Cranberry Cheesecake

With the holidays just around the corner, I decided it was time to start thinking about some tasty desserts that I could indulge in and not blow the carb bank.

One of my all time favorites is cherry cheesecake, BUT...cherries have A LOT of carbs, more sugar and less fiber than cranberries.

Last year I bought several "extra" bags of cranberries and froze them to use during the year.  This morning I opened the freezer and whomp...a bag of cranberries fell right on my foot.  It was a sign.

Cranberry Cheesecake Crumble
12 servings

Ingredients:

Crust:
3/4 cup coconut oil melted
1 3/4 cup almond flour
2 Tbsp coconut flour
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup stevia blend sweetener powdered (I use Pyure)
1/4 tsp salt

Cranberry Topping:
1 1/3 cups fresh or frozen whole cranberries
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup Pyure granulated
2 Tbsp lemon juice (fresh is best)

Cream Cheese Filling:
8 oz cream cheese room temp or softened
1/3 cup Pyure powdered
1 egg
2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp chopped pecans (optional)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° and line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper or foil (if you use foil, you might want to spray with a little coconut oil spray).  Set aside.

Melt the coconut oil in a small bowl,  add sweetener and egg yolk and stir.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour and salt. 

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine well.  Let the crust mix rest for a few minutes.

If you want a crumble on top, reserve 1/2 cup of crust mix.  Press the remaining crust into the 8x8 pan.  Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool.

While the crust is baking, get your cranberry topping started.  In a medium sauce pan combine cranberries, water, sweetener and lemon juice.  Stir to dissolve sweetener.  Bring to a boil and when the cranberries begin to pop, turn heat down to a simmer.  Occasionally stirring and smashing the cranberries while they simmer for approximately 6-7 minutes.  Set aside and let cool.

In a medium mixing bowl, with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sweetener together until creamy and smooth.  Add egg, heavy whipping cream, vanilla and lemon juice.  On medium speed, beat ingredients until the cream cheese mixture begins to fluff and thicken.

Gently spread the cream cheese mixture over the semi cooled crust.  Pour the cranberries over the top and smooth with a spatula.  With a knife gently swirl or cut through the cranberries and cream cheese.

Combine the reserved crust mix and 1 Tbsp chopped pecans and sprinkle over the top.

Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes.  Remove foil covering and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting.  I know I said to refrigerate, but I had to taste it straight out of the oven. 

The crust is crumbly and you will want to eat this with a fork.  YUM!  Absolutely delicious.

NOTE:  I love tart and sweet so this was perfect for me.  My son said it was too sour.  If you want it more sweet than tart, adjust the sweetener to taste.

I calculated the crust separately, because I think it would be great as a replacement for any graham cracker type crust.

Nutritional values for crust: 1 serving
calories 206; fat 20.4; total carbs 3.2; fiber 1.7; net carbs 1.5; sugars 0.5; protein 2.9

Nutritional values for cheesecake/cranberry toppings: 1 serving
calories 87; fat 7.2; total carbs 2.2; fiber 0.5; net carbs 1.7; sugars 1.1; protein 1.9

Total carbs for 1 piece 5.4, net carbs 3.2

This is going to be a FANTASTIC holiday dessert.  I'm not going to tell anyone it's Keto.