These low carb and sugar-free cinnamon twists are the perfect keto pastry for breakfast, snack, or dessert. Made with keto fathead dough, they are tender and delicious.
This recipe for Keto Cinnamon Twists was originally posted in July 2016. Now I’ve made them even easier to make, and I’ve got a new video to show you how.
Keto mozzarella dough really is magic!
Oh, oh, this keto mozzarella dough. Honestly, this stuff is a total low carb game changer for me and I am having way too much fun messing around with it to create new keto recipes. There’s nothing quite like it in the world, a stretchy, flexible low carb dough made out of mozzarella cheese.
It’s not perfect for everything but it works like a charm for any kind of keto pastry, and it makes an ideal keto pizza crust. I’ve used for everything from keto garlic knots to braided chocolate-filled bread.
Seriously, though. Who sat down one day and said to themselves “I am going to make keto dough out of cheese and see if it works”? Because while I am incredibly creative and innovative with my recipes, I am also quite certain I never would have thought of this. They deserve my kudos.
But that’s the nice part about the low carb recipe creation world. We can all learn from each other and build on each other’s work. I’ve put my own special twists on fathead dough now, and I think it gets better each time.
Perfecting keto fathead dough
This dough isn’t exactly tricky to make, but there are some tricks to getting it right. And so, at the request of several readers, I have created a video that walks you through the steps. Scroll down to the recipe to see the full video.
There are any number of ways to make fathead dough, and every time I make it, I find I learn something new. I actually have a few different versions of it, including this dough that’s made with both almond flour and coconut flour, and an all-coconut version as well.
I have found that fathead dough that’s made with all almond flour is too soft and spreads too much during baking. While you can indeed make it that way, and it’s good for people with coconut allergies, it’s quite a bit harder to work with. It simply lacks the proper structure.
One reader gave me another little trick that saves one step and one bowl, and that is to melt your butter right in with your mozzarella. Less mess and less to clean up afterward! That worked beautifully for me in these low carb cinnamon twists.
These little pastries make a wonderful breakfast treat. I’ve made them several times and my kids keep asking me to make them again. So if you’ve been itching to try the low carb mozzarella dough, just dive right in. I hope you find my video and all of my tips helpful.
How to make keto cinnamon twists
The video walks you through all the steps but here are some things to remember:
- Silicone mats are easier to work with, as they don’t slide around the counter as much as parchment paper does. If you use one big silicone mat to roll out and form the twists, you can simply slide the whole thing onto a baking sheet at the end.
- The conventional wisdom is that fathead dough turns out best with pre-shredded, part skim mozzarella. Although it does contain a little starch, it’s not enough to really raise the carb count, and it gives the dough more structure.
- You can melt the mozzarella and butter in the microwave, or on the stovetop. If you use the stovetop, remember to take your melted cheese and butter off the heat before adding the remaining ingredients.
- Fathead dough turns out a little differently every time. It can depend on your almond flour, your coconut flour, the size of your eggs, and the brand of cheese. So if it turns out a bit sticky, simply work in more almond flour, a little at a time, until you have a nice cohesive dough.
- I’ve updated the filling of these keto cinnamon twists to include the new Brown Swerve, for more of a cinnamon roll flavor. If you don’t have any, you can still use regular granulated Swerve.
- Let these keto pastries cool at least 10 to 15 minutes, as they are very soft when they are fresh out of the oven. If you want to warm the leftovers up a bit in the microwave, 10 seconds or so is enough for a delicious warm cinnamon twist!
Ready to make some delicious Keto Cinnamon Twists?
More delicious keto fathead recipes
- Keto Fathead Bagels
- Keto Pepper Jack Crackers
- Keto Pretzel Bites
- Keto Spanakopita
- Fathead Pizza Pockets
- Fathead Lasagna
Keto Cinnamon Twists
Ingredients
Dough:
- ½ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 ounces shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup butter cut into pieces
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon Filling
- 1 tablespoon Swerve Brown
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon butter melted
Glaze:
- 2 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ - 1 tablespoon Water
Instructions
Dough:
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a large baking mat with a silicone liner or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, sweetener, and baking powder. In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the cheese and butter. Melt on high in 30 second increments until it can be stirred together. (Alternatively, you can melt the cheese and butter in a saucepan over low heat).
