Welcome to another of my diabetic-friendly, low-carb recipe posts for the Kos Diabetes Group. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I’m sure that just like me you’re overwhelmed looking at all the candy, chocolates, cakes and other sweets we’re told will make our romantic interests swoon. In my pre-diabetic life I loved sweets, and that love did my metabolism no favors. When I was diagnosed six years ago, I assumed I’d be giving up sweet treats. Thankfully, I’ve learned that done responsibly, I can indulge safely.
I wanted to make something new this year, something that would appeal both to low- and high-carb eaters alike. Of course I went to my favorite keto recipe site (All Day I Dream About Food), because I’ve never tried a recipe by blog owner Carolyn Ketchum that didn’t work. I found something that looks fancy, is really simple to make, and has the potential for lots of adaptations. So let’s get to making Keto Cheesecake Cookie Cups.
What you’ll need for the cookie cups (see my notes at ingredient list end):
1 ¾ cup almond flour
½ cup sweetener
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
6 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredient notes: Make sure to use finely ground almond flour, NOT almond meal. Original recipe uses Swerve brand erythritol sweetener; I use a 50:50 blend of Swerve & Allulose to cut down on the taste effects of any one sweetener. For a great discussion of the various zero-carb sweeteners and their uses, see here.
Steps to make the cups:
1. Preheat your oven to 325F.
2. Grease your muffin tins really well, or use paper/silicone liners. You have to be able to remove the baked cups without breaking them. I used silicone muffin molds and a cookie sheet underneath for ease of moving. Recipe makes 15 regular size cups or 30 mini-muffin sized cups; I made 9 fullsized and 12 mini-sized.
3. Whisk together all dry ingredients. I sifted mine to get the finest texture without sweetener lumps.
4. Stir in the butter, egg and vanilla extract and mix until dough forms. It will be soft (I ended up adding another spoonful of almond flour).
5. Roll into balls. For fullsized cups make 1.5” balls (about 1oz by weight) and for minisized 0.75” (0.5oz by weight).
6. Press into your muffin cups and press about halfway up the sides. In my minimuffin tin the dough went all the way up, use your best judgement to get even, not-too-thick bottoms and sides
7. Bake 12-15 minutes or until they’re puffed up and the edges are juuuust firm to the touch.
8. Remove and cool 2-3 minutes then reform the ‘cup’ with the end of a wooden spoon or other blunt kitchen thing. I found a very gentle touch is best just to smooth out the sides.
9. Let cool completely in the pan, then gently remove and set aside until you’re ready to fill (Refrigerate if you’ll be filling them later)
Now that you’ve got your cookie cups made, it’s time to make the filling! Ingredients are simple:
½ cup frozen raspberries, thawed
12 oz cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup powdered sweetener of your choice (I used a mix of several, and powdered it myself in a spice grinder)
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp raspberry extract (I didn’t have any so my filling isn’t quite as intense either flavor or colorwise. It’s still delicious :))
1. Puree the thawed berries in a blender, then use a sieve to strain out the seeds. Scrape it with a spoon to get as much liquid through as possible.
2. Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then beat in the powdered sweetener. Add the raspberry puree and extracts and beat until combined.
Now all you have to do is fill the cookie cups! I couldn’t find my star piping tip so had to use a plain one, but however you get it into the cups is fine… a spoon works, and no one is gonna judge us for doing whatever works! The original recipe suggests garnishing it with handmade chocolate hearts, but I added a fresh raspberry and it was beautiful. They keep for several days when made, and you also can make the cups in advance and fill when you want them. I have it on good authority you also could fill with whipped cream, a scoop of ice cream, almond butter, or just about anything you can think of- let your imagination run wild.
The stated nutritional info from both the published recipe and my own importing of ingredients into the app I use was the same. Per one large or two small cups: 217 cal; 6.2g total carbs; 2.5g fiber; 5.1g protein; 18.7g fat.
Our Valentine’s Day dinner will start with pork tenderloin medallions (slice pork tenderloin into 1” thick slices, pound thin and season, then pan fry on both sides. Serve with browned butter), brussels sprouts sauteed with olive oil and garlic, and possibly, if I can find them, watermelon radishes quartered and roasted. What is your favorite meal and sweet ending?