These Keto Apple Cider Donut Bites are easy to make and fun to eat. They have the classic fall treat with a fraction of the carbs.
I have a theory about pick-you-own apple orchards. I used to love going apple-picking with my kids, especially when we lived in Boston. It is classic New England autumn entertainment and my kids always had a ball.
But places like this are the devil for low carb dieters. They are the snake in the Garden of Eden, tempting you not with apples but with apple cider donuts. Every time you step out of the car, it hits you: that warm cinnamon-y smell of apple cider donuts.
I swear they pipe it into the parking lot to lure us all into the farm store. And it can be very hard to resist. But these Keto Apple Cider Donut Bites are the best defense against such chicanery.
These mini keto muffins, warm out of the oven with that sweet apple and cinnamon flavor, have the perfect taste and texture. They certainly keep me from craving the real thing!
Why you will love this recipe
Keto Apple Cider Donut Bites have been one of my most popular recipes since I first created it in 2016. And they are astonishing easy to make. They consist of an apple flavored mini muffin, rolled in butter and dredged in a sugar-free cinnamon coating.
Real apple cider is, of course, not at all low carb. But with a little apple extract, you can get that same great flavor. And the cinnamon “sugar” coating is key to that real apple cider donut experience.
I have played around with this recipe and simplified it a bit. It still has all the same great flavor and texture. And the same low carb profile it has always had, with only 2.6g net carbs. And kids really love these little bite-sized treats. It’s a fun breakfast or after-school snack, or you could tuck a few into their lunchbox!
I know that the apple extract may seem like a purchase you won’t use again, but you will! Because it’s great in recipes like Keto Caramel Apple Scones and my delectable Keto Apple Cheesecake Bars. It’s useful stuff!
Reader Reviews
“Omg! The best tasting keto donuts for autumn season. Another terrific recipe that keeps me on track. Thank you!” — Kerry
“Unbelievable! I tasted a crumb out of the pan and was shocked at how good and how authentic these taste. It was all I could do not to eat way too many. My stepdaughter is a very picky eater, and she liked them a lot. Her boyfriend was shocked that they are keto. So much apple flavor! I thought I’d never taste anything like this again. I’m glad I was wrong ????. This goes on my ever growing list of must make again Carolyn recipes. Carolyn, you are the best!” — Marcy
“These turned out perfectly! They have a great texture; not crumbly and the taste is amazing! 10/10 will make again.” – Nikki
Ingredients you need
- Almond flour: Using good quality almond flour is extremely important for keto muffins. Many brands say that they are finely ground but you can see the grainy texture when you bake with it. I always recommend Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur Baking.
- Sweetener: I like the flavor of brown sugar replacement in the muffins themselves, but prefer allulose for the cinnamon “sugar” coating. See the Tips for Success for more options.
- Protein powder: As always, some protein powder makes keto muffins lighter and fluffier. I don’t recommend skipping it, although you can use egg white protein instead.
- Butter: You will need melted butter for the donut batter as well as a glue for the cinnamon “sugar” coating.
- Apple extract: This is my secret weapon to add apple flavor to these donut bites without adding carbs from using real apples. It’s available online.
- Cinnamon: Rolling the donut bites in a cinnamon and sweetener mixture is part of what gives it that classic donut flavor.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, baking powder, and salt.
Step by Step Directions
1. Combine the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
2. Add the wet ingredients. Whisk in the eggs, butter, and apple extract until well combined. Whisk in the water a little at a time until you have a nice scoopable batter.
3. Add to the pan: Divide the mixture among the wells of a well greased mini muffin pan.
4. Bake the donut bites: Bake at 325ºF for 15 to 20 minutes, until muffins are firm to the touch. Remove and let cool 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Coat the donut bites: In a small bowl, whisk together the sweetener and cinnamon. Dip each donut bite into the melted butter, coating completely and shaking off the excess. Then roll each donut bite into the cinnamon/sweetener mixture.
Tips for Success
When greasing the mini muffin pan, I recommend greasing once with a solid fat like butter, and then lightly spraying with avocado oil spray. You really want it well coated when baking without liners.
Also make sure not to leave the mini muffins in the pan too long. Once they fully cool, they become even harder to get out of the pan. If you need to, use a sharp knife to gently loosen the sides before lifting out the muffin.
Sweetener options: You can really use any sweetener you like best in the mini muffins, but I do think that brown sugar substitute gives them the best flavor. You can also use any granular sweetener for the cinnamon “sugar” coating. I just like allulose because I find that erythritol and cinnamon together have a very sharp flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can bake them in a donut pan to make larger Keto Apple Cider Donuts if you wish. Grease the pan well and bake for about the same amount of time, but keep your eye on them. You will probably get about 8 donuts.
