Keto apple cider donut bites are a delicious fall treat. Thought apple cider donuts were a thing of the past on your healthy diet? These low carb, grain-free donut bites will change your mind!
Seriously, who doesn’t love apple cider donuts? But they aren’t exactly low carb and healthy. Now with these keto apple cider donut bites, you can enjoy all the same great flavor in a healthy mini muffin!
I actually have a theory about pick-you-own apple orchards. I love them and I love going apple picking, but these places are the devil for poor low carbers such as myself. They are the snake in the Garden of Eden, tempting you not with apples but with apple cider donuts.
There’s one place in particular that springs to mind as I write this, a place on the North Shore of Massachusetts, not far from Boston. It was a fabulous place, with all the fall themed goodies you could possibly want. Apples, pumpkins, gourds of all kinds, mums in gorgeous browns and oranges, a wonderful farm stand, a petting zoo, and of course miles of orchards with all possible varieties of apples.
It was classic New England autumn entertainment and my kids loved going there. But every time we stepped out of the car after arriving, it hit me. That warm cinnamon-y smell of apple cider donuts. I swear they piped it into the parking lot to lure poor suckers into the store. See, they are the devil!
Keto Apple Cider Donuts
It was torture for this low carb diabetic gal and it was very hard to resist temptation. I confess we usually bought some for the kids and I had a bite (or two). They were really really good but really really not good for me. The fact that I could escape relatively unscathed was testament to my belief in the goodness of the low carb diet.
Keto Apple Cider Donut Inspiration
For ages now, I’ve always wanted to find a way to make a decent low carb approximation of apple cider donuts. But as apple cider is not at all low carb, I wasn’t quite sure how. I am really good at what I do but I can’t magically remove the carbs from apple cider. I can, however, mess around with apple extract and apple cider vinegar to try to get that same tangy apple flavour.
I saw these Apple Cider Donut Muffins on Baked By Rachel and they were so pretty, I decided to give it a go. I made mine in miniature so that they were more like apple cider donut holes.
I have to say, they worked far better than I had anticipated. I felt like the apple cider flavour was just about perfect, a slight sweetness with a bit of a tang. And dipping them in melted butter and rolling in cinnamon “sugar” made them taste like the real thing.
They are a little lumpier than Rachel’s beautifully rounded muffins, but such is the nature of the beast when working with almond flour. For something that satisfies the apple cider donut craving like these do, I will take lumpy donut holes any day!
Keto Apple Cider Donut Bites
Ingredients
Donut Bites:
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ cup unflavoured whey protein powder
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup water
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 1 ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoon apple extract
Coating:
- ¼ cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1 to 2 teaspoon cinnamon depending on how cinnamon-y you like it!
- ¼ cup butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and grease a mini muffin pan very well (Use a 24 cavity mini muffin pan).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk in eggs, water, butter, apple cider vinegar, and apple extract until well combined.
- Divide the mixture among the wells of the prepared mini muffin pan (you may need to work in batches if your muffin pan only has 12 cavities). Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until muffins are firm to the touch. Remove and let cool 10 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. Then roll each donut bite into the cinnamon/sweetener mixture.
Rhonda says
Many Keto baked goods seem to taste better the day AFTER baking. Would you say that’s the case with these? I want to make them for Thanksgiving morning and trying to decide when to bake them. Thank you for all your hard work, you are my go-to Keto recipe queen!
Carolyn says
I don’t find that to be the case but every palate is different.
Linda says
I am new to keto baking, these were easy and wonderful. The only thing I would do is remember to grease the top of the pan! But the crumbles were delicious as well lol. I’m going to try again late and freeze some, if they last that long!
Kathi says
Do you think these would work baked in a donut pan? If so, would you suggest changing the cooking time at all?
Carolyn says
The time will change… check my Chai Spice Donuts for bake times.
Alison says
Can I sub egg white protein powder for the whey protein?
Carolyn says
Yes.
Rebecca says
Which type of Swerve is it? Brown, confection? Is there a regular? Have you tried it with THM gentle sweet?
Carolyn says
If it just says swerve, it’s granular.
Beverly says
Love these! I crave apple fritters and these take those cravings away. I have a couple less carbs in mine maybe because I use a little less “sugar”in the mix and the topping, and I also brushed butter on the tops and just sprinkled the cinnamon “sugar”on top. Thank you for Sharing all of your recipes, I am a huge fan!
Diane says
Is there a substitute for apple extract?
Thank you for your wonderful recipes, I really appreciate all of your hard work.
Carolyn says
Vanilla… but it won’t taste like apples, obviously.
Debra says
Great recipe, Carolyn. These are so tasty. I had a bottle of King Arthur boiled cider in the fridge and decided to use a little bit of that as part of the water amount. Very strong cider taste, but delicious. Then I looked up nutrition stats and decided that I won’t do that again. ????
Marti says
Is the whey protein neccessary?
Marti says
Or is there a substitute
Carolyn says
Yes it is. It helps baked goods rise and hold their shape in the absence of gluten.
Tina Munn says
Could I use egg white protein powder instead of whey?
Carolyn says
Yes, that works.
Dean says
Carolyn,
I’ve made these several times and they are a family favorite. Do you know if these freeze well?
Carolyn says
They should! All muffin-like recipes generally do.
Marcy says
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!
Carolyn says
So delighted to hear it!
wanda emrick says
Can I make these without the protein powder?
Carolyn says
You can but they won’t rise as well.