Low carb flourless chocolate brownies topped with a rich peanut butter fudge. For all those peanut butter and chocolate lovers out there!
So how did you fare while I was away last week? Did you miss me? Did you even notice I was gone? Perhaps not. Don’t worry, I am not offended. Through the power of the internet, I was able to schedule posts and a few updates ahead of time. But it certainly wasn’t my usual posting schedule so you might have noticed that all was not quite as it should be. I was much quieter than normal on social media and I left you with no new recipes. I fully intended on having several yummy treats scheduled ahead of time, so that you would notice my absence even less. But for once in my blogging career, I decided to just let it go and not stress over posting. And let me tell you, it was a delicious and much needed little break and I come back to All Day I Dream About Food refreshed and rejuvenated. And with treats!
This was our big annual family trip up to Muskoka, the famed cottage country in Ontario, where my widely scattered family descends for one week every year and cavorts in the lake, swimming, tubing, skiing, jumping and generally wreaking havoc. This year, the cottage we rented had no WiFi or internet access, so it was meant to be an entirely unplugged vacation. I confess, I felt a mild panic at the thought of being so disconnected. Then I decided to give over and enjoy it, and to truly take a break from the world of blogging and social media. I figured it would be good for me and my readers would be happy enough to see me return to a regular posting schedule when I got back.
The irony is that we ended up with some internet access after all. My brother-in-law was apparently even more panicked by the thought of being unplugged for 7 days and he took it upon himself to bribe the cleaning ladies of the resort next door for the WiFi password. If you only knew my sister’s husband, you’d know how amusing this actually is. He’s a sweet, funny guy that you would never suspect of such shenanigans, but he also has quite the daring side. He simply drove over and hung a $20 bill out the window as he approached some of the staff, and they were more than happy to take his little “tip” in exchange for the password. The signal was rather weak and we could only access it from our mobile devices, but I found myself wanting to stay unplugged as much as possible. So I used it only to answer a few important messages and keep my email inbox from raging out of control. Other than that, it was pure, unadulterated family time. And it was awesome!
I figured that after being away for a week, I’d better come back to you with some great recipes and these Low Carb Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies definitely fit the bill. I saw a full carb version on Gimme Some Oven and that was it; I knew I needed to make them low carb. I simply took my low carb Flourless Brownies for the base, and then I topped them with a delicious mixture of peanut butter, butter and powdered Swerve. Then I drizzled a little melted chocolate over the top. They were rich, so I cut them into bite-sized squares. The only thing I’d do differently next time is make more of the peanut butter fudge topping, because it was on the thin side. I’ve written the recipe to include more peanut butter fudge, so they will be even better for you than they were for me!
Be sure to check out this Peanut Butter Fudge from Texanerin too!
- 12 tbsp butter
- 4 oz unsweetened chocolate
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup Swerve Sweetener or other erythritol
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 large eggs
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 6 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup to 1 cup powered Swerve Sweetener sifted
- 1 ounce high % cacao chocolate
- Preheat oven to 325F and line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper with overhanging edges for easier brownie removal.
- Melt butter, chocolate and cocoa powder together in a medium saucepan, stirring until smooth.
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Stir in Swerve and vanilla extract. Let cool 5 minutes.
- Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
- Spread mixture in prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes, or until just barely set and middle is still not quite cooked. Watch them carefully as they can get quite dry if overdone. The edges will rise a little higher but should recede as they cool.
- Let cool in pan 10 minutes.
- In a smal saucepan over medium heat, melt together peanut butter and butter. Stir in vanilla and salt.
-
Stir in powdered Swerve a little at a time until the mixture thickens to a spreadable consistency.
- Spread over cooled brownies and refrigerate 1 hour, until set.
- In a small, microwavable safe bowl, melt chocolate by heating in microwave in 30 second increments. Stir until smooth.
- Drizzle over peanut butter fudge. Let set at least 10 minutes.
- Lift brownies out by edges of parchment. Cut into 1-inch squares.
Serves 18. Each serving has 5 g of carbs and 2 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 3 g.
Other nutritional info: 222 Calories; 22g Fat (83.0% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 90mg Cholesterol; 217mg Sodium
The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time says
I love this, as would my mom. The hardest thing about being a diabetic for her is losing her sweets. These brownies are totally up her alley. They look amazing. I’m glad you had such an awesome vacation and that you’re rejuvenated and ready for fall. You sound it, that’s for sure. 🙂
Candi says
need to share with the diabetics out there…my dad was a diabetic and had flash pulmonary edema and had to cut out salt…after a couple months he diabetes was GONE!!
Stephanie says
What is the difference between unsweetened chocolate and cocoa powder? I have yet to find a 100% Chocolate Bar. Am I confusing cacao with chocolate?
