Fiber: 1.5 grams Net Carbs: 1.5 grams Fat: 12 grams Protein: 12 grams

I consider these cookies Dirty Keto because I used Sugar Free Hershey’s Chocolate Chips. Those particular chips have malitol, a sweetener which I generally avoid on Strict Keto. However, these chips were on sale, I only used 4 oz to make 24 cookies and I don’t plan to make them regularly. If I switch out the chocolate chips for Lily’s chips or other Keto chocolate, these can easily become Strict Keto. The choice is really up to you and the style in which you Keto. BTW…these were GOOD!!!! So good I had to freeze some so I would not be tempted to eat them for every meal. It has been 6 months since I have had any sort of cookie so I didn’t feel guilty for taking an extra one of these low carb goodies!!

Dirty Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies by Noreen’s Keto Kitchen!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup of Almond Flour

3 Tablespoons of Coconut Flour

1/4 teaspoon of Salt

1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon of Baking Powder
8 Tablespoons of a Low Carb Sweetener ( I used Swerve)

10 Tablespoons of Butter, softened to room temperature

1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

1 Egg

4 oz Sugar Free Chocolate Chips of your choice
2 oz of Chopped Walnuts (optional)

Instructions:

Combine Almond Flour, Coconut Flour, Salt, Baking Soda & Baking Powder in a bowl. Stir until well blended. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the Butter with an electric mixer until soft, about 2 minutes. Mix in low Carb Sweetener and continue to cream the Butter until it is light and fluffy (at least 5 more minutes). The longer you cream the butter and sweetener together the better.

After 5 minutes, add the Vanilla Extract and Egg. Mix well.

With a spatula, add in half of your Flour Mixture to the creamed butter- stirring until just incorporated. Then stir in the remainder of the flour.

Stir in the Sugar Free Chocolate Chips and Walnuts.
Cover bowl and refrigerate cookie dough for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop cookie dough into 24 rounds and flatten them slightly with a fork. The cookies will spread a bit during baking. For a crisper cookie, flatten them a lot, for a softer cookie flatten them slightly. You can see how mine look going into the oven in the below pic. I was going for a softer cookie.

Place cookie dough on the parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes.
My first batch were a tad too brown (still very edible) at 10 minutes and just about right at 8 minutes. So watch your oven carefully as it will vary and cookies go from under cooked to over cooked very quickly.

Allow the cookies to cool about 5 minutes on the baking trays before transferring to a cooling rack. If cookies are too crumbly to move, allow them to cool completely on the baking sheet before transferring. They will firm up nicely as they set and cool.
Store the Keto Kookies in an airtight container. I left mine in the cupboard but refrigerating or freezing should be okay as well.

Serve with a cup of Irish Tea with a splash of cream or a cold glass of unsweetened chocolate almond milk and I am happy!!

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!!!! Tried and Tested From Noreen’s Keto Kitchen!!!!

Serve with a glass of unsweetened chocolate almond milk and I am happy!!

Here are some of my Keto Kitchen essentials when making this recipe (you can click on the pics for more details):

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Dirty Keto Ranch Pork Chops

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

1/2 packet to 3/4 packet of Gluten Free Ranch Salad Dressing/ Seasoning Mix

4-6 Pork Loin Chops – Bone In (about 1-inch thick)

Paprika

Black Pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450ºF.

In a small bowl, add the Ranch Seasoning mix, salt, pepper, and paprika and stir well. (How much ranch to use depends on how many pork chops you have, use your discretion here.)

Generously sprinkle the pork chops on both sides with the seasoning mixture.

Place the pork chops on a foil lined baking sheet.

Bake the pork chops for about 20-25 minutes.

Flip the pork chops once during cooking. Internal temperature should reach 160ºF.

ranch pork chops2 — My pork chops before the seasoning!

I Bake my Bacon by the Batch! by Noreen’s Keto Kitchen

If you are on Keto, YES, you can eat bacon! Yeah, Bacon! It’s a good source of fat and relatively low in calories and carbs. If you can afford it, get uncured, all natural, nitrate free bacon. I have to Keto within my budget, so I end up getting regular bacon, but making sure it is as natural as I can get, minimal processing, and none to very little sugar and carbs.

Bacon pretty much goes with everything. I have taken to baking my bacon, to save time, to spare my stove top the greasy mess and to have already cooked bacon at my beck and call. I can throw it on a burger or sandwich, crumble it up on some deviled eggs, roasted veggies or over a salad, eat it by itself, or however else you love to have your bacon.

I am by no means saying eat a package of bacon a day! I have seen some people out there who claim to eat bacon all day every day. Sure, it’s low in carbs but everything in moderation people! A package of cooked bacon will last at least a week in my house (of 2 people), so we certainly aren’t eating it at every meal, though I can’t blame you for wanting to do so.

Have I convinced you to bake your bacon yet? If not, here are some more reasons:

Baking your Bacon will ensure flat pieces that don’t curl up much
Save time! You can cook an entire package at one time, instead of what just fits in the frying pan
Pan frying bacon usually leaves the kitchen and stove top messy and greasy, but that doesn’t happen when you bake it!
You normally don’t have to flip bacon when baking it, though I may if I think it will help crisp it up more or if overlapped pieces are sticking together a bit.
Okay, so now are you convinced? Read on for How to Bake Your Bacon!