Store these donuts in a covered container on your counter for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze the donuts for several months.
This keto apple cider donut bites recipe has 4.8g of carbs and 2.2g of fiber per serving. That comes to 2.6g net carbs for 2 donut bites.
More delicious fall treats
Keto Apple Cider Donut Bites
Equipment
Ingredients
Donut Bites:
- 2 cups almond flour
- ⅓ cup brown sugar replacement
- ¼ cup unflavoured whey protein powder
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 1 ½ teaspoon apple extract
- ⅓ cup water
Coating:
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and grease a mini muffin pan (24 cavity pan) very well. You can also use silicon or parchment paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk in the eggs, butter, and apple extract until well combined. Whisk in the water a little at a time until you have a nice scoopable batter.
- Divide the mixture evenly among the wells of the prepared mini muffin pan.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until muffins are firm to the touch. Remove and let cool 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sweetener and cinnamon. Dip each donut bite into the melted butter, coating completely and shaking off the excess. Then roll each donut bite into the cinnamon/sweetener mixture.
Jeannette Knepper says
Which swerve do you use, the granular or the powered?
Carolyn says
Granular.
Jody says
Hi. These sound delicious and can’t wait to try this recipe , as your recipes always turn out great!
Question: Can I use egg white protein powder instead of whey protein powder?
Thanks, Jody
Carolyn says
Yes, that will work.
Kathy says
They probably would have been a lot better had I NOT FORGOT to add the apple extract ????♀️
kelly hoppers says
Question, Swerve is my least favorite sweetener due to the cooling effect. I have most of the others mainly from making your recipes. Which would be the best substitute for this particular recipe?
Carolyn says
Please read this: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/best-keto-sweeteners/
Tom says
I just made these. Didn’t have mini cupcake pans, so used my regular ones. Dang, these are good. Exactly as advertised!
Kathy says
Thanks Tom, I was wondering if I could use reg donut pan!
Michelle Kendrick says
Can I use less almond flour and substitute with coconut flour? To much almond flour hurts my stomach.
Carolyn says
Coconut flour is not a good sub for almond flour as they work completely differently. Please search my blog for coconut flour recipes. This is not a good recipe for you.
Nikki G says
These turned out perfectly! They have a great texture; not crumbly and the taste is amazing! 10/10 will make again.
Andrea Burgdorf says
I just made these, and while I’ve used almond flour for years, this is the first time I’ve used whey protein. The muffins raised nicely, which surprised me as most keto things I make don’t rise much . They are just a little crumbly, which is ok, but they have an odd side taste. Could it be the whey protein, and if so, is there something I could substitute?
Carolyn says
What kind of protein powder did you use? Because if it was unflavoured, then there should be no taste… unless you somehow got a bad bach?
Witchhazel3 says
Some of us can just plain taste the whey protein in anything! That is why I’ve asked repeatedly for the reasoning behind it and what can be used as a substitute (other than egg protein). Until I can get an answer, these recipes aren’t any better than using regular sugar recipes.
Cecily says
I would assume then you don’t understand the horrible affect sugar has on the body! Carolyn is so gracious and helpful, I feel Defensive of her….your threatening her that you’ll eat sugar until she solves YOUR problem. Thats very unfair in my opinion! Google keto recipes that don’t use whey protein etc.
Nicki says
I made these as donuts instead of mini muffins and they were delicious. It was my first time using apple extract and I really enjoyed the flavor.
Sue says
How many donuts did it make?
Mindy Jones says
Kids who refuse to eat anything low carb/keto-friendly will gobble these up
Evy says
So I have Capella brand double apple which is not exactly extract. It is a little stronger. Got it off of Amazon. So I changed it to a half a teaspoon of that for the batch and it was almost too much. Also I found that I needed half again as much better and half again as much sweetener to completely cover the way you say to in the recipe. I was trying to figure out something easy for Christmas morning for my mostly non-keto crowd. I think I’ll have some of these but then I’m also going to try some of the other versions your readers have done as well!
Christine says
I was so excited to make these. I have loved every one of your recipes that I’ve made so far but these had an odd chemical taste. I used the recommended extract and followed the recipe exactly. I have ordered more apple extract from a different company and will try again. It has to be the extract.
Carolyn says
So sometimes I find that cinnamon and Swerve together, uncooked, can do that as well. If you have BochaSweet or allulose, you can use that for the exterior coating, and it might lessen that flavour.
Christine says
Maybe that’s the culprit. I have bochasweet and will try that. I received my new extract so will try again. Thank you!!