Carolyn says
Do you happen to live outside of North America? Because I’ve heard that Australia doesn’t sell unsweetened chocolate. Around the US and Canada, it’s just baking chocolate, with no sweetener in it (just cocoa solids and cocoa butter). Cocoa powder is the powdery stuff with no cocoa butter (cacao butter, same thing) in it.
Tonna Fuston says
3 level tablespooons of cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon of butter or shortening equals 1 square cube of unsweetened baking chocolate
Maria Isais says
These look fabulous and I bet the taste is simply delicious. Do you use a particular brand of peanut butter?
Carolyn says
I go for the really creamy natural kinds. I don’t like the fresh ground, to be honest. As long as it’s super creamy, it’s good.
Sarah G says
Yes, I was missing your recipes. I’m glad you had a fun, family vacation though…unplugged so that you could plug into your family!
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
These look too good to be true!
James Neno says
These are fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Barb says
Absolutely NO type of flour??? Is it like a custard consistency?
Carolyn says
The brownies? No, not custardy. They firm up beautifully without flour.
Cyndi says
Can you use splenda instead of the erythritol?
Carolyn says
I have no idea. I really doubt it would cook up the same and thicken the fudge in the same way.
Hillary says
Cyndi I was just wondering if you’ve made these and if so, did you try the splenda?? I’m starting low carb next week and splenda is what I’d planned to use as my sweetener for everything, as I’ve read too many people saying stevia has a horrible bitter aftertaste.
Ruthy @ Omeletta says
I have 100% bribed/begged employees for wifi passwords, so I totally get it! I have a leeetle bit of a difficult time totally switching off. Glad you had a relaxing vacay away- and that you brought back these delicious GF brownies! I love PB & chocolate together.
Carolyn says
Dave will be thrilled to know he’s in good company! 😉
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Totally decadent! Yum!
Joy says
I don’t have Swerve, just erythritol. Can I powder it in the blender? Has anyone tried this? Thanks!
Carolyn says
A blender might not powder it fine enough. Do you have a coffee grinder?
Joy says
I’ve got a coffee grinder and a vitamix. I’ll try the grinder first. Thanks for the reply. 🙂
Joy says
I used the coffee grinder to powder the erythritol and it worked beautifully! Got these brownies cooling in my fridge right now. 🙂
Carolyn says
Good to know!
Alison says
I used my blender and it worked beautifully. They are delicious BTW.
Mariam says
I did wonder where you had been, but I got my fix by just visiting your web site and reading old posts I haven’t gotten to yet…. do you suppose coconut oil would work in place of butter?
Carolyn says
It may seep out a bit more in the brownie portion but I do think it would work. Once the brownies are baked, it will reabsorb.
Brenda @Sugar-Free Mom says
You have outdone yourself on this one, DROOL! Good for you for the family time and being unplugged!
Tammy Hammock says
I’m diabetic and have switched from using sugar to using Truvia (I even got my hubby to drink his sweet tea with it and now he doesn’t like it any other way). Will the baking blend of Truvia work in this recipe? I have a sister in law who has celiac disease and she is a brownie freak and I know she would love this!
Carolyn says
Yes, Truvia should work but you will need to powder it for the fudge portion.
Tammy says
How do you do that? I’m just learning to modify some things any tips are appreciated!
Carolyn says
I’ve never done it but people say a coffee grinder or a magic bullet works well to powder things like erythritol and truvia.
Tammy says
Thank you for the tips! I’ll try it soon and let you know how it worked out!
Karen says
Can you use coconut sugar in place of the Swerve? If so, is it 1:1? Thanks much-this looks yummy!
Carolyn says
I have no idea, I haven’t ever used coconut sugar. Sorry! It’s worth a try, I suppose.
Gabriella Reeve says
Yes! You can use coconut sugar…..I uses half coconut sugar and half Truvia and they turned out great!
Erin @ Texanerin Baking says
Bahaha. Thank goodness for your brother in law! Just for the important blog questions and things like that, of course. 😉
And these look amazing! Love the peanut butter layer on top.
Roxanne says
I have, believed for ages, that technology is here to serve me not I it. So I check answer phone, email and newsletters when I want/need to. Shocking I know ;). We all need to rest as well as work. Coping with the stress of life is a skill I continue to work at. I think one of the best things I did for my kid was to take care of my needs which in turn taught him he has the right to do the same (not easiest for me). His protection and safety was a given priority. Still I found there is time enough as 10% is as much or more than necessary for me. As women we, often, like to care for everyone but do we need to. Are we fully in touch with the abilities of others. Can be a bit arrogant I think to presume only I can know what is best for anyone else. Saying no was (and is) a hard learned skill that has reaped benefit for myself and my loved ones, friends, neighbours ……… glad you took time to recharge. No apology needed. Take very good care. Roxanne
PS do you know of any substitution formula for sucralose vs swerve? My budget is small and the small availability of supplies make swerve very expensive.lrd
Carolyn says
Serve measures cup for cup like sugar so sub in sucralose in the amount you would for sugar. However, recipes like this do rely on the bulk properties of erythritol and I don’t know that sucralose will work. You can give it a try, though.
