Prize winning keto donuts! These tender almond flour donuts feature a dreamy brown butter glaze. Seriously, what’s not to love about this delicious sugar-free treat?
Prize winning keto donuts? Okay, I confess, it’s more like keto recipe battle winning.
If you’ve ever seen the fun and hilarious High Falutin’ Low Carb on YouTube, you know what I am talking about. He takes two similar recipes from low carb bloggers and tries them both out, on camera.
And then of course he declares a winner. He’s an absolute hoot to watch so I highly recommend seeking him out. It’s all done with good humour and good grace.
Honestly, I had all but forgotten about these delicious keto cinnamon donuts, since I originally wrote the recipe back in 2012. But his recent video brought it back into my sights and I decided to have a go at it again myself and do my own instructional video. So now you can see first hand just how delicious and easy they are to make.
Browning butter is incredibly easy!
Brown butter is absolutely magical and it can totally transform your recipes from pretty good to absolutely outstanding. It’s great in sweet and savory recipes, everything from Brown Butter Chicken to my famous keto blondies.
How to make brown butter
Place it in a saucepan or skillet over medium heat and watch it carefully, as it can burn if you’re not paying attention. For ¼ cup to ½ cup butter, it usually only takes 4 to 5 minutes to achieve a rich amber color.
The froth can sometimes obscure the color, making it hard see if the butter is properly browned. Grab a spoon and push some of the froth aside to check it. You can also swirl the pan a bit if the butter is browning unevenly.
Remove it from heat as soon as you see a deep amber color, as it will burn very quickly after that.
How to make keto donuts
The baking pan:
Thank goodness for donut pans! It’s made a world of difference for those of us who can’t, or don’t want to, eat the sugary high carb variety.
I highly recommend the donut pan from USA Pan, as it’s incredibly non-stick and your keto donuts will practically fall right out of them. Yes, it is pricier than most, but you are paying for durability. I have learned in my many years of baking that quality matters. Purchase a ten dollar pan and you will likely be tossing it in a few years when it everything starts sticking. Purchase a good pan and it will last you forever.
The keto flour:
Keto donuts can be made with any number of low carb flours. My Keto Chocolate Donuts are made with coconut flour and it’s one of my most popular recipes. I’ve also made keto donuts with a combination of almond and coconut flours, and I’ve even made some donuts with hazelnut flour.
This particular keto donut recipe is made with almond flour, and they are light and fluffy, and absolutely delicious. To be honest, they are good enough on their own. But then that brown butter glaze takes them to new heights.
The keto sweetener:
I am a big fan of Swerve and their powdered sweetener is beyond compare, in my opinion. I recommend Swerve for this recipe, especially in the glaze as it helps give it the right consistency.
If you want other options, your best bets are BochaSweet or Lakanto. Do be aware that Lakanto powdered sweetener is 2x as sweet and so you need less of it, which will make your glaze a lot thinner.
Additionally, BochaSweet powdered sweetener is very clumpy so break it up before you try to make the glaze. You also may find that your glaze is softer and thinner as well.
The protein powder:
Yes, it is a critical ingredient. I wouldn’t add it to a recipe if it wasn’t. Gluten is a protein and in its absence, another dry protein helps baked goods rise and hold their shape.
Every time I skip the protein powder, I regret it. Don’t do it! But you can sub egg white protein instead.
The brown butter glaze:
Be patient and let that brown butter cool properly before adding it to the glaze. You will regret it if you rush the process as the glaze will clump up and then separate.
The brown butter should be just cool to the touch but still liquid. Slowly drizzle it into your sweetener, whisking constantly. The mixture will be thick until you add the cream and then it should become a thick frosting that you can spread on your donuts.
If you would prefer a thinner glaze, just add a little more cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! This is a pretty basic almond flour recipe that works as muffins too.
This recipe is almond flour based and it’s hard to sub one for the other. However, if you look up my Samoa Donuts recipe, you will find a very good base donut made with coconut flour. Use that and add a little cinnamon.
You can skip it, but it does help the consistency of the donuts and makes them lighter and fluffier. If you leave it out, be prepared for them to not rise as well and be a little more fragile. See the How To section about why protein powder helps keto baked goods.
