With the holiday season in full swing, I find myself making a lot of sugar-free goodies. When I was baking in the kitchen recently, I decided to try making a sugar-free cheesecake brownie bar. I haven’t made cheesecake bars in a while, and I wanted to create something different. Something like mocha cheesecake bars!

It started off simple with an easy brownie layer as the base. As I was working on the recipe, I decided I wanted to add some coffee to the batter to create a rich mocha flavor. I thought that the coffee would enhance the chocolate flavor, as well as bring a nice rich flavor to the cheesecake layer.

What’s great about this recipe is that it’s really easy to make. And, you can easily change up some of the basic spices to mix up the flavors. If you wanted more of a blondie brownie, then you can just leave out the chocolate powder. Not in love with a mocha flavor? Then leave it out of the recipe.

Since the recipe is rich in flavor and sweetness, I cut the recipe into 16 bars. Pair this with a nice cup of warm coffee, and top it off with some whipped cream for a nice treat. These also freeze well, as I had them in the freezer for up to a week with no compromise in taste.

Yields 16 servings of Mocha Cheesecake Bars

The Preparation

Brownie Layer:

6 tablespoons butter, unsalted, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large egg
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 tablespoon instant coffee
1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup erythritol
1 teaspoon baking powder

Cream Cheese Layer:

16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup erythritol

The Execution

1. Preheat oven to 350°F, and spray or grease a 8×8-inch baking pan.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the wet ingredients of melted unsalted butter and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract until well combined. Then mix in the 3 large eggs.

3. In the a small bowl: mix together the dry ingredients of almond flour, instant coffee, baking cocoa, salt, erythritol, and baking powder. Then, whisk the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Place ¼ cup of batter aside to use later.

4. Add the larger portion of batter into the 8×8-inch baking pan. The batter will be thicker than traditional brownie batter.

5. In a mixing bowl: blend the room temperature cream cheese, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and ½ cup erythritol until smooth. Spread on top of the brownie layer.

6. Using the ¼ cup of brownie batter, mix into the top layer of cream cheese to create a top brownie crust. This layer should be very thin.

7. Place in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes at 350°F. When finished, you want the cheesecake bars to be fully cooled when cutting the slices.

This makes a total of 16 servings of Mocha Cheesecake Bars. Each serving comes out to be 231 calories, 20.7g fats, 3.1g net carbs, and 6.1g protein.

NUTRITION	CALORIES	FAT	CARBS	FIBER	NET CARBS	PROTEIN
6 tablespoon butter	610	69	0.1	0	0.1	0.7
2 teaspoon vanilla extract	25	0	1.1	0	1.1	0
3 large egg	236	15.7	1.2	0	1.2	20.7
1 1/2 cup almond flour	973	84	37	21.8	15.1	35.3
1/2 tablespoon instant coffee	0	0	0	0	0	0
1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder	160	4	24	16	8	8
1/2 teaspoon salt	0	0	0	0	0	0
1 cup erythritol	38	0	0	0	0	0
1 teaspoon baking powder	2	0	1.3	0	1.3	0
16 ounce cream cheese	1551	154.2	18.6	0	18.6	27.9
1 large egg	79	5.2	0.4	0	0.4	6.9
1 teaspoon vanilla extract	12	0	0.6	0	0.6	0
1/2 cup erythritol	19	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	3706	332.2	84.1	37.9	46.3	99.5
Per Serving (/16)	232	20.8	5.3	2.4	2.9	6.2