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:
- 1/2 cup (56 g) almond flour
- 1/4 cup (30 g) coconut flour
- 1/4 cup (45.5 g) powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 6 ounces (170.1 g) shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter, cut into pieces
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon Filling
- 1 tbsp Swerve Brown
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
Glaze:
- 2 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 - 1 tbsp 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
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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I want to try this, but I know nothing about this swerve sweetener, I just have stevia, xylitol, and I mostly sweeten our food with natural sweeteners like honey, medjool dates or maple syrup. Can you give me rough guess at how much stevia/sugar blend I might use instead of swerve?
Swerve measures cup for cup with sugar so just base it on how sweet you’d like it if it were made with sugar.
Just made this..finally! We loved it. Thanks you!
I need to start by saying I LOVE all of your recipes. I tried making it this weekend and they came out very crumbly. I used the Honeyville almond flour and the shredded mozzarella. I couldn’t even fold them in half without them falling apart. I was so bummed? Any ideas on what I did or can do differently?
Hmmmm. What brand of cheese? What brand of coconut flour?
Kroger cheese and bobs red milk coconut flour.
Okay, I use Bob’s too for coconut flour. Never used Kroger cheese but I’ve used several different kinds and never had an issue. Here’s my bit of advice. Start off with less of the flours (like a tbsp less each), then if the dough is really sticky when you turn it out to knead it, add in another tbsp or two of almond and a bit more coconut. It should knead and feel exactly like pizza dough…stretchy, not sticky. That’s when you know you have it right. Don’t let it sit long before working it into the twists because as it dries out, it becomes harder to form.
These are my absloute favorite of all time. Would love to be able to make them myself.. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
Thank you Carolyn the entire house smell cinnamon and the twist are Wonderfull ???
I did use the block of mozarela part skim and before hand I place in the freezer for 10 min so I can graited it works a bit better I was not shure about presheded bc of the starch in the ing . Thank you I love it.
I Am allergic to eggs… Is there an alternative for substitution?
No, I am sorry. Not for this kind of recipe, the egg is critical.
we only have almond meal/ground almonds where i am, am i able to use that in this recipe? or will i need to make it finer somehow?
i’m dying to make these, but don’t want to risk “wasting” any almond if it doesn’t turn out, as it’s *very* expensive here 🙁
You will need to make it finer. It won’t hold together with more coarsely ground almonds.
I buy whole raw almonds by the kilo and use a coffee grinder. Much cheaper and a little finer than bought almond meal. I’m in Australia, and never seen almond flour for sale.
Hi, what does the mozzarella do and can I replace it with some other cheese? I can’t get shredded mozzarella here, will it work if I slice the mozzarella myself? I really want to try this recipe, it sounds great!
No, it will not work without pre-shredded part skim mozzarella. It is the glue in this dough.
So I am making these for the first time, they are in the oven right now. This was so easy! The dough came together like a dream. This might truly be a life-changer. There are sooo many possibilities for this… I have a dozen savoury ideas in my head right now. I’ve been trying to figure out how to make a low carb pop tart (my weakness), do you think this could be done with a few tweaks to get the right consistency? I’m thinking sugar-free Strawberry spread in the filling and a sweet glaze. Any suggestions?
These were so good. The texture with the mozzarella gives a chew that you normally miss out on in low carb goodies. Amazing. My butter and cheese never came together like some others so I added the dry ingredients then the egg (the butter was simmering and I thought the egg would cook) I didn’t turn the dough out and knead with my hands but just used a spatula in the pan till it looked combined properly. I used baking paper and had to sprinkle more almond meal while pressing out so it wouldn’t be so sticky. (WHich probably made the dough more rough looking) They didn’t twist super easy but it did not matter the end result is soooo good. Not as pretty as yours but soooo good. But there is no way to eat just one of these. Thank you!
hahaha…when I saw the picture and the beginning in the video I thought I could use the garlic ‘bread’ recipe everybody loves here…then I realised it is your recipe too 😀 so definitely going to give this a go 🙂
These are very good! Fooled both of my kiddos with them. Got an immediate thumbs up from ds and a “We are having those every day from now on!” from the dd. Definitely a bit more rich or savory flavor than I expected from the dough – but hey – CHEESE! But with the icing, they are very good! I did make a cream cheese drizzle – T each butter and cream cheese, 2T Swerve, vanilla and a bit of water to thin. This won’t be the last time I make them. 🙂
Glad the kids liked them too!
I was skeptical! I made them this morning and they are AWESOME. I will make again and I have already made some other flavors (in my head), and thought about which savory I want first. Mine did flatten out a bit too much, I may try chilling the dough a bit before baking. I have to do that with most baked goodies. (I live in the south)
Thanks for the blog…you post some great things.
I just made this recipe except I made them into cinnamon rolls.
When the dough is finished and turned, pat the dough into a rectangle..(thick)
Then I painted on the melted butter and sprinkled the whole top with cinnamon and sweetener mixture.
Then I rolled the dough like you would cinnamon rolls (log). Then I sliced the dough at about 1/2 inch intervals. Place the rolls onto the parchment lined pan. It made 12…very good.
Hi there, is the flavor of the coconut flour noticeable at all? It’s not been my favorite in other recipes due to that. Thank you!
It’s not noticeable at all. It’s just for structure.
Okay, looking forward to giving it a try, thank you! ?
Please clarify. The ingredients read 5 tablespoons of butter. Is it the case that 2.5 tablespoons are used in the batter and 2.5 tablespoons are reserved to brush on the dough? Thank you.
No. The instructions say 5 tbsp of butter. Then they say “2 tbsp of butter, melted”. Consider these 2 separate ingredients. The first 5 go in with the cheese, the second two are for brushing.
Ok. Thanks! I made these this morning and they spread a bit in the oven. Next time a may add a pinch of salt. They were good and I can imagine a number of variations.