RavieNomNoms says
These look like they should be in a magazine! Nicely done!
Kammy says
These were great! I made a batch of these Wednesday night knowing i would need a pick-me-up when i got back from dropping off my youngest at college on Thursday. I still miss him but at least I was able to stay on plan 🙂
Thanks for a great, simple recipe
Asmita says
I love your presentation. It’s so beautiful! The brownies look amazing and it’s wonderful that they are low carb and gluten free.
Wendy says
Yum. Just made thes today. They are soooo good. Not as prett as yours but not too bad.
I have a question about erythrathol – tried to substitute it for sugar in leamon sorbet recipe. It was a disaster. The erythrathol reacrystalized when the mixture got cold. Is there a way around that?
Laura says
I made these the other day and they looked great. But when I took a bite they were WAY too sweet, so much so that they gave me headaches! I did a quick google and found that erythritol can cause headaches so I think next time I’ll use less sweetner. Otherwise a good sweet tooth fix. The next day it didn’t taste as sweet.
Stacey says
I made these today and found that the brownies were NOT done even with about 18 mins, so you may want to increase your time for the brownies. When I try this recipe again, I will try 21-23 mins probably as the brownie did not set up on my batch today except for the very outer edges.
Stacey says
I should also add, but they still taste AMAZING, very rich but VERY delicious.
Carolyn says
I am coming to the conclusion that different brands of chocolate and cocoa can make a big difference. Also, oven temps vary a lot, that’s why recipes always state “bake x minutes OR until…” Sounds like your oven is running a bit low maybe.
Gabriella Reeve says
Same here. I had to cook them exactly 22 minutes to get the results Carolyn describes. Just got a new oven too. I’m at sea level. 🙂
Shel says
Made just the brownie layer as the low-carb and gluten free standby at my son’s birthday. At 18 minutes brownie top looked too wet to even consider taking out, 5 more minutes and there were still shiny spots but it looked (and turned out) great. I might take them out a little earlier next time, I like things a touch gooey. Has anyone tried making one of the variations on these brownies in a Baker’s Edge brownie pan?
Vicki says
Anyone try these with a substitute for the butter such as applesauce or date purée? I am trying to do sugar-free, low carb, and keep my cholesterol under control as well. Thanks for any replys!
Cathy says
Hi,
Just wanted to let you know I am sharing your wonderful recipe tomorrow in my Gluten-Free Recipe RoundUp with a link back to your original post!
Have a terrific weekend!
Cathy from APeekIntoMyParadise.com
chris says
How is there only 54 net carbs in the entire batch? The Swerve alone totals 360!!
Per the recipe: use 3/4 Cup Swerve sweetener for brownie portion
Swerve has 5g carbs per teaspoon (per their linked website)
There are 48 tsp per cup so 48 * 3/4 = 36 tsp in 3/4 Cup
36 tsp * 5 carbs per tsp equals 180 carbs
If you add the peanut butter fudged your adding another 3/4 cup of swerve so your doubling the carbs to 360!
So the swerve alone is putting 20 carbs per serving, assuming 18 servings….that is not low carb. A box of regular brownies has 384 net carbs in 16 servings, that’s only 24 carbs per serving.
Carolyn says
You do realize that erythritol does not affect blood sugar and therefore is not counted into carbs, correct? As a diabetic, I have tested this over and over on myself. I am confident in it. Please research your sweeteners before accusing me like this.
Cecily says
In the research that I’ve done many sources state that sugar alcohols do indeed spike blood sugar levels as well. I’m glad that you’ve seen no adverse effects though, I do however notice a difference in my blood sugar if i consume high amounts of sugar alcohols.
Carolyn says
Please do some research on erythritol explicitly because I think you will find that the majority of people do NOT experience a rise in blood sugar. I have always been very careful to say that not all sugar alcohols are created equal.
Carolyn says
You should check out this graph and research: http://www.swervesweetener.com/swerve-diabetes/
Michelle says
I made this tonight, my husband loves anything peanut butter! These were awful! They look wonderful but the brownie part was just awful!
Carolyn says
I am sorry you feel that way. Everyone I know loves them. What did you not like? It’s hard to help with no specifics.
charlotte says
do you think i could make just the fudge? what would i put it in if so?
charlotte says
do you think i could make just the fudge? what would i put it in if so?
