Sometimes I think that the food-blogging world is a little like the universe: ever-expanding. Virtually every day I seem to discover new, interesting food blogs that I have never come across before. I love this fact, because it means that there is an endless supply of fresh ideas on how to prepare, cook, and consume food. But at the same time, it means that I can lose sight of other blogs that I’ve already been following. There are simply too many wonderful blogs out there and too many great home cooks. I truly wish there was time in the day for me to hit all my favourites and comment on their new recipes, while still finding time to manage my own blog, home and family. I have a rule of trying to hit my friends’ blogs at least once a week. But after almost 2 years as a food blogger, I seem to have made an awful lot of blogger friends.
One of these blogger friends is Diane of Created By Diane. Hers is a lovely blog, filled with lovely creations, all created by…you guessed it…Diane. Like so many of my blogging friends, I can’t actually eat most of her creations, but I can gaze at them longingly. And I find myself doing that quite often. A few weeks ago, however, she put up a creation that I knew I had to find a way to make. These little Gingerbread Cheesecake Bites were adorable and contained several of my favourite holiday flavours in one little bite.
Diane’s original recipe used Pillsbury Gingerbread Cookie Dough for the cookie crust, but that obviously isn’t an option for me. So I set about imagining what I would want my gingerbread cookie dough to be like. I knew I wanted a soft texture that crisped up around the edges and a flavour that had a nice gingery bite to it. I was pretty sure I could achieve the right texture with coconut oil, which always lends a wonderful tenderness to baked goods made with almond flour. I tinkered with the spices until I felt I had the right combination of gingerbread flavour without having it be overpowering. The cheesecake filling part was easy, I didn’t have to adapt much about Diane’s recipe except the sweetener. I did find that I needed a little more filling than she did, but it was easy to make a quick extra bit to fill the last few cookies.
The Results: These were a hit with everyone in the family except my son. To be fair, he didn’t even try them because he steers clear of anything called cheesecake. But the rest of us adored them. The two girls were big fans and kept hoping they could have some after each meal. I popped one my mouth whenever I wanted a sweet treat, and my husband enjoyed them too. I really feel that my son missed out, because they weren’t overly cheesecake-y at all. The flavour was a lovely sweet gingerbread, with a hint of a vanilla cheesecake, and perfect for the holidays.
And there is no question in my mind that were I to serve these to the uninitiated, they would have no idea that they were low carb or gluten free. They were just good, plain and simple, and definitely something I will be making again.
Gingerbread Cheesecake Bites
Cookie Dough:
2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup erythritol
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp molasses
16 drops stevia extract
Cheesecake Filling:
6 oz cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp powdered erythritol
1 tbsp whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
15 drops stevia extract
Preheat oven to 350F and line 24 mini-muffin cups with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, erythritol, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda, salt and xanthan gum. Stir in egg, coconut oil, molasses and stevia until dough begins to clump together.
Form by hand into approx 1-inch balls (this recipe made exactly 24 for me, so if you find you’ve made your balls too small or two big, go back and redistribute dough). Place dough balls in prepared mini-muffin cups.
Using the end of a wooden spoon, make a well in the center of each ball, pressing dough up against sides of prepared muffin cups.
For the filling, beat cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Beat in powdered erythritol, cream, vanilla and stevia until fully combined. Place the mixture in a pastry bag with a large round tip, or in a ziploc bag with the corner cut off. Squeeze a few teaspoons of filling into the well of each cookie.
Bake 9 to 11 minutes, or until cookie edges are lightly brown and firm to the touch and filling is set. Remove and let cool.
Makes 24. Each Cheesecake Bite has 3.1 g of carbs and 1 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 2.1 g.
They LOOK good! Totally full fat and naughty. You're a sneaky chef! Such pretty photos too 🙂 I can see myself now…trying to suck out the yummy cheesecake goodness and then eating the gingerbread. There's no WRONG way to eat these, right 😉
the cheese cake looks yummy,,,wonderful click makes is more beautiful,,,,,gr8 jog,,perfect for Christmas..
These sound so yummy! I have some ideas on how to make them dairy-free too 🙂
Those look perfect for this holiday season! I could even pretend it's something close to a muffin and eat one for breakfast!
Ohhh those look great. I'll be trying these soon! One question though, I see coconut flour mentioned in your instructions, but not in the ingredients. How much coconut flour?
Coconut oil, not coconut flour.
