Whoa, is this reality? Keto cookie dough frosting on nut-free keto chocolate cupcakes. Yes, my keto dessert lovers, your sweetest dreams have come true. Sugar-free and grain-free, and oh so decadent.
There are some dessert recipes that you see and you just don’t think there will ever be a way to make them keto friendly. Like cookie dough cupcakes. I always thought how pretty and yummy they looked when I saw them on Pinterest. But I just didn’t think there was really a way to make them low carb.
But then inspiration strikes and you realize that it is indeed possible. And you begin to feel like a keto rockstar because you just took a disgustingly sugary high carb dessert and made it ketolicious. And yes, ketolicious is absolutely a word. Use it well and use it often, my friends.
I have so many ketolicious cake recipes, such as my Keto Italian Cream Cake, or the ever popular and oft-copied Keto Kentucky Butter Cake. And these peanut butter cup Keto Brownie Cupcakes are to die for!
Cookie Dough Cupcakes Inspiration
My inspiration for these keto cookie dough cupcakes came in two forms.
- The mini sugar-free chocolate chips from Explorado Market. Most keto chocolate chips are on the larger size and not as good for decorating cakes and cookies. But these mini chips are perfect for sprinkling on top of any baked goods you choose to use them on. And they are dairy-free too!
- I was also inspired by the High Key Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies. I bought these on a whim about 6 months ago, figuring that like most pre-packaged keto cookies, they’d be rather tasteless. Can I tell you, though, how much I loved them? And how much my kids loved them? They taste just like Chips Ahoy. They are crunchy and little, and I knew I had to incorporate them into a keto friendly recipe.
Can you make these Keto Cookie Dough Cupcakes without either of these specialty products? Of course you can! You can use any sugar-free chocolate chips like Lily’s or ChocZero. They are just bigger and so you need to use them more sparingly. Or you can chop up any keto dark chocolate bar and use that instead.
As for the mini cookies as decoration, they are just purely decoration. Cute and fun, but not critical to the outcome of the recipe.
How to make Keto Cookie Dough Frosting
Let’s be honest, these are really just my keto chocolate cupcakes topped with a delicious cookie dough frosting. The cupcakes themselves are coconut flour based, so they’re nut-free. And they are wonderful with any sort of keto frosting.
But it was really fun experimenting to come up with a cookie dough flavored frosting recipe. I had to think outside the box a little for this one.
Conventional cookie dough frosting is made with copious amounts of brown sugar and flour. That is so not happening in my house!
I really wanted to use the Swerve Brown for this recipe but it wouldn’t dissolve into the butter, no matter how much I tried to beat it. So I scrapped that idea and went with my old standby of some powdered Swerve and a few teaspoons of Yacon syrup for brown sugar color and flavor.
You could also use 1 teaspoon molasses in place of the Yacon syrup. Now before you FREAK OUT about the sugar, keep in mind that 1 teaspoon of molasses contains 5g total carbs. Spread over 12 servings, you’ve added less than half a gram of carbs to your cupcake.
As for the flour, I decided to help give my frosting structure with a little cream cheese and a scant tablespoon of coconut flour. That way, I didn’t have to rely solely on the sweetener for consistency.
Then I just piped it onto my chocolate cupcakes and sprinkled on some mini chocolate chips. Topping it all off with a mini cookie was just the icing on the cake, so to speak!
A huge hit with the kids in particular, as you might imagine. I was mum of the year for a few short hours…
More Keto Cookie Dough Recipes
Keto Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
Keto Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Truffles
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles
Keto Cookie Dough Cheesecake Popsicles
Love to bake? You need my new book!
Cookie Dough Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 batch keto chocolate cupcakes
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 6 tbsp butter, softened
- 3/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tbsp coconut flour, more if needed
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp Yacon syrup , or molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup mini sugar-free chocolate chips, (can use regular sized chips too)
- 1 bag High Key Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies, (optional)
Instructions
- Make the cupcakes according to the directions and let cool completely.
- In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until completley smooth. Beat in the powdered sweetener and coconut flour until well combined.
- Add the whipping cream, Yacon syrup, vanilla extract, and salt, and beat until smooth.
- Pipe onto the cooled cupcakes with a star shaped tip and sprinkle each with the mini chocolate chips. Top each cupcake with a mini chocolate chip cookie, if using.
Nutrition
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Is there any way I could make this dairy-free as well? Let me know if you have any suggestions, please. Thank you!
I don’t think there is a good way to make the frosting dairy free, sorry.
Hey Carolyn, just FYI, in the sentence that begins “Let’s be honest, these are really just my keto chocolate cupcakes…” the hyperlink on “chocolate cupcakes” goes to the Fat Fit Go chocolate chips on Amazon.
Whoops, thanks!
On your say-so, I ordered one box of the High Key mini chocolate chip cookies and their Snickerdoodle mini cookies. Oh..my..goodness! So good! I haven’t made these cupcakes yet, but I know these boxes of cookies will be long gone before I need them to adorn the cupcakes. Oh darn, I’ll have to buy more…:)
YUM – low carb cupcakes are a dream come true! Shared your recipe with my friends and they loved it as well. Thanks so much!
This frosting! Oh my goodness! I could have just eaten the whole batch with a spoon!
Oh my goodness, I am going to LOVE these! Making them ASAP!
Such pretty cupcakes!! I won’t feel too guilty eating them, since they are sugar free & keto friendly!
I’m not Keto, but I’m pretty obsessed with this recipe. Yum!