Dark Chocolate Peppermint Brownies (Low Carb/Gluten Free)
- Yield: 1 1x
Description
The holidays can be a really hard time when it comes to temptations and trying to stay on track with healthy eating. Thankfully there are some truly delicious ways of “indulging” without regretting it later.
NOW, I have to preface this with the fact that I am all about having a treat here and there with ZERO guilt! A couple of caveats: if you are sensitive to certain foods, those don’t count as “treats”! I do not at all find it worth having things that send you backwards with your health! The other things is that I would encourage that treats still have very high quality ingredients, organic when possible, gluten free if necessary!
These brownies do have some applesauce in the recipe which might cause keto people to twitch…but, fear not! There is only 1/2 a cup of unsweetened applesauce in the entire recipe which, depending on the size of the brownie might amount to 1 carb per brownie from the applesauce.
I do not believe in “keto foods”. Instead, I encourage a whole foods, nutrient dense approach to keto that involves using foods to help reach a ketogenic metabolic process. This means you can have a little applesauce within a recipe if the overall carbs are still low, keeping blood sugar stable.
Here’s where to get some of my favorite ingredients:
- Lily’s Chocolate Chips
- Natural Christmas Cookie Sprinkles
- Organic Cocoa Powder
- Organic Peppermint Extract
- Organic Erythritol
- Organic Confectioners Erythritol
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Ingredients
Brownies
- 6 tbsp Butter (grass fed) or coconut oil
- ½ cup Dark Chocolate chips (I use Lily’s)
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg Yoke
- ½ tsp Vanilla
- ½ cup Applesauce (unsweetened)
- ¾ cup Almond Flour
- ½ cup Cocoa Powder
- 3 tbsp Monk fruit or Erythritol
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp peppermint extract
Peppermint Frosting
- ½ cup Cream Cheese, full fat
- 2 tbsp powdered erythritol
- ¼ tsp peppermint extract
Instructions
Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8″ square pan with butter or coconut oil.
- Melt the chocolate chips and butter/coconut oil together in a small pot over low/med heat until just melted, and stirring until completely smooth.
- I use Lily’s Chocolate Chips as they are low carb and sweetened with stevia.
- Stir in the whole egg and the yolk, vanilla, and applesauce.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (almond flour, cocoa powder, monk fruit or erythritol, and salt) and then stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer.
- Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until set.
Peppermint Frosting
- While the brownies are baking, in a medium sized bowl, add all of the frosting ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth.
- Let the brownies cool all the way before frosting. I put them in the fridge or freezer for at least an hour once they are almost all the way cool so that the frosting goes on smoothly without sticking to the brownie and creating a mess.
- Option: add some Christmas sprinkles made with natural ingredients! You can find a link to some good ones in the ingredients section!
