Little bitty Boston Cream Pie Bites are a tasty keto treat. Easy and fun to make, these little low carb cookie cups are sugar free and grain free. This post is sponsored by ChocZero.
Okay now this is a keto dessert with an identity complex! Are they keto cookies? Are they mini keto pies? Or are they little mini cakes?
The name alone is quite misleading and my full size Keto Boston Cream Pie often puzzles readers. For those unfamiliar with this classic American dessert, they come expecting… well… pie.
Instead they see a large layer cake with a pastry cream filling and a rich chocolate ganache frosting. Blame those crazy New Englanders! I mean, who else would call a cake a pie???
Boston Cream Pie Cookies
And now I’ve given this misnamed dessert yet another little twist. These are indeed cookie cups, made with keto sugar cookie dough. You roll the dough into balls, press it into a mini muffin pan, and bake it into little cup-shaped cookies.
Then you fill each tender cookie with sugar free vanilla pastry cream and top it all off with a rich keto chocolate drizzle.
I spotted a conventional recipe on Practically Homemade and thought it would be fun, and tasty, to ketofy. Was it ever!
ChocZero Sugar Free Chocolate
I used ChocZero dark chocolate chips for an easy chocolate topping in this recipe. One of the benefits of ChocZero is that it’s not made with any erythritol.
I personally don’t have issues with erythritol, since it doesn’t upset my system in any way. And it’s very keto friendly, as it doesn’t raise blood sugar at all. It’s one of the few sweeteners I trust implicitly.
But chocolate made with erythritol can become cloudy after it has melted and cooled. This means that frostings and glazes don’t stay nice and shiny, the way you want them to.
ChocZero doesn’t have this issue so it’s perfect when you want a bright, shiny chocolate topping.
Tips for Mini Keto Boston Cream Pies
The cookie cups
The cups are made of a soft keto sugar cookie dough. Roll into balls and press into the bottom and up the sides of a mini muffin pan.
I recommend using a silicone muffin pan or silicone liners to keep the cookie cups from sticking and from over-browning. If you don’t have silicone, then use parchment paper liners.
The cups will puff up during baking and you will need to reform the wells after they’ve cooled for a bit.
The cream filling
Vanilla pastry cream is quite easy to make. Because this is a smaller amount, be sure to use a small saucepan. If you use a larger one, it will cook too quickly and possibly curdle on you.
Never walk away while making something like keto pudding or pastry cream. That moment when it thickens can happen quite suddenly, and you don’t want to miss it.
Also be sure to keep whisking constantly, and move the whisk all around the pan to ensure nothing curdles.
Let the pastry cool to lukewarm and then simply spoon it into the cups. Let it pile on top a bit. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to set up a bit.
The chocolate glaze
Now this part couldn’t be easier! Simply melt the butter and chocolate chips together. You can do this in a small saucepan, or you can melt them in the microwave, stirring frequently.
Then just spoon it over and let it cover the very top of each cookie cup, with plenty of pastry cream peeking out.
More delicious recipes with pastry cream
- The Original Keto Nanaimo Bars
- Keto Chocolate Eclair Cake
- Lemon Sugar Cookie Cups
- Keto Coconut Cream Pie
- Boston Cream Pie Poke Cake
Keto Boston Cream Pie Bites
Ingredients
Cookie Cups
- 1 3/4 cup (180 g) almond flour
- 1/2 cup (91 g) Swerve Granular
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) baking powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter, melted
- 1 large egg white
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
Filling
- 3/4 cup (178.5 g) whipping cream
- 2 large egg yolks
- 6 tbsp confectioner’s Swerve Sweetener
- pinch salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp (1.5 tbsp) butter cut into two pieces
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) glucomannan, (or xanthan gum)
Topping
- 2 ounces (56.7 g) dark chocolate chips, sugar-free
- 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
Cookie Cups
- Preheat the oven to 325F and line a mini muffin pan with 20 silicone liners (or use a silicone mini muffin pan).
- In a large bowl, whisk togehter the almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the melted butter, egg white, and vanilla extract until the dough comes together.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and press into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared mini muffin cups.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed and the edges are just golden brown. Remove and let cool 10 minutes, then gently press into the centers to reform the wells.
Cream Pie Filling
- Bring the whipping cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sweetener and salt until well combined.
- Slowly whisk about half of the hot cream into the yolks to temper, then slowly return the yolk/cream mixture back to the saucepan and cook until thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes, whisking continuously. It thickens up very suddenly and quickly, so watch it carefully!
- Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla extract. Sprinkle the surface with glucomannan, whisking as you go, to combine well. Let cool to room temperature and then spoon into the cookie cups.
- Refrigerate 30 to 60 minutes to firm up.
Chocolate Topping
- In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the chocolate chips and butter. Stir until melted and smooth, then drizzle over the tops of the cookie cups.
- Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring until smooth.
- Refrigerate another 10 minutes or so to set the chocolate. Store in the refrigerator in a closed container.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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These sound delicious 😋 what else can I fill the cookie cups with? Can the cookie cup dough be used as a cake?