This is not a good substitute, as it tends to make keto donuts very gummy and hard to cook through. Use whey, egg white, or plant-based protein powders.
The donuts are fine with any sweetener you like best, but the glaze really needs a powdered sugar substitute. Please see the How To section for recommendations.
There you have it, my friends. An updated version of my delicious Keto Cinnamon Donuts with Brown Butter Glaze. You are going to love them!
More keto donut recipes you might like
- Keto Chocolate Donuts
- Coconut Flour Samoa Donuts
- Maple Bacon Donuts
- Chocolate Dipped Mini Keto Donuts
- Lemon Poppyseed Donuts
- Keto Strawberry Donuts
Keto Cinnamon Donuts
Ingredients
Donuts:
- 1 ½ cups almond flour
- 6 tablespoon Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tablespoon vanilla whey protein powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 3 tablespoon butter melted
- ¼ cup almond milk (can sub half cream and half water)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze:
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 7 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 to 2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 325F and grease 8 wells of a donut pan (If your pan only holds 6, you can make muffins with the remaining batter or work in batches).
- In a large bowl, whisk together teh almond flour, Swerve, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Stir in the eggs, melted butter, almond milk, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Fill the donut pan wells approximately ⅔ full and bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until the donuts are lightly browned and set.
- Let cool in the pan 5 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat with any remaining batter.
Glaze
- Melt the butter in small skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter is browned and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool about 10 minutes.
- Place the powdered Swerve in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the browned butter until well combined. The mixture will be quite thick.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon of the cream at a time until a spreadable consistency is achieved. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Spread glaze on cooled donuts and let set, about 20 minutes.
Nancy says
I just baked your cinnamon donuts and glazed them with the glaze from your chocolate donut recipe. They were amazing! Tasted just like my favorite chocolate frosted cake donut from the Donut shop in my old home town. Thank you so much for your wonderful recipe!
Carolyn says
Glad you had fun and made them your own!
Rhonda says
I have silicone donut molds (which I haven’t used yet).
Would these be okay instead of the pans you talked about? And what about putting a cookie sheet under the silicone pan for stability? Will that change the cook time?
Carolyn says
Yes and yes… but the bake time may change because silicone doesn’t conduct heat as well as metal.
Shannon Sinkler says
Hi Carolyn,
I was wondering if you have used cricket flour in any of your recipes? I am very curious about this type of protein powder and what range of recipies it can be used in. In sounds like it is used very similarly to nut flours with greater benefits.
Carolyn says
Not at this time, no.
Mc says
Just made these I only added a little bit more water and they’re amazing!! Do the nutrition value include glaze ? If so what is counts without glaze ? Because i only made the donuts
Carolyn says
It includes the glaze. You will need to run the numbers yourself if you want the donuts alone, I don’t have that info handy.
Laurie says
l ran the numbers for the doughnuts without glaze and this is what l came up with per doughnut (of the recipe making 8 doughnuts)
(Note: l use Red Mill almond flour and Ripple plant based milk instead of almond milk)
2.4 carbs
6 protein
16 fat
177 calories
Caroline says
Hi carolyn have just made these they are absolutely yummy Thankyou so much definitely a keeper.
Valerie says
Hi does the nutrition facts include the glaze? Sometimes I get confused if they do or not
Stephanie Van Horn says
Can you tell me how much powdered Stevia I would need to use instead of the Swerve? My box of sweetener says 1 tsp sugar= 1/2 packet of Stevia, and 1 tbsp of sugar = 2 1/2 packets of Stevia. So, if Swerve is a one-to-one ratio to sugar, then I would need 15 (6 * 2.5) packets of Stevia to make it equivalent??
Also, how do I store them? Do they need to go in an airtight container in the fridge? How long will they stay fresh?
I am new to the low-carb lifestyle, and love my sweets. These look amazing, and I can’t wait to try them!!
Carolyn says
I really must advise against stevia in the frosting for these donuts. It will be a disaster, as you need a proper bulk sweetener to give it structure.
Kate Wilkins says
Just made these myself and they have come out wonderfully, great texture and taste.
Brilliant recipe.
Just in case you keep track of substitutions and how they work out then I didn’t have any protein powder but did have some vital wheat gluten so substituted that for the protein powder as it is a protein and it was what I had.