Evy says
That was probably the extract I find that it really depends on the batch. Try Capella brand double apple but only use half a teaspoon for the whole batch. Came out great got it on Amazon. I don’t find a problem with swerve and cinnamon, it’s the most used Keto combination I use for desserts in my house. Good luck! Plus if you looked at so many different variations that the other readers came up with I can’t wait to try theirs as well
Jo-Anne Crosswell says
Hello! Am dying to make this! Can I make it in a cake pan instead? I don’t have any muffin pans at all 🙁
Carolyn says
Honestly never done it that way so yes but I can’t guide you as to timing, etc.
Jo-Anne Crosswell says
I DID make it in a cake pan and it was SUPER DELISH!! I just baked a little longer. OMG! Tastes just like apples! The non LC moochers here scarfed most of it but I hid a few slices to attack later! I skipped the sugared topping since I wasn’t sure how the cake part would come out but did top off the slices with Whipped Cream and a few chopped pecans. Am making this again today as mini cupcakes and a cream cheese frosting. Thank you so much for this great recipe! I miss fruits so much… especially apples so this was an.excellent yummy treat!!
Sam says
These were amazing! My boyfriend absolutely loved them and couldn’t even tell they were keto! My grocery store seemed to have every flavor extract EXCEPT apple so I substituted pumpkin pie extract and for the water I soaked 2 apple cinnamon tea bags in 1/3 cup of hot water for 2-3 minutes. This actually worked out quite well and tasted like apple but not in an over powering way! Will be making these again For the perfect morning treat!
AndyJ says
Would this recipe work if you tried to make it as donuts? I’d like to try an apple donut with a caramel glaze. I found a recipe for caramel glaze and wondered if the main part of this would work as donuts. Not sure if it would rise enough.
Carolyn says
It works in a donut pan.
Belinda Logie says
I was really looking forward to trying this recipe. Took me a while finding all the suggested ingredients ( about 3 wks) and was completely dissapointed after following all of your instructions to a tee. My suggestion: Give it up and find a better way to express yourself!
Carolyn says
Really not sure what to say here. I am not sure why you didn’t like them, as you didn’t explain. But your last comment was completely uncalled for and my suggestion to you is: read the other reviews. Clearly I am a well respected recipe creator. If you were more specific, I might have been able to help.
Jo-Anne Crosswell says
wow how about YOU find a KINDER way way to express YOURSELF!! The error is definitely on YOUR end because these come out INCREDIBLE!
Christine M Gallagher says
Your rudeness was totally uncalled for!!
Jude says
Moo.
Cecily says
I can not even begin to understand how just plain rude your comment was. I’m embarrassed for you. I hope someday you become a gracious person and learn to express gratitude.
Diane says
Carolyn, just like every other of your recipes that I have tried, these are delicious and the perfect texture. The recipe makes 6 perfectly sized muffins, which I made instead of bites because I eat them for my workday breakfast. Of course they had to be baked longer. I didn’t have any apple extract either, so I just used vanilla. I did have some pomegranate raspberry tea and thought why not use that in place of the water? It worked very nicely, the taste was similar to apple. I think the next time I make them I will try using apple pie spice like one person did. Thank you for all these great recipes!
Carolyn says
Your version sounds delicious!
Suzanne says
Carolyn,
OMGoodness!! Made these today & first time I made a Keto recipe that DIDN’T taste like spongy whipped eggs!! Excellent????
I used LorAnn Apple flavor oil (1/8tsp) from Michaels, French Vanilla Designer Whey Protein & added 1/4 c chopped pecans. The only problem is only eating 2!!
Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Suzanne
Carolyn says
So glad you liked them!
Beth says
I’ve made this recipe twice. The first time I didn’t have unflavored protein powder so I used some vanilla I had (that I don’t particularly like) and it was a little strange — but still pretty good! Just made them again for the second time and used collagen peptides for the unflavored protein powder and they came out better. I also learned I needed to fill each cup a little more and bake a little more than I had the first time. They sort of fell apart the first time. Second time they were pretty perfect. I used a pastry brush to apply the melted butter, rather than dipping, and then just sprinkled on the “sugar” and cinnamon. Thank you for the recipes!! I follow you on instagram and I’m sure you are my most tagged person.
Karen says
Hi Carolyn,
Do you use the apple extract linked in the recipe? The reviews on Amazon are so mixed I’m hesitant to buy it. Appreciate hearing what you think of it or if you recommend a different brand.
Thanks!
Karen
Carolyn says
Yes, I use a lot of the flavourings from Olive Nation. I don’t have a problem with it at all. But there are plenty of other kinds, if you prefer.