I’m starting something new! Each Monday I will be posting a recipe makeover. I love to take favorite recipes and make them THM friendly. One of the biggest hurdles people have to overcome is thinking that healthy eating means never having their favorite foods again. The truth is that you can make a healthy version of almost any meal. And most meals don’t require that much work to re-make! So from now on, Monday’s will be dedicated to recipe makeovers.
For the next 8 weeks at least, Makeover Monday will be dedicated to making over some awesome desserts for the holidays. Put these recipes in your arsenal and you’ll be much less likely to join the masses that will spend the holidays gaining weight. You’ll be able to enjoy delicious treats with no guilt!
INGREDIENTS
For Cookie Crust
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup xes sweetener or gentle sweet
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 c baking blend
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon mineral salt
For Pie Filling
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/4 c. natural peanut butter ~OR~ reconstituted peanut flour
- 2/3 c. xes sweetener or gentle sweet
- 1 tsp black strap molasses
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 c. heavy cream
For Topping
- 1/4 c. peanut flour
- 1 tablespoon of xes sweetener or gentle sweet
- 1 pinch of mineral salt
- 2-3 tablespoons of water
- 1/2 c. heavy cream
- 2/3 c. THM Chocolate Chips
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Make the Crust:
- Beat butter and sweetener until creamy.
- Add vanilla and egg and mix thouroughly.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix until dough forms.
- Spray bottom of springform pan with bin stick spray. Press sugar cookie dough in an even layer to fill the bottom of a 9” springform pan.
- Bake until golden, about 20 minutes, then let cool completely.
- Before filling I like to loosen the springform pan and line the sides with strips of parchment paper to keep the filling from sticking to the sides. After I get it in I cinch the springform pan back together. Then I cut slits in the top of the parchment so I can fold it out of my way. If you don’t do this step be sure to spray the sides with non-stick spray.
- Make the Filling:
- In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, peanut butter, gentle sweet, molasses and vanilla.
- Beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Because this is natural peanut butter it is not going to get “creamy” like sugared peanut butter will. Don’t worry, it will come together even if it feels kind of “stiff” at this point. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, beat 1 cup heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
- Add half of the peanut butter mixture and beat with a hand mixer until evenly incorporated. Add the remaining peanut butter mixture and beat until fluffy.
- Spread mixture evenly into the cooled cookie crust. Freeze for 30 minutes, until the peanut butter layer is firm.
- Make the Ganache and Peanut Butter Swirl:
- In a small bowl mix peanut flour, sweetener, salt and water with a whisk until smooth. It should be a pourable consistency. Set aside.
- Place chocolate chips in a medium heatproof bowl and set aside.
- Heat remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- When bubbles begin to break the surface around the edges of the pan, turn off the heat.
- Pour hot cream over chocolate chips, whisking constantly until the sauce is smooth. Pour over the frozen peanut butter layer.
- Immediately, before the ganache sets, drizzle the peanut butter “sauce” in a spiral pattern around the chocolate layer.
- Starting at the center of the pie, drag a toothpick gently in a straight line to the edge of the pie. Repeat to continue pattern all the way around the pie to resemble a spider web.
- Place pie in freezer for another 15 minutes. Remove from springform pan; slice and serve cold.
Do you have a favorite recipe you would like me to THM’ify? Comment below and I will see what I can do!
My Healthy Journey For Life 
This is a scrumptious keeper. Enjoy!
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This is my favorite THM dessert! So delicious! Thanks for sharing. Now I need to make a pie for myself!
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Does it taste different if you sub the peanut flour for the PB? Also, can I sub half and half for almond milk for the heavy cream?
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The taste shouldn’t change making the peanut flour sub, but you can’t just use peanut flour, you will need to make 1 1/4 cup “peanut butter” from the peanut flour to use in the recipe. To do this just follow the recipe on your peanut flour package. You should only have to add water and a bit of salt. You can sub out the heavy cream for either of the options you listed. Both of these changes would lighten the recipe considerably. 🙂
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Do you think non THMers would know that this is an alternate recipe? I have some pretty picky, non-sweetner family members. They are the pure fat and sugar type. My step dad has Type 2 Diabetes and still won’t change his diet, just medicates for it. I want to prove to him that things can still be good and not spike his blood sugar.
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Yes, I actually served this first to non-THMers. 🙂 I took it to a friends house for dinner and none of them are THM. They all loved it, in fact the only “complaint” is that it is very rich, so a little piece goes a long way. But they were licking their plates. The people in my family who are like the ones you described loved this. (And the more recent monday makeover recipes I have made have also been hits with them, especially the pumpkin spice cheesecake and snickerdoodle cheescake bars.)
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