Carolyn says
Yes, I think you could. You’d want a smaller pan. Maybe a loaf pan? Make sure to line it with parchment paper for easy removal.
charlotte says
thank you!
Susan says
I made these yesterday for my daughter’s birthday party. Although there was ice cream cake, chocolate cake and vanilla cupcakes, I wanted to have a sugar free dessert option. I thought they were amazing. My niece and my daughter loved them too. The only changes I made to the recipe were, I used Splenda instead of Swerve and I was too lazy to make the chocolate drizzle, so I sprinkled sugar free chocolate chips on top. I would like to add, they were very easy to make and for someone who does not bake, that says a lot.
Carolyn says
Thanks for your feedback, Susan!
Mindy says
These were fantastic! I used salted butter because it didn’t specify but now that I’m going to try other recipes I need to know. When the recipe calls for butter is it a general understanding that it’s unsalted? Or salted?
Thanks!
Carolyn says
Hi Mindy,
I have a high tolerance for salt so I usually use salted. But that’s personal preference, I think.
ye says
Hi I just tried this. When I stirred in the second egg, there was suddenly a lot of water/liquid separated out from the batter. I had to pour away the watery part and the rest of it seemed to have baked well. But what could be the problem? I had let the chocolate/butter batter cool for 5 minutes but maybe that was not long enough? Thanks for all your recipes btw! I’ve made a lot of good ones that wowed my guests!
Carolyn says
Don’t pour anything off. It takes all 5 eggs for the whole thing to whisk back together. Basically, the chocolate seizes and then unseizes again.
ye says
thank you for your response!! it came out well enough but i’ll definitely try it again!
Helen McEvoy says
I have just discovered these. Made them this afternoon and was dubious to use organic crunch peanut butter as that’s all I had and I only had a granulated sweetener. Oh my goodness, they are fantastic !!!!
The fudge topping had a cheeky little crunch to it and the brownie base is fab too! I admit I did put it in the freezer to set it for 1/2 hr as I didn’t think it would set but, oh yes it did. Love love love them!!!!
Dana says
Hello there,
I made this last night and this turned out amazing. This will be my go to recipe when Im craving sweets!
Thank you for such a great recipe.
Carolyn says
Thanks, Dana!
Angela says
OH MY!
This is setting up in the fridge as I type this….I don’t think I can wait that long! The smells, the teensie taste “tests” while putting it all together….all have me impatiently tapping my foot for the minutes to hurry along.
I LOVE your recipes, Carolyn!
Tom says
This was sooo delicious! The brownie layer also took longer in my oven, about 25 minutes, it seems like a lot of people had this issue. After several hours, we tried it and it was like a tasty pudding. But after 24 hours in the fridge, it was just like a two layer fudge, so rich and decadent! I initially thought 18 servings was odd, but it really is the perfect amount since this is such a rich treat. Really, really divine!!
Carolyn says
Thanks. I think it must be a difference in almond flour that is giving some people trouble with the brownie bast. What brand did you use?
Tom says
There isn’t any flour in this brownie base. I wonder if your oven runs hot, ours are running cold? It doesn’t really matter, the brownies are delicous! We’re still eating them as I won’t let myself have more than 1/18th per day, it’s plenty!
Carolyn says
Sorry, I’ve made a number of variations on brownies and thought this one had some almond flour in it. It’s really hard to say, could also be the brand of unsweetened chocolate. As long as it still worked!
Nichole says
I just wanted to say I love this dessert, these are my go-to low carb brownies. All of it is wonderful, but the the peanut butter fudge is so good I have even made it by itself (double the ingredients and pour it into a greased 8×8 pan). So it’s like you’ve shared two treats all in one recipe!
Carolyn says
Thanks so much, Nichole!
Kareena says
Hi I’m in Australia
I made these they taste YUK
I don’t know if we did something wrong I used stevia as the sweetener IDK if it’s different to the recipe
I used cooking choc
I read the above comment on the Australia doesn’t have unsweetened choc.
Old help they where totally yum taste wrong…..
Carolyn says
Sorry, I have no idea. I don’t know what cooking chocolate is and I have no idea what kind of stevia you used.
Amanda says
Just made this yesterday, and am pretty pleased with the results. I have to say that, like many people have noted, my brownie base took FOREVER to set in the oven – a full half hour. I used Ghirardelli 100% cacoa for my unsweetened chocolate, and also Ghirardelli cocoa powder. Overall, great recipe.
Carolyn says
I often use Ghirardelli so I don’t think that is the issue. It must be oven temperature or the kind of pan you are using. Or a combo of both. Thanks for the feedback.