I’ve been making so many sweets lately that I had to take a bit of a break and allow the leftovers to be eaten before making more. Being on a keto diet, it’s hard for me to keep eating sweets, even if they are low carb, because I find my cravings start to come back after I eat them. Low and behold, everything is gone and I wanted to make something I haven’t done in a while.
I settled on brownies because I haven’t really gotten around to making a cake, and I have only been making cookies lately. The brownies turned out a little fudge-like, as I wanted. They’re a bit light in consistency, but melt in your mouth and become rich and almost dense.
My only suggestion to make them a bit better is to chop up the Macadamia nuts into smaller pieces. I halved all mine, which was easy to do, but I wish I would have made the pieces smaller, so they were in every bite.
I have been experimenting with salted butter in baking and I must say that I really like it. You don’t have to play a guessing game on how much salt you should be adding, or be worried about your kosher salt properly disintegrating into the batter. The salted butter adds just enough salt to bring out the sweet flavors, and makes it easier for you in the long run.
Why the macadamia nuts? Well they are packed with omega 3’s, have a great amount of monounsaturated fats, are an awesome source of complete amino acid proteins, and heck – they even taste good!
They’re pretty fantastic, health wise, so I decided to use them in the brownies. They have some carbs, yes, but I see them as being worth it overall. I normally order my Macadamia Nuts online because it’s the best price I can get.
If you’ve been wanting to get away from the old fat bombs made of butter and cream cheese, these will do the trick! And if you’re a lover of macadamias then you’re in for a treat. If you don’t like macadamia nuts, try subbing them out for walnuts. Walnuts are also loaded with omega 3’s, and great for you.
Yields 9 large brownies.
The Preparation
- 5 tablespoons butter, salted, room temperature
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 3/4 cup erythritol
- 2 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 3/4 cup macadamia nuts
The Execution
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. If you can, before you start, have your butter and eggs waiting at room temperature.
2. In a mixing bowl, add your butter, coconut oil, and erythritol. Let the butter get to room temperature before you start mixing it up.
3. Cream the fats and sweetener together, making a creamy consistency.
4. Add your eggs and vanilla extract into the creamed butter. Try to have the eggs at room temperature before you start.
5. Mix these together well until everything is a creamed consistency. If you didn’t use room temperature eggs, like me, your coconut oil will seize up a bit and create a lumpy texture.
6. Add your cocoa powder and instant coffee to the mixture.
7. Mix the cocoa powder and coffee in well, until the mixture is a dark brown. You can now add your baking powder.
8. Cream everything together and then add your almond flour.
9. Mix this thoroughly until a light brown and fluffy texture is achieved.
10. Add 1/2 Cup of your Macadamia nuts and fold them in, making sure they are evenly distributed in the batter.
11. On an 8×8 baking sheet (I used 9 x 9 1/2) spread your batter evenly. Top with the rest of your macadamia nuts, and press them into the batter with your finger. You want them to be submerged into the batter, but still showing the top.
12. Put your brownie batter into the oven for 25 minutes at 350F. You should be able to poke them with a toothpick and have it come out clean. The edges will be slightly brown, almost burnt.
13. Let them cool for at least 15 minutes, slice into thirds horizontally and vertically (making 9 total brownies). Serve them up and enjoy!
This makes a total of 9 servings of Low-Carb Macadamia Nut Brownies. Each serving comes out to be 274 calories, 26.8g fats, 2.3g net carbs, and 4.7g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 5 tablespoon butter | 509 | 57.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 |
| 1/4 cup coconut oil | 486 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3/4 cup erythritol | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 large egg | 157 | 10.5 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.8 | 13.8 |
| 1 teaspoon vanilla extract | 12 | 0 | 0.6 | 0 | 0.6 | 0 |
| 3 tablespoon unsweetened dark cocoa powder | 60 | 1.5 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| 1 teaspoon instant coffee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder | 4 | 0 | 1.9 | 0 | 1.9 | 0 |
| 3/4 cup almond flour | 486 | 42 | 18.5 | 10.9 | 7.6 | 17.6 |
| 3/4 cup macadamia nuts | 722 | 76.2 | 13.9 | 8.6 | 5.3 | 8 |
| Totals | 2465 | 241.6 | 44.7 | 25.6 | 19.1 | 43 |
| Per Serving (/9) | 274 | 26.8 | 5 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 4.8 |
Low-Carb Macadamia Nut Brownies
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoon butter salted, room temperature
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¾ cup erythritol
- 2 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoon unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup almond flour
- ¾ cup macadamia nuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Make sure the eggs and butter have come to room temperature. Add the butter, coconut oil, and erythritol to a mixing bowl.
