Fluffy Fudgy Brownies (GF, SF, Low Carb, Keto)

I had some yummy, fudgy brownies recently that added coffee. I didn't have some of the flour blends that it called for, but I thought it was an interesting addition. I left it in, but other than adding some extra moisture, I couldn't tell that it was in there much. The flax meal helps with the moisture too. Add in some chocolate chips for extra fudginess and pecans for extra texture! This batch made enough for an 8x8 square baking dish plus extra for another personal dessert ramekin. A 9x13 would be good too, they'll just be a little thinner.

Ingredients

- 1 cup melted butter (yep that's two sticks)*
- 1 to 1 1/4 cup Swerve or other sweetener (Erythritol base, has a mild taste. I used 1 cup.)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- Splash of leftover coffee (optional, just adds extra moisture)
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup ground flax meal
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 baking dish or two smaller baking dishes.
2. Mix the butter or oil, sweetener, vanilla, eggs, splash of coffee with a mixer or whisk.
3. Combine the flours, flax, cocoa, baking powder and salt, and add to the wet mixture. Combine well, but don't over-mix.
4. Bake 25-30 minutes.
5. Allow to cool completely. Enjoy!

* I melted the butter in the dish while it was preheating. Poured it out into my mixing bowl, and used what was left to grease the dish with a paper towel. You could also use light olive oil. Do not use EVOO. You'll thank me.

Peanut Butter Faux-nola

I used to love those Nature Valley peanut butter granola bars. I wanted one when I saw some of their bars today. I've dabbled in some Paleo granola recipes that use maple syrup and honey, but since I'm trying to lessen the sugar and increase the fat, I made something new...

You can use any kind of nut butter you like, I just bought a new can of sugar free pb from Aldi. You can also add any of your other favorite crunchy things (chia seeds, different nuts, sunflower seeds, pepitas). This is an easy no-bake recipe that serves as a yummy fat/protein snack. With the average granola bar you'd have at least 20g of carbs. A serving size of these is about 20g of fat instead and 4 net carbs, less than 1g of sugar.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup pecan pieces
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup nut butter
1/4 cup flax meal
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs melted butter or coconut oil*
20 drops liquid stevia**

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients well in a small mixing bowl with a rubber spatula. I used a simple square tupperware for the mixture. You can put parchment paper at the bottom for easy removal later.
2. Freeze for atleast 30 minutes.
3. Break or cut apart, and enjoy.

*Coconut oil will be more firm than butter once frozen.
**You can substitute another sweeter of choice, I just had liquid stevia on hand. It doesn't need much.

The nutritional information below is approximate, not exact, based on a bar that is 1/8 of the mixture.

Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup (Low Carb)

It's a low-key Friday afternoon, and it's also 18 degrees (with the wind chill feels like 3). That makes me want to make something warm and yummy. I love trying to new things in the Instant Pot that I got for my bday; I had some broccoli to use up and some frozen homemade beef broth, so broccoli cheese soup it is. I'm following low-carb, so that means no carrots in this batch. You could always add them in if you like. I would've topped with bacon crumbles, but someone (who shall remain nameless, not me) ate the leftovers from this morning.

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients

3 Tbs butter
1 medium onion (finely diced)
2 tsp garlic powder or two minced cloves
4 cu broth of choice (I had homemade that was nice and gelatinous)*
About 6 cups or two small heads of broccoli chopped
1 tsp dijon (optional for extra flavor)
1 tsp paprika (optional for extra flavor and coloring)
4 cu shredded cheese of choice (cheddar or cheddar/jack blend)
1 cu coconut and/or heavy whipping cream**

Directions

1. Defrost broth if needed. Mine was in a freezer bag, so I set my IP to saute, took out the whole block of broth, and put it in the IP to defrost while I prepped veggies. You can also do this in a sauce pan since you'll want to remove the broth anyway to make the rest of the soup.

2. Dice onion and chop the broccoli. I pulsed the broccoli in a food processor to get smaller pieces.

3. With the IP on saute Normal, melt the butter. Add the onion, and saute until translucent (2-3 min).

4. Deglaze the pot with a little broth. Add the broccoli and rest of the broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Cover and Seal the lid. Pressure Cook at high manual for 7 minutes. Quick release when finished, and turn off the pot. Mix in paprika and dijon if using.

6. Stir in the cheese until melted. Then add the cream. Season to taste.

7. (optional) I used my immersion/stick blender to make it a smoother texture. I kept it near the edge of the pot, angled slightly to blend. I put it in the center, but got more splatter. If you prefer the chunks of broccoli, you could also remove half of the soup, blend it, and add it back in. Blending helped thicken the cheese up too, so there weren't any remaining strings.

* Beef broth has a deeper, very distinct flavor. If you want a more mild broth, go with chicken.

** 1/2 cup each would also be good.