Oh my … this combines some of my absolute favorites!! 🙂 Wonderful treat 🙂
OMG! What have you done?! These sound sinfully delicious C! Thanks for sharing 🙂
This looks delicious! I would love if you shared this in my holiday recipes Blog Hop. http://bit.ly/vbyp71
I love Diane's blog too and these little guys would be an absolute his in my house. My family love just about anything cheesecake OR ginger. Nicely done!
I looked at this one yesterday – longingly – Thanks for reading my mind!!!! You are so awesome – and I will watch your back when you do merinques or marshmallows again!!!
These look so yummy! What a great idea! Cheesecake and gingerbread. Fantastic!
These look AMAZING!! Definitely getting added to the "to do" list!
Oh yum! Cheesecake and gingerbread combined. *drools*
absolutely love these
I've been craving cheesecake the whole week! And you're not helping :P. Looks amazing!
What a clever low-carb remake of Diane's Gingerbread Cheesecake Bites!
Oh believe me, I popped them in my mouth at breakfast time several mornings in a row!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Whoops! Thanks Birgit, I didn't catch that. The instructions are supposed to say coconut oil. Off to change that now.
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Thanks. Will try to do so tomorrow when I get a chance!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Nice to hear I wasn't the only one salivating over Diane's cheesecake bites!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Thanks, Ginny!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Oh my goodness Carolyn these look fabulous!!! You are a genius in the kitchen, wish we lived closer to each other.
Thank you so much for the kindness, you are so wonderful and I'm grateful for our friendship 🙂
I know what you mean about the ever-expanding blog universe – I only wish my ability to make everything I want was similarly expanding! These are definitely on the I Want list!
oh my both combine so well. i love the colour of the muffins.
Thanks, Kari.
You should see my bookmarked recipes list. It's so long, I couldn't make all those recipes in a lifetime!!!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
These are adorable! I love the flavor combination. And anything little you can feel less guilty about eating, right?!
Very tasty. And it's healthy too. What more could a guy ask for with cheesecake?
These look great Carolyn!
So cute, and they look fantastic! I love that the gingerbread is a 'vessel' for all that cheesecake filling. Brilliant idea by Diane, brilliant GF/LC recreation by Carolyn 🙂
Oh, I love both gingerbread and cheesecake…these look terrific, Carolyn!!!
I love that I'll never run out of food blogs to read. And I love these cheesecake bites- gorgeous!
Looks very yammy!
Carolyn, these are so perfect for the holiday season!! My mom loves anything gingerbread so I'll pass this on to her. Always love your baked goods!
These are so gorgeous Carolyn. I love how you can take something like cheesecake and make it healthy. I am also adoring that it is gingerbread. You rocked my world today! Super yummy!
Oh my, these look fantastic! I feel like I want to pop one in my mouth too, just to have the taste of all that cheese and gingerbread pastry! Genius combination!
xoxo,
Roxanne http://www.lacedivory.com
These are so cute!!!
Those look wonderful! I agree, there are sooo many great blogs out there, it can be hard to keep track of all of the ones you like!
These look wonderful, great job turning them into a low carb treat!
I hear you – there are so many amazing food blogs out there and I wish I could visit all of them every day. These little treats sounds wonderful – all the flavors of Christmas in one bite.
Ive seen Diane's treats everywhere and you did a great job making these GF!
Just sent this link to a friend who I know will love them, too!
These look amazing! You might have to call them something different so your son won't steer clear of them next time =)
This is why I am forever directing people to your blog my friend! YOU are a genius!
Is it amazing how many blogs out there??? It can be overwhelming at times! You are a great person who is supportive and down to earth. I love that about you. These cheesecake bites looks ridiculously adorable and tasty. My son is anti-cheesecake as well!
And YOU are a doll!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
I feel the exact same way. But too many friends can never be a bad thing right? These are super cute. Great recipe!
I love these mini bites and gingerbread and cheesecake together is very interesting! Thanks for introducing a new blog too. I'm always amazed how endless all the food creations can be and how inspiring you are.
Buzzzzzz!!!
Loving the idea of theta cheesecake filling. Diane is always a great inspiration as are you 🙂
Actually, while I do love cheesecake, I was thinking they were filled with the LC MARZIPAN that you had a recipe for! lol
I'm going to try it that way, myself!
What sweetener can I use in place or erythritol? Would stevia work, or would it be too bitter?
Hi there,
I wouldn't go all stevia…it's not the bitterness but it will leave a distinctive licorice-y taste if it's all you use. I'd add some splenda, if you can't to erythritol.
