Aunt Rocky’s Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins (LCHF, Sugar Free)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place liners in 6 wells of a muffin tin. I use parchment muffin liners (available on Amazon) for these so nothing sticks to them, and so they can be stored in their papers. See note below regarding silicone muffin cups.

Cut cream cheese into chunks and set 1 ounce aside to use for the topping. Chop strawberries, and place 6 little chunks aside to use as garnish.

Microwave the larger portion of cream cheese (7 ounces) in a medium size microwave bowl for about 40 seconds, or until you can stir it with a whisk. Add erythritol, egg, vanilla and strawberry extracts, and whisk well to incorporate the egg and make a smooth batter. Stir in the larger portion strawberries.

Spoon or pour the batter into the muffin cups, distributing evenly. Bake 25 minutes. Muffins will puff when baking, and then will sink as they cool. This is normal.

Turn out onto wire rack to cool completely in their parchment papers. Once the muffins have cooled down pretty much, make the topping. Microwave the reserved cream cheese and strawberry preserves together to soften. Add powdered sweetener and whisk until smooth. Top each of the muffins with cream cheese frosting to fill the sink hole created when the muffin deflated. Add a reserved piece of strawberry for garnish.

Refrigerate muffins for at least 1 hour. Remove papers before serving. Leftover muffins should be stored in the refrigerator, or may be frozen.

Notes:
• I’ve tried baking these in silicone cups, and they don’t come out of the cups well due to the moisture content of the strawberries. They tended to get very soggy and leave part of the muffin in the silicone cup. If you use them, I recommend refrigerating until chilled and very firm before trying to remove them from the silicone.
• Nutritional estimates are per serving based on exact ingredients I used, calculated with a free online recipe analyzer. I do not include sugar alcohols or liquid sucralose in my nutrition counts, as they are not absorbed by the body and rate zero on the glycemic index. Calories 145, Total Fat 13 g, Saturated Fat 8 g, Sodium 137 mg, Potassium 22 mg, Total Carbohydrate 4 g, Dietary Fiber 0 g, Net Carbs 4 g, Sugars 2 g, Protein 4 g. Macros: 79% fat, 11% protein, 11% carbs.
• For more low lchf/keto recipes and cooking tips, look for Aunt Rocky’s Low Carb Recipes & Tips Group on Facebook, or follow me on Pinterest at auntrocky2.

© June 11, 2017 Roxana Lopez for Aunt Rocky’s