Lemon Fat Bombs

 

INGREDIENTS

• ▢6 ounces cream cheese (Note 1)
• ▢4 tablespoons salted butter
• ▢3 tablespoons granular swerve sweetener (Note 2)
• ▢2 tablespoons lemon juice (Note 3)
• ▢1 tablespoon lemon zest (Note 4)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Soften Ingredients: Let cream cheese and butter sit at room temperature until softened, about 1 hour. Then microwave cream cheese in small bowl until very soft and pliable (Note 5), about 20 seconds.
• Make Batter: Stir sweetener, lemon juice, and lemon zest in large mixing bowl until well-mixed. Add softened cream cheese and butter to bowl with lemon mixture, and beat using electric hand mixer (Note 6) until well-mixed without any butter or cream cheese clumps (Note 7), scraping down beaters and sides of bowl as needed.
• Freeze & Serve: Divide batter among round silicone molds (Note 8), yielding about 16 fat bombs. Freeze until solid, at least 2 hours. Serve (Note 9), and transfer any leftovers to resealable bag in freezer.
• NOTES:
• 1) Cream Cheese. Use regular full-fat cream cheese, and avoid low fat or vegan varieties. I use the brand Philadelphia. Don’t buy “cream cheese spreads.” Note that the recipe calls for 6 ounces, which is not a full 8-ounce brick.
  (2) Sweetener. About 1.5 ounces weight. Granular Swerve is a dry sweetener that measures the same as regular sugar; it’s not the same as pure erythritol, which is about 70% as sweet. You can substitute with your favorite dry sweetener; to calculate the amount to use, check your sweetener’s packaging to determine how it compares to regular sugar. If a conversion is needed, it’s best to convert using the weight value, not volume.
  (3) Lemon Juice. I use freshly squeezed lemon juice; you’ll need about 1 lemon for 2 tablespoons of juice. This amount of juice strikes a good balance between lemon flavor and the final texture of the fat bombs. Avoid using more than 2 tablespoons or adding extra liquid (like vanilla extract), or the fat bombs will be too soft. If you prefer a lime flavor, you can substitute with lime juice.
  (4) Lemon Zest. I use freshly grated lemon zest; you’ll need about 1 lemon for 1 tablespoon of zest. Avoid grating bitter white areas.
  (5) Microwaving Cream Cheese. This is optional, but it’s very helpful to more easily combine the cream cheese with other ingredients, resulting in a smooth batter. The microwave cooking time is based on a 700 watt microwave with 100% power.
  (6) Electric Mixer. I recommend a hand mixer, not stand mixer, because the volume of ingredients is small. With a hand mixer, you can more easily incorporate ingredients sticking to the sides of the bowl. I use a KitchenAid 5-speed hand mixer. It may be possible to mix the ingredients by hand, but it likely won’t end up as smooth.
  (7) Beating Ingredients. Take extra care to ensure that all ingredients are fully mixed. Look out for small white clumps of cream cheese in the batter, which can ruin the taste of these fat bombs.
  (8) Round Silicone Molds. Silicone molds are convenient because you can easily invert them and pop out the fat bombs after they’re frozen. You can also use any other mold you may have on hand, or even ice cube trays, styrofoam egg cartons, or mini muffin wrappers. You can even put them on a baking sheet using a piping bag. Another idea is freezing the batter as a single rectangle in a baking dish, cutting it up into bars once frozen.
  (9) Serving. These fat bombs should be enjoyed frozen, as a convenient snack or as a bite-sized dessert after dinner. You can serve them alongside other fat bomb flavors, including peanut butter, chocolate chip cookie dough, and strawberry.
  (10) Nutrition. The nutrition calculation assumes you are using Swerve or a similar erythritol-based sweetener that uses sugar alcohols, whose carbs are non-impact and therefore not included in the nutrition estimate. Apps that count sugar alcohols will show a higher number of carbs.