Bars: Chocolate Mint Cheesecake KETO

Servings:  16 Bars

Net Carbs: 3

Ingredients:

Crust:

• ½ cup butter
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• 6 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
• 1 large egg lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup almond flour
• ⅔ cup shredded coconut
• ⅓ cup chopped pecans (optional)

Filling:

• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• ½ cup butter softened
• 1 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
• 2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream room temperature
• 2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• Natural green food coloring

Chocolate Glaze:

• 3 ounces sugar free dark chocolate chopped
• 2 tablespoon butter

Optional Garnish:

• ½ ounce sugar-free white chocolate chips (optional)
• ¼ ounce cocoa butter

Instructions:

Crust

In a medium saucepan over very low heat, melt the butter. Stir in the cocoa powder and sweetener, and then slowly whisk in the egg.

Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, almond flour, shredded coconut and nuts. Press crust into a 9×9 or 8×8 square pan evenly and refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.

Filling:

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth, then beat in the sweetener until well combined.

Add the whipping cream and peppermint extract and beat until smooth. Beat in just enough food coloring to achieve a minty green.

Spread the filling over the crust and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Chocolate Glaze:

In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stir the chopped chocolate and butter together until melted and smooth. Spread over the chilled bars.

Refrigerate the bars 20 minutes to set the chocolate OR decorate with white chocolate chevrons as described below.

Optional Garnish:

If you want to make the white chocolate chevron decorations, you will need to work quickly. I recommend melting the white chocolate at the same time as you are making the chocolate glaze.

In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the white chocolate chips with the cocoa butter, stirring until smooth.

Immediately after spreading the chocolate glaze on the bars, drizzle the white chocolate overtop in straight lines across.

Then immediately drag a toothpick from one side of the bars to the other, across the white chocolate lines. Do this in opposite directions to create chevrons.

Refrigerate the bars 20 minutes to set the chocolate.

Notes:

Don’t be at all intimidated by the long ingredient list and instructions. These keto dessert bars are easy to make, with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry! Here are my best tips for getting it right.

Prepare the crust. This crust isn’t baked, but you do cook the ingredients together in a pan over low heat. It takes an egg, and by cooking it with the butter and cocoa powder, you both thicken the mixture and cook the egg enough to be safe.

Press the crust into the pan. Press it in firmly and evenly. The mixture will seem a bit greasy as you do this but it will absorb as it cools. You do not need to grease the pan because the mixture has plenty of oil.

Chill the crust. It needs at least 20 minutes to firm up properly.

Prepare the filling. This filling doesn’t take custard, like a classic Nanaimo Bar. Instead it’s more of a buttercream frosting with mint.

Add a touch of green. Or not! I love the look a bit of natural green food coloring gives these bars but you can leave it white if you prefer.

Chill them again. They go back into the fridge to firm up the filling.

Prepare the chocolate glaze. This is a simply glaze of chopped sugar free chocolate and butter melted together. As always, do it double boiler style so you don’t seize the chocolate.

Chill them once more to firm up the chocolate.

Source:  All Day I Dream about Food