These slice-and-bake chocolate pinwheels are a fun low carb holiday cookie. Serve them to friends and family; no one will guess they are sugar-free and grain-free.
My friends, I am beyond tired at the moment. The movers arrived yesterday and we spent the day directing and checking off boxes and trying to get everything where it needed to go. And this morning, from the moment we got up to right now, as I am writing this, we unpacked. We unpacked and we repacked and we moved boxes and we shifted things and we put together shelving and we rearranged and we just kept moving all day long. There wasn’t a moment or a movement wasted, it was all about finding a place for things and getting ourselves situated. I’d love to tell you that after a hard day’s work we were done, but we’re not. Not even close. As I sit here, I look about a room filled to bursting with boxes. Some of them are empty and some of them are completely full. I can’t even access my front door as the entry way is filled with empty boxes full of packing paper. My arms ache and my feet ache and my legs ache and I am beyond exhausted. And the best part? We get to do it all over again in 6 months. Because this house is just a rental and now we need to hunt for a house to buy. But for now, we just need to settle in a bit here.
I will confess that the kitchen in our rental leaves a lot to be desired. It’s small, cramped and has a very old electric oven that does not give me the control of the modern gas range I had back in Massachusetts. We chose the house for the location over and above the amenities, and it’s going to be a bit of a challenge to cook and bake in that kitchen. It’s also going to be a quite a challenge to take photos in this little dark house. We shall see how that goes. I can’t live without baking and I love taking photos and sharing my recipes with you so I am sure I will persevere but it’s going to test the limits of my creativity. Bear with me!
Thankfully, I made and shot a number of recipes before we moved so I have a few in reserve. These pinwheel cookies were fun to make and my kids were over the moon with them. The dough was definitely fragile and needed gentle “patching” as I rolled them up. But once they were rolled, it was just slice-and-bake easy peasy. They’re so festive and no one will believe they are low carb or grain-free. They are definitely cookies you can take to any party or get together with pride!
Please see my low carb Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies on A Sweet Life Diabetes Magazine.
PAUL GLANVILLE says
another question – I had a terrible time getting the dough to release from the parchment paper. I tried putting it in the freezer for a while – that didn’t help much. I tried spraying PAM on the parchment paper before rolling the dough out – that helped a little, but it still was very difficult to get the dough to roll up….
Carolyn says
I wish I could identify what went wrong for you. Again…what brand of almond flour did you use?
Paul says
Almost all the recipes I am seeing on low carb and “keto” sites use erythrotol. Why not use Splenda? Can I substitute Splenda measure for measure for erythritol?
Carolyn says
Why not use Splenda? For a lot of reasons. 1. It’s entirely man-made and there is controversy over whether it’s good for you or not. 2. It tastes like chemicals (at least to me) and 3. It does not behave like sugar in any way and can really affect the outcome of your recipes.
Erythritol based sweeteners are natural and bake a lot more like sugar, and for me there is no aftertaste. So much better.
Paul says
thank you. I have another question. I used Xanthan gum as in the recipe. I know that using gluten free recipes you need something to “hold” things together. The dough raw and cooked is really delicious, but rolling it up and after baked the cookies are really crumbly. would using more xanthan gum help? Also my xanthan gum is probably pretty old. does it go “bad” or get “weak” with age? Thanks.
Carolyn says
I really couldn’t say if xanthan goes old but i keep mine in the freezer. What brand of almond flour did you use?
MsGF says
I went to get this recipe following the attached link. I printed out the recipe to find most of the instructions are missing. What temperature do you bake them at? For approximately how long do you bake them? About how thick or thin do you slice them?
Many questions and no answers anywhere. I was hoping to try this for our Christmas get together.
Carolyn says
Somebody else just told me that. They got cut off when ASL updated their site. Here is the rest of the instructions:
Preheat oven to 325F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a sharp knife, cut cookie dough log into 1/4 inch slices, place on prepared baking sheet and press down with palm of hand to flatten out a little more. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until set and just barely beginning to brown around the edges.
Remove and let cool completely.
MsGF says
Thank you so much Carolyn, much appreciated. I look forward to giving them a try tomorrow.
Have an awesome evening. 🙂
Missy says
I’m making these this morning and they smell so good! I used almond meal because that’s what I had, and it worked just fine. They are a little more rustic looking than your photos, but that’s alright. Thanks for posting the recipe!
Carolyn says
So glad it worked!
Amy @ Amy's Healthy Baking says
I hear you!! We’re in this apartment for less than a year, so we ended up leaving most of our boxes in a storage locker so we wouldn’t have to un-/re-pack everything twice in such a short period of time. And we get absolutely NO sunlight in our home. Too many trees around the windows! After lots of tears during photo shoots, I broke down and bought an Ego light from B&H Photo. Best decision I ever made! Hopefully you’re able to get back to a routine soon! 🙂 And as for these cookies… I’d eat a dozen in a sitting! Pinned!
Debra says
So sorry you have this gap between moving and finding your permanent house. Hopefully you find it soon! Your cookies look amazing. Try using an ott light. I take pictures of cards I make and it makes it possible with no natural light to take a decent picture. Got mine on sale at Michaels!
Carolyn says
Thanks for the tip!
Pam says
We moved 5 years ago and I’m still trying to get everything just right — hang in there and don’t expect everything to be perfect right away! Blessings on you for all you do — don’t know what I’d do without your blog!
Carolyn says
Thanks, Pam!
Wisemommy says
Opp. The cookies are so cute. I like it. It als seems healthy because of low carb.
Sarah G says
Oh my. You’re bringing back such stressful memories. Hang in there!!
Joshua Hampton says
These cookies are beautiful. And I hope you find your very own home soon.
Carolyn says
Thanks, Joshua! You are always so supportive.
Joyce says
Carolyn,
I feel your pain. I moved 4 times in two years…I still haven’t finished unpacking from the last time and that was 4 years ago 🙂 Take a nice hot bath and relax. It will get done…eventually!
Joyce
Cecelia says
I hope you can take a few day to settle down and have a wonderful Christmas.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Carolyn says
Thanks, Cecelia!
angela curry says
Like Tess above, I am also a veteran and have lost the number of times I have had to get up and move!!! Had to deal with movers every time and yes, I would move into a temporary rental and then a few months later, move again into a more permanent house. Hated it every time!!!!!!! You’ll get through it and once your into your real home, you can finally just truly relax again!! 🙂
Carolyn says
I am excited to look for a permanent house!
tess says
Being a veteran of several moves myself, you have my sincere sympathy! 🙂
Carolyn says
Thanks!