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
I made these for Thanksgiving and they were fabulous! I had too much filling, but that was not a problem! :::licks lips::: These will be made again this season! Probably twice!
These look divine! What brand of stevia extract do you use? I’ve never cooked with stevia before and am unsure which brand to choose.
Thanks!
I use NuNaturals or SweetLeaf.
Seriously, I think I’m in love. Dying to try these. One question, though: Could I replace the molasses with anything? I have to steer clear of anything sugary… I’m thinking maybe LC maple or LC amaretto syrup?
Sure. It’s more about browning and such, but you can replace it with a different sweetener.
These look fabulous! Instead of using stevia extract drops, could I use liquid sucralose (liquid splenda)? and if so, 16 drops of stevia would equal what amount of sugar? I can convert it to liquid splenda equivalent if you could please tell me how much “sugar” sweetness is needed. Thanks much.
I think you want about the equivalent of 2 tbsp sugar.
All I can say is, OH MY. These are wonderful! My house smells just like Christmas! I wonder if I can resist eating the entire batch! My husband will have to get past me before touching one of them! Brava!!
My mom and I had a tradition of making Martha Stewart’s gingerbread cookies every Christmas. This being our first low carb Christmas I wanted to find something to fill the void of gingerbready goodness. I made these tonight – so yum! The house smelled lovely and they turned out well. I had extra filling left over so maybe didn’t make my wells large enough? No matter … thanks for another excellent recipe 🙂
I wonder if your mini cupcake pan is shaped a little differently? ah well, the filling is tasty on it’s own!
I made these last night and they were simply delicious! They are easy and yummy and I’ll definitely be making them again! thanks for the great recipe!
Just made these – WOW. WOW. I’m going to be such a hit at the party tonight. DELICIOUS!!!!!!!! Thank you!!
Have been drooling over these since I first saw it posted! I made them tonight for our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day treats….and al.l I can say it omg wow! Lol wonderful for sure.
These are awesome! I omitted the cloves, which I don’t care for ever since I ate a whole one off of a ham when I was a kid, and added 10 drops of liquid sucralose to both the cheesecake and gingerbread layers because I tend to like things a bit sweeter than the average low carber. I served them to no LC guests too!
Another really good recipe. I served at a get-together yesterday, and they were well-liked. I’m not sure that people who don’t use artificial sweeteners all the time would like them as much as I do. That after taste/chill kind of effect of swerve is pretty prevalent.
I’ve made these many times now – just recently for our church Christmas social – even nonlowcarbers enjoyed them – I do change them up a bit cause I like more cheesecake to gingerbread ratio – I use 8 oz cream cheese instead of 6 oz plus add little more sweetener with liquid sucralose. I end up with 36 of them instead of 24. Thank you so much for this wonderful delight!!
So glad everyone likes them!
I ran out of xanthan gum do you think glucomannan could be used instead?
I’ve never used it so I am not sure how much to sub, but it probably can.
I don’t have any xantham gum. Can I replace it with cornstarch?
Thanks.
Just skip it…they should hold together well enough.
Just made these and they are wonderful! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
These are delectable! I never used blackstrap molasses before but tastes great. The blend of spices give it that warmth for a cool autumn day. The gingerbread portion made 25 mini cupcakes but the cream cheese only filled 18. Pipping was definitely helpful. I put the unfilled gingerbread cupcakes in a baggie to save for when I get more cream cheese. Awesome recipe!
I love the looks of mini muffin anything, but would prefer to make mini muffins into standard sized muffins/cupcakes. I there anything you would suggest to convert this recipe to muffin or cupcake portions? Thanks for all your great work!
I am intolerant of stevia. If you are using the erythritol, why do you need the stevia?
Two different sweeteners tend to increase the sweetness and decrease any after taste. But you are welcome to adapt to your own tastes.
I don’t have stevia drops but do have the powder. How much powder equals a drop?
I would use 1/16 tsp to match the amount of liquid stevia I put in here. Don’t do it by drops, just add that amount total.
Hi! Thanks for the recipe. I made them tonight and they were pretty nice. I used butter instead of coconut oil and 10% cream instead of whipping cream. I also didn’t have any muffin liners but they popped out fine.
Next time I will try some real grated ginger in the base and some lemon zest and extract in the cheese for lemon ginger bites! Or I might try putting a little dollop of no carb freezer jam under the cheese for strawberry cheesecake bites. Cheers!