Low Carb Smores Brownies A Perfect Treat For Summer

Sticky ooey gooey toasted marshmallow frosting on a rich chocolate base. You may want to have more than one of these low carb smores brownies. The temptation is real.

I messed around with this recipe for a while trying to get the base just right. These low carb brownies are halfway between fudge-like brownies and caky brownies. What does that mean? It means they don’t feel raw in the center and are not mushy soft. They have a bit of bite to them, but they are still soft and melt in your mouth.

Low Carb Chocolate Brownies with Marshmallow Smores Topping

I promise these brownies are not difficult to make. Even the marshmallow fluff frosting takes only about 7 minutes start to finish.

The sweet topping has zero calories and the carb count is so low it barely registers. But trust me when I say it is SWEET. It’s like adding the sweetness of a buttercream frosting, but without the over sweetener taste that you get from powdered versions of erythritol or monk fruit.

I used the same topping on our smores cupcake recipe, and the folks who tried that recipe absolutely loved the topping.

Keeping the topping carbs down makes these brownies a great keto diet treat. At only 3 net per serving they really satisify a sweet craving without blowing the carb count for the day.

What Sweeteners work Best IN this recipe

For the cake base, you can use any of your favourite granular sweeteners like erythritol, monk fruit, or allulose. But for the topping, allulose is really the only way to go and I will explain below.

The Best Sweeteners for the Low Carb Chocolate Brownie Layer

I made the brownie base with allulose, erythritol, and another batch with a blend of erythritol and monk fruit. Here are the results:

1. Allulose: These were the best. The allulose had no aftertaste at all, the brownies stayed soft when cold, did not harden or grain up, and had the best texture. This is the best sweetener if you plan on keeping the brownies around longer than a day.
2. Erythritol: Had a great texture, a tiny bit of cooling sensation, and the brownies did harden as they sat out on the countertop. My husband said he preferred the texture of the brownies made with erythritol and liked that bite that it created.
3. Eryhtoil Monk Fruit Blend: Had a great texture, the cooling sensation was reduced greatly, and the brownies took longer to grain and firm up. I found these brownies were good a day afterward.

If you can’t get allulose, a blend of sweeteners really does work best. You can replace Allulose in this recipe at 1:1 for either 100% erythritol or a 50-50 blend of erythritol & monk fruit.

The Best Sweeteners for the Marshmallow Topping

Allulose. It’s the only way to go. Allulose will cook up sticky just like sugar and makes for a wonderfully glossy smooth frosting that does not get hard.

Erythritol, monk fruit and xylitol do not cook or carmelize the same way that allulose does.  Allulose bakes up similar to regular sugar, with a few exceptions.

The allulose in this recipe is heated to 260F.  Unlike sugar, the allulose needs to be brought up to temperature very slowly.  Burning allulose will create a very bitter “off” flavor in your finished dessert.  If you slow cook the allulose up to 260F, you get a perfectly smooth sticky sweet marshmallow fluff with no burnt bitter aftertaste.

Don’t worry, I added a whole tips section to ensure when you make the frosting it turns out perfectly.

Tips for making the Brownie base

A few small specific steps will ensure your brownie batter turns out perfectly every time.

1. Either sift or use a whisk to mix your dry ingredients to remove all lumps and clumps.
2. The melted butter needs to be just above room temperature. You can melt the butter in the microwave but do so with short bursts. We want the butter just melted, not bubbling and boiling. Adding overly hot butter will cook the eggs! We don’t want that.
3. Add the melted butter, vanilla, and one egg (at room temperature) and blend until smooth.
4. Add the second egg and blend again until smooth.
5. Smooth the brownie batter into the bottom of a greased pan covered with a sheet of parchment. The parchment will make it easier to lift the brownies out once they are cool.
6. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. You don’t have to add the extra chocolate chips but since these are s’mores brownies it does add that fun extra chocolatey bite.

Tips for making the Marshmallow Fluff Topping.

• Mix the water and the allulose in a high walled pan or pot. Stir it gently. If you get any allulose up on the walls of the pan, it will burn and fall back into your mixture. Those little burned bits add bitterness to the final dessert, so try to avoid it if you can.
• Use a wet pastry brush to wipe the allulose off the sides of the pot or pan before heating to prevent burning. DO NOT cook on high; you have to cook this mixture on medium heat until it reaches 255F -260F.  It takes about 10 minutes. Slow cooking ensures the allulose does not burn. If you overcook the allulose you’re going to get a topping that is very thick and brittle. Still tasty (I messed up a batch during testing) but not the texture we want.
• Whip the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer while the allulose is cooking on the stove.  Turn the mixer to medium speed and gently pour the hot syrup into the egg whites slowly.  Wear gloves. This stuff is hot and burns just like hot sugar.  Whip for 5 minutes, until the mixture is glossy and stiff and holds a peak. Let it cool for a few minutes before adding it to a piping bag.

Pulling it all together.

Wait for your brownies to be cold in the pan before removing them from the pan. If you used parchment paper as a liner you should be able to lift the brownie slab out of the pan without issue.

Add the marshmallow topping and be sure to swirl it around. The swirls really pop and look very pretty once you start to toast them.

Speaking of toasting the topping – if you don’t have a kitchen torch, it’s not a problem, just skip this step.

If you do have a kitchen torch, the only tips you need to know is to toast from a bit further away and light toasting coats are better than one big burned spot, so move your torch around until the topping is toasted to your liking.

Serving Suggestions and storage

These are great as soon as the topping goes on. You can cut them up and store them on the counter for a few hours, but if they make it to the next day store them in the fridge.

Storing these low carb smores brownies in the fridge overnight will stiffen them up a bit. If you want to soften them, you can zap them in a microwave for 10 seconds.

These are so good with a cup of coffee. I am not going to lie, I actually ate three of them the day I made them. This is not a good thing. These days I can usually have one treat and be satisfied but had to keep going back to these. Finally, I put the remaining brownies on a plate and shipped them off to one of my wonderful testers. Just a warning to any fellow sweet-toothers out there – they are hard to resist!