Method for Baking Bacon:

Preheat oven to 400° F.
Your oven rack should be in the middle of the oven.
Cover/line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Place Baking Rack (see below for more info) onto the foil lined baking sheet
Line up Bacon on baking rack, like shown above. If you need to overlap the pieces a little to make it all fit that is fine. The bacon will shrivel up a bit when cooking.
Bake your Bacon for about 10-20 minutes.
This is really where your personal discretion comes in; some people like paler chewy bacon, some like almost burnt crispy and others like something in between.
Start checking the bacon after the first 10 minutes for your desired doneness, and every 5 minutes after that until it reaches your level of Bacon Heaven!
Remove pan from oven, transfer cooked bacon onto paper towel to drain fat.
If not eating it right away, let Bacon cool and store it wrapped in paper towel in a Ziploc bag in the fridge. When I am ready to throw it on a burger or sandwich I pop a slice or two in the microwave for about 30 seconds and done!!! BACON!!!

Here are some of my Keto Kitchen essentials when Baking my Bacon (you can click on the pics below for more details):

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bacon now — Look at that lovely oven Baked Bacon! Pic courtesy of me =)

All+You+Need+is+Love+and+Bacon+Poster+On+Wood

Hope you enjoy love this as much as I do!!!! Tried and Tested From Noreen’s Keto Kitchen!!!!

Keto Blueberry Coffee Cake with a Cheesecake Layer

Keto, Low Carb, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Nut Free

Nutrition information will vary depending on what brands of ingredients you use and how thick you cut the slices. However, here is a general break down of the nutrition info for 12 serving slices in a standard loaf pan:

Per slice: 231 Calories, 20g Fat, 6g Protein, 8g Total Carbs, 4g Fiber, 4g Net Carb

Keto Blueberry Coffee Cake with a Cheesecake Layer by Noreen’s Keto Kitchen!

Servings: 12

Ingredients

Blueberry Cake

5 Eggs separated
1/2 Cup Coconut flour
1/2 Cup Swerve/Erythritol/Monkfruit
1/2 Cup Butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 pint of fresh blueberries (crushed or quickly pulsed in a blender/nutribullet so that some juice is rendered. If you want to leave em whole that’s fine too but I really like the blue hue the juice adds to the cake)

Cheesecake Layer

8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup Swerve/Erythritol/ Monkfruit
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Crumble Topping

1/3 Cup Coconut flour

1/3 Cup Swerve/Erythritol/ Monkfruit

1/4 Cup Butter, softened
1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Instructions

CAKE LAYER

Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.
Line a loaf cake tin with parchment paper.
In a bowl, mix the Low Carb Sweetener and butter together until soft and creamy.

Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and stir thoroughly. Then add the blueberries.

Add the coconut flour, salt, baking powder and beat until combined.

In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff.

Gently fold the egg whites into the cake mixture.
Spoon half of the cake batter mixture into the baking tin and smooth evenly.

CREAM CHEESE LAYER

In a bowl, add the softened cream cheese and beat together with the Low Carb Sweetener.
Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat well until smooth.

Spoon this mixture over the cake mixture into the cake tin.
Add the other half of the cake mixture over the cream cheese layer and smooth again.

CRUMBLE TOPPING

Combine the coconut flour, cinnamon and low carb sweetener in a bowl and mix well.
Add the butter and mix & mash it with a fork, so that the mixture looks like crumbly breadcrumbs.

Sprinkle the crumble topping over the cake mixture.

Bake for 40-50 minutes until firm and the top is cooked. A knife inserted into the center should come out mostly clean, if there is a lot of batter, then bake another 5 minutes and knife test again.

Remove from the oven, allow to cool completely, then place in the fridge to firm up. This tasted AMAZING the next day, after it had a chance to firm up and all the flavors really melded together.

Some Handy Dandy Tips from Noreen’s Keto Kitchen:

*** If you are not a fan of blueberries, you could do a pumpkin variation. Leave out the blueberries and add 1 Cup Pumpkin puree & 1 teaspoon Pumpkin pie spice***

*** I made this recipe in a loaf pan but it could easily be made in a 8-9 inch round cake pan or rectangle pan or even into individual muffins***

*** I would NOT recommend using Stevia in this recipe. I have tried baking with Stevia several times and it just doesn’t deliver like Swerve or Monkfruit, and it tends to have a bit of an aftertaste***

*** I have only made this with fresh blueberries but I see no reason why frozen berries wouldn’t work in this recipe. I would let them thaw a little bit before adding them to the cake***

***If you want to lower the carb count of this recipe, you could decrease the amount of blueberries you use. This cake is TURBO blueberryish and that was what I was going for!***

*** If you find that the crumble topping is getting too brown too quickly while baking, you can cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and that will help slow down the browning***

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!!!! Tried and Tested From Noreen’s Keto Kitchen!!!!

Here are some of my Keto Kitchen essentials when making this recipe (you can click on the pics for more details):

As an Amazon Affiliate Associate I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases

Keto Cheesecake Brownies by Noreen

Gluten free, Grain free, Low Carb & Sugar Free…. But NOT FREE of Deliciousness!!!!!

Keto Cheesecake Brownies by Noreen’s Keto Kitchen

Servings: 16

INGREDIENTS:

Cheesecake Layer

1 cup cream cheese softened

1/4 cup low carb sweetener (I use Swerve/Erythritol or Monkfruit)

1 egg at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Brownie Layer

1/2 cup Superfine Almond Flour

3 Eggs at room temperature

12 Tablespoons of butter, softened

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

2 oz of unsweetened baking chocolate coarsely chopped

3/4 cup low carb sweetener (Swerve/Erythritol or Monkfruit)

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, making sure to cover the bottom and sides.

Cheesecake Layer

Make the cheesecake layer first. Add softened cream cheese and sweetener to a bowl and cream together using an electric mixer until creamy and smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla until fully combined. Set aside for later.