- Beat the fats and sweetener together to create a creamy consistency.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the creamed butter.
- Mix together well into a creamy consistency.
- Add the cocoa powder and instant coffee to the mixture. Mix the cocoa powder and coffee in well, until the mixture is a dark brown. Add the baking powder.
- Cream everything together and then add the almond flour.
- Mix thoroughly. The batter should be light brown and fluffy. Add two-thirds of the macadamia nuts.
- Fold in the macadamia nuts, making sure they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Spread the batter evenly into a non-stick brownie pan. Top with the rest of the macadamia nuts, pressing them into the batter until mostly submerged and just slightly peeking out on top.
- Place in the oven for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. The edges will be slightly brown, almost burned.
- Let cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Serve and enjoy!
You left the Erythritol off of the nutrition info at the bottom of the post. Including that will make these more carb-heavy, but I think most people should still be able to find room for them.
Brian,
We, as humans, don’t actually have the enzymes that are needed to break down Erythritol. Studies also show that they don’t have impact on blood sugars. I’ve tested it out on myself also with eating quite a large amount and not had any negative effects (keto-wise). So, I leave it out of the nutrition. Normally people would gawk at 100+ carbs in something so I figure it’s simpler to leave it out since it really doesn’t have an effect on us.
When it passes through the digestive tract, it can’t actually pass through the blood barrier into our bodies, so we end up excreting almost all of it in our pee.
Brilliant. And thank you for the reply. Locally I can only get my hands on a product containing 100% Xylitol. The back of the package claims 4g of carbs per teaspoon. I was shocked by that–you’re right about the gawking. As I understand Xylitol is also a sugar alcohol. Can you confirm whether what you’ve just explained about Erythritol also applies to Xylitol? I’ve not really used it to sweeten anything because if one tablespoon then = 12g carbs, well, it just wasn’t worth it. Thanks again for the information and for a fantastic blog. I saw your post on r/keto and can’t wait to pick up a copy of the new book.
Appreciate it! Xylitol acts the same way, for the most part. It has a slight impact on peoples blood sugar, so you just have to take it with moderation, though I don’t know of too many people getting knocked out after eating a bunch. Xylitol has a glycemic index of 13, while Erythritol has a GI (Glycemic Index) of 0. I say you might as well use it since you’ve bought it – just know that it IS about double as sweet as erythritol so if you plan to follow recipes with erythritol and use xylitol, just half the amount you put in (well, half plus a little bit).
The baking properties are slightly different, but it will work almost exactly the same. Erythritol and Xylitol are the only sugar alcohols I don’t worry too much about. There’s a couple of others that end up tracking into your system like Maltitol that I try to avoid.
Yeah, at $10/lb the Xylitol was NOT cheap. Thanks for such great information, Craig.
For sure, I wouldn’t put it to waste. I link to the Erythritol I use (it’s an affiliate link that I earn a whole $1 per sale on :P) but I honestly really recommend it. I see a lot of people use swerve but you’re pretty much paying for their marketing dollars with it. I think the 2.5 pounds for 19 bucks I use it a pretty sweet deal. Lasts me a long time, so it makes me happy at least.
And yeah, no worries – if you ever have more questions feel free to ask away. There’s a facebook group as well (link is in the side bar “Ketogenic Living”) if you want to join.
I shouldn’t have tried the batter! I only ended up baking half of it… (I used a mini muffin pan)… oh well!
Also, these rise more than brownies typically do, so instead of making each cup 3/4 full, I think it would be better to do half.
Haha! I try to not eat batters because normally they’re a bit sweeter than the finished product and it gets me hooked 😛
Thanks for the tip though! They do rise a bit more than normal brownies, they’re a bit airy like – but I don’t think they’re exactly cup-cakeish. Glad you enjoyed them!
I have horrible side effects from artificial sweeteners but have never tried erythritol….would people sensitive to artificial sweeteners have problems with it? I am desperate to find something sweet that won’t have been in the washroom for days at a time :)……thanks.
Cathy, normally people do much better with Erythritol than other sweeteners. Keep in mind that this is a natural sweetener, not artificial. Though I have heard of a few cases of people having problems with it, it’s very low percentage. I think it would be worth a try if you’re looking for a solution 🙂
I think you said you usually use stevia drops in combo with the Erythritol so the there is no weird aftertaste. But in this recipe, it doesn’t call for drops. I don’t know if you would have just added some drops to the same amount of Erythritol or if you would have to change the measurement. I really, really care because I just made these and they were unbelievable. I have made some nasty low carb desserts, but not these brownies. Everything was perfect, the only way I wouldn’t have thought it was a regular brownie recipe, was that polar blast aftertaste. I want to make these again (RIGHT NOW!!), but don’t want that aftertaste. How can I fix that? Can I just use 3/4 cup Splenda? OR if I use the Erythritol, can I add drops and how much of each (E and Stevia drops)? Thank you so much!!
