by Karen Frazier

When I take a day off from paleo, it’s often for dairy foods. However, I always try to keep carbs deeply in check and still use the healthiest forms of the ingredients I can find. So while I may occasionally make, oh….say….a cheese cake, I make it as low in carbs as possible. I also do it infrequently – once or twice a year – so when I do, it’s a real treat.

Jim’s favorite low-carb cheesecake is a pumpkin-bourbon cheesecake with Chinese five spice powder, but I love peanut butter. So I thought I’d try to make a cheesecake that has peanut butter cup flavors, but keep it relatively low-carb.

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 3/4 cup pecans
• 3/4 cup peanuts
• 3/4 cup Swerve sweetener, Truvia (the kind without sugar), or erythritol
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons grass-fed butter

For the filling:

• 4 (8 ounce) packages grass-fed cream cheese, softened
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup organic peanut butter
• 1/4 cup grass-fed sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups Swerve sweetener, Truvia (not the baking blend, which has sugar), or erythritol

For the topping:

• 1 cup grass fed sour cream
• 1/2 cup Swerve sweetener, Truvia, or erythritol
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup Lily’s stevia sweetened dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup chopped salted peanuts

Instructions

For the crust:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9-inch spring-form pan with grass-fed butter on the bottom and sides.
2. In a food processor, pulse the pecans, peanuts, sweetener, and cocoa powder for ten one-second pulses.
3. Add the butter and pulse for ten more one-second pulses.
4. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared spring form pan and set aside.

For the filling:

1. In a stand mixer, food processor, or a large bowl (you can use an electric mixer to mix), combine all of the filling ingredients. Process or mix until smooth.
2. Pour into the prepared spring form pan, spreading it over the top of the crust.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the middle is set, 50 to 55 minutes.

For the topping:

1. In a small bowl, beat the sour cream, peanut butter, and sweetener until smooth.
2. Spread the mixture evenly over the top of the cheesecake as soon as it comes out of the oven. Return the cheesecake to the oven for five minutes.
3. Cool the cheesecake on a wire rack for two hours.
4. In a small bowl, mix together the chopped peanuts and the chocolate chips.
5. Sprinkle evenly over the topping.
6. Run a butter knife around the inside edge of the pan.
7. Release the cheesecake from the spring form. Refrigerate for two more hours.