Mint Gluten Free Cheesecake with Avocado Brownie Bottom

Just wanted to let you know that this post is sponsored by my MOO-velous friends over at The American Dairy Association Mideast! 

This creamy, festive gluten free cheesecake uses avocado to make it naturally green. It has a rich brownie bottom crust and you’ll never know it’s secretly healthy!

If I had to go through my notes of moments that I have been waiting for since FOREVER, it would be THIS MOMENT.

The moment where I can finally say that it’s DECEMBER. IE: The month where we get to open little cardboard containers with cutesy-fun-ultra-festive designs and eat the best 1$ chocolate in ALL the lands.

It’s the little things guys. 1$ chocolate each morning is what kid-Taylor dreams of and adult-Taylor makes happen because I can make my own, grown-up person decisions NOW. The benefits of adulthood are endless my peeps.

HOLD UP THOUGH, how did it even happen that is now the month that marks the end of the year and I feel like I did about negative 400 things on my “do in 2015” list. Which is not a real-life list, but more of a mental-list. EITHER WAY, it is NOT COMPLETE.

Actually, scratch that thought. The imagined-not-super-real-but-real-enough-you-get-it list can actually be TICKED OFF. Like “all done” “COMPLETE” “NAILED IT” because of this gluten free cheesecake. Making the most creamy, rich cheesecake that leaves your taste-buds tingling from your head to your Christmas shoes (points for classic Christmas movie mention?) was not even on my imaginary list.

But then it happened and I decided that it cancelled out ALL the other things I wanted to do this year and now I could sit back, relax and face plant into the rich, fudgy, perfectly-dense and CHOCOLATE-OVERLOAD-in–the-only-way-a-brownie-should-be-allowed-to-exist gluten free brownie bottom, that comes together in a magically-festive punch of peppermint laced with crunchy bites of sweet chocolate chips and that velvety-smoooooth cheesecake layer.

HEADS UP: that has no dye, no refined sugar AND no gluten. Don’t mind me while I just put away the 6 pairs of stretchy pants that I had at the ready for the eating season. Those AIN’T NECESSARY.

I’m going to stop obsessing for .003 seconds to tell you something REALLY important. Are your listening ears on? Good. Because you need to do something really important that will make the inner Christmas-spirit-giving-person that I know you are really happy. Just like with last year’s Crepe Cake, The American Dairy Association Mideast is teaming up with 10 bloggers to give the gift of milk to The Great American Milk Drive! MOOVELOUS right?

You know I HAD TO DO IT.

I bet you didn’t know that milk is the NUMBAH 1 nutritious product requested by the food bank, but it’s SUPER RARE that it actually gets donated! BUTTT, you can help CHANGE THAT.

If you head over to The American Dairy Association’s Facebook page and like, comment OR share (do all 3 kay?) all the recipes from the 10 bloggers, they will donate 25 cents to The Great American Milk Drive for every share between Dec 2 and Dec 11!

Guys. NBD or anything, but you’re giving the gift of protein and essential nutrients to kids to grow up healthy.

Actually it is a big deal. Especially since you can get all your cozy-feel-good-inside-vibes this Christmas season by creeping Facebook in the comfort of your pajamas. Or even AT WORK.

Just don’t tell boss-man that I said it was okay. I don’t want an onslaught of strongly worded letters in my email inbox, ya hear?

In other news: just like the Paleo Mint Chocolate Cake we ate a few weeks ago, the avocado’s back. BACK AGAIN. But only because it’s a superfood and it’s really creamy and delicious and I know you like it lots. I know whatchu want.

The only thing left to do is slice yourself a piece (or 10? Real life talk yo’) and check off “eat heart-healthy dessert that A-L-S-O gives your heart that full-warm-fuzzy FEELIN’”

I don’t even know if Santa is capable of that much awesome at once.