In this recipe I didn’t, but you’re right that I do now. I’d probably do something like half of the erythritol and 1/4 tsp. Stevia in the brownies. You -could- just use 3/4 cup splenda if you’d like too.
Oh, also, how do I convert the powdered/granular stevia into Stevia drops/Erythritol?
Example: 6 Tbl. granular Stevia = how much of Erythritol/Stevia drops.
I made your maple pecan mug cake last night and the flavor was perfectly balanced with sweetener. So I totally trust you.
I’m not 100% sure about the stevia conversion rates. Different brands have different strengths.
Absolutely delicious! I have been having a brownie craving for the last week and this was the perfect fix for me!!
Awesome Melissa – glad you liked it!
Batter is in the oven right now! I didn’t want to buy a whole thing of instant coffee just for 1 tsp so I subbed Cinnamon. Had a little taste of the batter and it was awesome. Can’t wait for the finished product!
Hope it came out good Chelsea! Glad to hear the batter tasted good 🙂
can i make this without macadamia nuts? without any nuts actually? nice plain ol’ brownies for me 😀
should i add Psyllium Husk Powder to make the consistency thicker?
You definitely could do both of these. Although if you don’t add the nuts you’ll have a bit less batter so many sure that you use a slightly smaller baking pan.
Can I use Xyla instead of erythritole? ?
Hi Craig – these look divine, but I only have Natvia (Truvia) as opposed to pure erythritol. Would you use the same amount?I find that I need to use a little less in my mug cakes. Thanks!
Yep – just replace erythritol with Truvia (just make sure it’s not the baking blend). Truvia is a mixture of erythritol and stevia, so you can replace the erythritol and stevia in any recipe with it. Since stevia is generally sweeter, if a recipe calls for erythritol alone then it will normally be a bit sweeter in the same amount. Just cut back slightly to your own taste.
Thanks Craig – out of curiousity, why not the baking blend? I had been planning to buy that one when I ran out, is there something wrong with it?
The baking blend (at least with Truvia) is 50% sugar – so definitely something you want to avoid.
Hi just made these and they are cooling. Made 19 of them in mini muffin tins and they smell great. Just wanted to note that adding the instant coffee isn’t included in ‘The Execution’ section of the printed recipe and of course I forgot. Thanks for the recipe. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
How long did you bake them?
Hi Brenda, these were baked for 25 minutes at 350F.
If the instant coffee is just for taste, I’m going to try to sub cold brew coffee concentrate (easy to make ahead of time) which I’ve found a good replacement for most recipes calling for instant.
Thank’s for letting me know Richard! I will fix that ASAP. I hope you enjoyed them.
What is it about the Honeyville brand of flour that you prefer, say over Bob’s Red Mill (or really any other brand)?
Craig just likes the taste and the texture. You can use Bob’s Red Mill if that’s what you have. 🙂
What is it about the Honeyville brand of flour that you prefer, say over Bob’s Red Mill (or really any other brand)?
My first “fat bomb” bake on my low-carb journey…thank you for the recipe! 🙂
Next will be your almond butter chia squares.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c… .
I just wanna take a spoon to that, good job!
I made these and they taste delicious. Mine were dry and crumbly, I think I over baked them. I’ll try a little less flour next time as well. They were awesome with a little Halo Top Sea Salt Caramel ice cream!
I made these the other night with walnuts and the flavor was oh so good. However, while they were quite moist, they would not hold together. It was odd, really…moist and crumbly at the same time 🤨 It could be that I mis-measured something, but has that happened to you? I’m going to try again…any tips?
They’re definitely a bit more on the crumbly side. It’s from the erythrtiol re-crystallizing once it cools down. We have other fudgier or cakey brownies on the site as well that you may want to give a try to.
I plan to make this, however I currently don’t have almond flour – can I use Red Mill coconut flour instead?
Unfortunately not. Coconut flour, it’s much more absorptive and needs a lot more liquid and usually less dry volume. You can see more here: https://www.ruled.me/keto-f…
Can I use instant mushroom coffee? It’s all I have.
I’ve never tried mushroom coffee so I’m not sure to be honest. You could leave the coffee out completely and the brownies would still be tasty though!