- All at once, add the almond flour mixture, egg, and vanilla extract and stir to combine. Use a rubber spatula to really knead the dough up against the sides of the bowl. It will still have some large streaks of cheese.
- Turn the dough onto a silicone mat or directly onto a kitchen counter and knead until uniform. If the dough is quite sticky, work in another tablespoon or two of almond flour as you knead it.
- Cover the dought with parchment paper and roll out to a 10x10 inch square.
Cinnamon Filling
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sweetener and cinnamon. Brush the dough with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter, then sprinkle with about two thirds of the cinnamon mixture.
To make the twists
- Use a knife or offset spatual to gently loosen the dough from the silicone mat. Fold the dough over in half and cut into 10 strips with a sharp knife or a pizza cutter.
- Hold both ends of one strip and twist gently in opposite directions two or three times. Lay the twists on the prepared baking sheet and brush with the remaining melted butter. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon "sugar".
- Bake about 15 minutes, until golden brown and just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool.
Glaze:
- In a small bowl combine the powdered sweetener, vanilla extract and just enough water to achieve a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled twists.
Video
Dena Swinson says
Made these this morning and they were DELICIOUS! Rave reviews by husband and 12yo son. Thank you for another fabulous recipe. My family has absolutely loved every recipe I’ve tried from your blog.
Carolyn says
Thanks so much!
Bethany @ Athletic Avocado says
Holy yum! These cinnamon twists look incredible! I love the genius use of mozzarella in the dough!
Andrea says
These look delicious. My family is lactose intolerant so I will use Cabot Monterrey Jack instead of Mozzarella but I also make dinner for a family who is totally gluten and casein free so I am going to try to make some vegan cheese and use that in place of it. Once I do I will let you know how these or your garlic rolls turn out.
Linda Head says
The video says baking soda,the recipe say baking powder.please let me know wich one thank you
Carolyn says
Baking powder. Sorry about the typo on the video!
Angelina says
This dough was way to sticky for me to work with once I rolled it out, even after dusting it with more almond flour……I had to put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes before it was solid enough for me to even take off the mat in strips. The end result was very tasty though and worth the effort.
CeliaT says
If you rework this for a THM version, any chance you could include measurement by weight??? My results are much more consistent (and easier) when I use weight. If not, if this is something I’ll use often, I’ll eventually convert it myself :-). Thanks for all you do!
Roberta says
Just made these. They flattened out really bad and they are SUPER greasy. I did everything right with all the right ingredients. Not sure where I went wrong. They look good and will probably taste good but they are very soft. I didn’t want to cook them any longer because they were getting too brown.
Just seems like there was way too much butter…..but I used what it called for. hmmm…..
Suggestions anyone?
Carolyn says
I am going to guess brand differences in either almond or coconut flour. What did you use?
Deborah says
Carolyn
I just love all your recipes.
I made this for the first time tonight.
I used regular store bought part skim mozzarella but it was a block not pre grated. Doesn’t he preheated usually have cornstarch on it?
Anyway I made two substitutions out of desperation.
I used THM baking blend (usually works great when I sub this in your relationship recipes)
And I used coconut oil because I was out of butter.
The cheese and oilfield would not blend until I heated the cheese almost to a simmer constantly whisking.
I tempered in the egg. But when I added the flour it never came together it just go crumbly.
Can you help? Do you think it was the substitutions?
Deborah
Carolyn says
Yes, it was the substitutions. The mozzarella may not have been an issue, but the oil and baking blend most certainly were.
Deborah says
Thanks. I’ll try again without subs. On the bright side, I baked it up flat and cut until strips and ur was crunchy and delicious anyway! ?