Recipe

Avocado Mint Gluten Free Cheesecake with Brownie Bottom

5 from 1 vote

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Serves: 16

Prep: 20 minutes minutes

Cook: 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Total: 1 hour hour 55 minutes minutes

Ingredients

For the brownie bottom:

• 8 Oz Dark chocolate roughly chopped
• 1 cup Lightly heaping Ripe Avocado mashed (250g or about 3 avocados)
• 2 Tbsp Honey
• 2 Large eggs at room temperature
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

For the cheesecake:

• 16 oz Reduced-fat cream cheese at room temperature not fat-free!, 2 8 oz packages
• 1 Cup Ripe Avocado mashed (225g or about 2 1/2 avocados)
• 2/3 Cup Raw organic cane sugar (regular granulated works too)
• 1 Cup Non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
• 3 Eggs at room temperature
• 1 Tsp Pure peppermint extract
• 1/3 Cup Dark chocolate minced
• Dark chocolate sauce for garnish (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and tightly wrap the bottom of a 9 inch spring-form pan with tinfoil, about half way up the sides, also trace the bottom of the pan on parchment paper, and line it with the paper. *
• Make the brownie bottom:
• In a medium, microwave safe bowl, melt the 8 oz of chocolate using half power and 20 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until the chocolate is smooth and melted.
• While the chocolate melts, add the avocado, honey, eggs, vanilla and a pinch of salt to a large food processor and blend until smooth. Add in the melted chocolate and blend until smooth and well combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared spring-form pan and smooth out evenly. Bake until the brownie begins to rise and the top feels set, about 22-23 minutes. Let cool while you begin making the cheesecake topping. Additionally, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
• In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, avocado and raw cane sugar using an electric hand mixer, JUST until combined.
• Add in the Greek yogurt, eggs and pepper mint extract and beat again, just until combined. It's very important to not over-beat cheesecake, or it will crack when cooling. Gently stir in the minced chocolate.
• Pour the batter over top of the lightly cooled brownie and place the whole pan into a large roasting pan.
• Place into the oven and pour about 1 inch of very hot water into the roasting pan. ** Bake until the cheesecake feels mostly set, but the center is still a little jiggly, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
• Let the cheesecake cool in the water bath on the counter for 30 minutes and then remove the pan from the bath, removing the tinfoil as well, and cool until room temperature. Then, cover the cheesecake with tinfoil and refrigerate for at least 6 hours - overnight.
• Once chilled, drizzle with chocolate sauce (if desired) and DEVOUR.

Tips & Notes:

* Don't skip the parchment. I know it's odd for cheesecake, but the brownie is very rich and dense and sticks to the pan without it.
**Don't skip the water bath. I tried it without and the cheesecake had a few cracks. This really ensures nice, even cooking.

Nutrition Disclaimer

Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.

Author: FoodFaithFitness

Course:Dessert

Cuisine:American

Share your creationsTag @foodfaithfit and hashtag it #foodfaithfitness so I can see what you made!

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THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN DAIRY ASSOCIATION MIDEAST. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO CONTINUE CREATING GREAT CONTENT FOR YOU BY SUPPORTING PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUPER-FAB BRANDS THAT FOOD FAITH FITNESS LOVES TO WORK WITH! AS ALWAYS, OPINIONS REMAIN 100% MY OWN.

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THE ADA MIDEAST ON SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK / TWITTER / PINTEREST!

Weight Watchers Points Per Serving: Points+: 9. Old Points: 8

Based off 16 servings

Don’t forget that your donation of  about 5$ gives a gallon of milk to a family in need!

And make sure you join in on the fun #GiveGallons Twitter party on  Tuesday, Dec. 8, from 9-10 p.m. EST!

Be sure to stop by the other awesome blogs, and check out their recipes!

Beef Wellington Macaroni and Cheese, by Climbing Grier Mountain

Frozen Whipped Cream Topping, by Shugary Sweets

Cranberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake, by Well-Plated

Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake, by In Katrina’s Kitchen

Party Pudding Parfaits, by Eat2Gather

Roasted Garlic Asiago Cheese Ball, by Lemons for Lulu

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Pie, by Inside BruCrew Life

Easy Irish Cream Chocolate Fondue, by Wanna Be a Country Cleaver

Gingerbread Milkshake, by Love Grows Wild

IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAG @FOODFAITHFIT AND #FOODFAITHFITNESS ON INSTAGRAM! I LOVE SEEING YOUR RECIPE RECREATIONS!

Want more healthy mint chocolate treats?

Mint Chocolate Green Smoothie

Paleo Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

Mint Chocolate Protein Brownies

STAY IN DA KNOW ABOUT BEHIND-THE-SCENES INFO GOING ON AT FFF BY KEEPING IN TOUCH ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK AND PINTEREST!