Back in 2017, I made Peppermint Fudge. Back in 2018, I made Cheesecake Brownies. And while I was in my favorite gluten free bakery in town (Rivers and Roads Coffee), I was telling the owner that I planned to make peppermint brownies this week. Well she had the amazing idea of peppermint cream cheese brownies because she had made those for the coffee shop in the past. So guess what I did?! I did exactly that! I mixed my peppermint fudge and cheesecake brownie recipes together to create these delicious squares of holiday joy! But I actually made these brownies even easier because I used Simple Mills Almond Flour Brownie Mix! Now you need less ingredients for these brownies and they take less time to make! I’m making sure you have delicious treats this holiday season that don’t keep you in the kitchen all day long!
Wanna know a secret? You’re probably going to think I’m an asshole, but here goes nothing…I haven’t even tasted these brownies yet. Just hear me out – I made these brownies on Sunday, tasted the batter, baked them, then put them in the fridge to set so I could photograph them the next day…but then I got the 24 hour stomach flu. You know what goes down with the stomach flu so I won’t go into detail, but let’s just say that peppermint extract is quite potent and I’m not longer craving peppermint brownies. So instead of me judging the brownies, I had my husband taste them and give them a rating. He’s pretty tough critic when it comes to the food I make and he gave these a 9 out of 10. You may think that’s not great since it’s not absolutely perfect, but to me that’s FANTASTIC. He could really care less about desserts, so a 9 is pretty great. Hopefully someday I’ll be able to stomach peppermint again, but for now I must stay away. Damn you stomach bug!
To make sure I got to taste these at some point, I stored these brownies in the freezer so I can pull them out on Christmas Eve! We are hosting Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year, so I’ve been planning out our meals for those two days. On my list so far –
- Bob’s Red Mill GF Chocolate Chip Cookies – these cookies are unbelievable, I love them so much!
- These Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies
- Biscuits & Gravy Casserole
- Make-Your-Own Pizzas with my Paleo Pizza Crust
- Egg & Nut Free Snickerdoodles
- Pecan Sticky Buns (recipe coming to the blog this week…if the recipe works out!)
- A huge charcuterie board
I’m still coming up with our full menu, so if you have any recommendations, let me know!! I’m so excited to host the holidays in our new home, so I want to have a menu that matches that excitement! Send me your ideas!!
Peppermint Swirl Cheesecake Brownies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
Ingredients
- 1 box Simple Mills Almond Flour Brownie Mix (plus ingredients for the brownies – eggs. water, and coconut oil)
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract, divided
- 1 (8-ounce) container almond milk cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup maple sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 organic candy cane, crushed into small pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line an 8×8 glass baking dish with parchment paper and spray with coconut oil spray.
- Follow directions on brownie mix box, mixing the mix with egg, water, and coconut oil. Then adding 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract. Pour mix into baking dish and spread out evenly.
- In a bowl, beat together cream cheese, maple sugar, egg and 1 teaspoon peppermint extract for 1-2 minutes until combine. Then fold in crushed candy canes. Add spoonfuls of cream cheese mixture on top of brownie mixture then run a knife back and fourth through the mixture to combined the two.
- Place in oven to bake for 45 minutes. Let cool completely then place in fridge to cool overnight before slicing into 16 bars. Store in fridge in closed container.
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Can you substitute maple sugar with cane sugar? I cannot find maple sugar anywhere.
yes you can!
What brand of almond milk cream cheese… does kite hill work?
yes! that’s what i use!
Charcuterie gingerbread houses! Saw the idea and thought of your spread: https://crafty.diply.com/104625/win-christmas-dinner-with-a-savory-charcuterie-chalet?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=mnv&utm_content=mnv001897&fbclid=IwAR0D-qAgJzvW90dc-CGBi6IRaULJS3M41NX-cBFQXuq2efWXWaVx96tYqvw
fun!!
Love your recipes Juli! Could you provide a substitute for the Simple Mills Brownie mix? Would love to create with my ingredients since the mix is hard to find. Happy New Year
you could use any gluten free brownie mix you like!