Grain-Free Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Written by KristenM

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Do you love brownies, but need an easy grain-free version? Once again, former pastry chef Megan Keatley of Health-Bent comes through for all of us with a healthier version of an old favorite in this guest post just in time for the holidays. No grains, no refined sweeteners, and no refined vegetable oils.Thanks, Megan!

I’ve taken my favorite fudgey brownie recipe and added a little holiday pizazz with some cheesecake batter swirled in. Adapt this recipe by removing the vanilla from the cheesecake batter and adding your favorite extract, like mint, orange or coffee; or you could mix in a bit of raspberry jam. Very easy to put together, hard to screw up, festive and something the kids can help you make. What more could you ask for?

Grain-Free Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Yield: 12 brownies

The Players
Brownie Ingredients

• 1 c almond butter (where to find nut butters from properly soaked nuts)
• 2 eggs (from pastured hens)
• 1/3 c cocoa powder
• 1/2 c canned coconut milk (full fat) (where to find coconut milk)
• 1/2 c coconut crystals or palm sugar
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/3 c chocolate chips (optional)

Cheesecake Ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese (or make your own yogurt cheese)
• 1 egg (from pastured hens)
• 1/3 c coconut crystals or palm sugar
• 2 t vanilla extract

The How-To

Set your oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the brownie ingredients until well combined, and pour into a greased 9×9 oven-safe baking dish.

Add the cream cheese to your mixer bowl and beat until smooth, add the rest of the ingredients and beat until combined.

Dollop the cream cheese batter on top of the brownie batter. Using a knife, or a toothpick, swirl the cheesecake batter into the brownie batter. This would be a great thing for kids to do! Another option would be to remove the vanilla extract and add your favorite extract flavoring to the cheesecake batter; mint, almond, orange, coffee, coconut–would all work well.

Bake for about 35 minutes–until the top has slightly cracked. Serve well chilled, just like cheesecake.