Carolyn says
Glad it still worked out!
Chris says
I just made these and I had problems with kneading as it really stuck to my fingers a lot. I did it exactly to recipe unless I measured something wrong but it was very sticky and I could not pull off the silicone mat and twist as it was falling apart and really sticking to the mat. What did I do WRONG? even though they don’t look as good as yours they do taste good and none will go to waste.
Thanks for all your hard work on recipes really appreciate!
Carolyn says
Two questions: what kind of mozzarella and what kind of almond flour?
Chris says
I used low moisture part-skim mozzarella and Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour.
Carolyn says
Then it was your almond flour. I love Bob’s but that’s too coarse and doesn’t come together as well as Honeyville.
Maria says
Carolyn, would putting the Bob’s Almond Meal through a grinder work if one wanted to make these right away and too impatient for an order from Honeyville?
I hope you can tell that I’m itching to get to these 🙂
Thank you.
Carolyn says
It’s hard to know if you can get it fine enough. I can’t make any promises here BUT…apparently Bob’s is changing their grind to be more fine. I can’t wait!!!
Alison says
Just made these. Oh my gawd! They’re fabulous! And Easy!! Thank you. This dough tastes just like a pastry dough. Yum!
Susan Pelter says
Carolyn, I just made these – my first venture into mozzarella dough — and they are incredible! I also made quesito filling in a separate container (vanilla-flavored sweetened cream cheese), and we’re having these for breakfast spread with that! I’m truly stunned by the consistency of the pastry. Wow!
Robin R. says
Thank you! Great video too!
Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips says
You are such a genius!! These look amazing!
Kathy says
Noticed the garlic parmesan knots called for 2 tsp baking powder while this recipe used 1tsp (plus the Swerve). Curious to see what is the difference in the two doughs ie, what is the function of the baking powder. Thanks
Yomi says
Yes, I would be interested in why the difference in the amount of baking powder as well.
Angie says
These are so good! Mine didn’t stay quite as nice as yours. They spread out way too much. Any ideas?? Thanks!
Carolyn says
More flour needed (almond flour).
Darlene says
I made these this morning and they taste great. Mine spread a bit so should I make the dough a little stiffer? I sifted the coconut flour first then measured. You have the BEST recipes!
Carolyn says
Yes sounds like you need a little more flour of some sort. Differences in brand can cause this, I think.
Kathy says
Since this dough can be formed and kneaded, do you think it would work for soft pretzels (unsweetened)? It would need to be able to stand up to a bath or dunk of baking soda solution before baking. I would try but my oven is broken. Thanks.
Carolyn says
I don’t know about the boiling or baking soda solution before baking but you could make them similarly to this: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2015/12/low-carb-garlic-parmesan-knots.html
Teri says
I just now discovered this recipe and am thinking of all the ways I can use this dough…my fiancé loves soft pretzels so I wanted to check in and ask if you’ve made them yet, and if so what tips you may have? Thank you!
Tina says
These look so delicious! I think I may try to make them egg free! Thank you!!
QTee says
Carolyn-I just love your blog and I wanted to THANK you for your recipes and all your work in finding ways for us (diabetics) to still stay healthy and eat all the yummy treats!! I have a question about he mozzarella here. I have the mozzarella cheese from Costco that comes in 2 rolls. Can I just melt that instead of shredding it and melt it? I usually buy the already shredded ones but recently heard that they add flour to them which adds extra carbs so opted to buy the whole ones. Thanks so much—I will definitely try this one.
Carolyn says
If by rolls, you mean fresh mozzarella, then no, I don’t think you can. And the shredded mozz contains cornstarch but it’s so little as to not really add many carbs to this recipe. Probably 1 or 2 carbs for the entire recipe.
QTee says
Thank you!!
Carrie says
OMG, perfect timing! I have been craving something cinnamon-y and was going to make your cinnamon buns this weekend, but I think I’m going to give these a try instead! They look amazing!