If you love Girl Scout Cookies, you will adore these Keto Samoa Donuts, topped with sugar-free coconut caramel and chocolate. Made with coconut flour, they are completely nut-free and sugar-free.
Here in keto-land, we’re fighting off the temptation of Girl Scout cookies one recipe at a time. And Keto Samoa Donuts are part of our all important arsenal in warding off temptation. These tender coconut flour donuts are the perfect vehicle for getting all of that delicious coconut, caramel, and chocolate to your mouth.
Real Samoas, or rather Caramel deLites as they are now called, are a thing of the past. Make peace with that fact as quickly as you can. The sooner you accept this, the sooner you can move on to discovering all the delicious alternatives the keto diet has to offer.
And trust me, friends, there is no end to all of the sweet keto treats that can be made with the flavors of Girl Scout Cookies. This is not my only Keto Samoas recipe. I also have some wonderful keto samoa bars, a low carb samoa layer cake, and I even had a samoa bundt cake recipe coming soon!
What are Samoa Cookies?
In the off-chance that you are not from the US and are wondering what Samoas are, let me enlighten you. Because I was also scratching my head back in the day, when I’d moved here from Canada.
Every year for a month or so, the Girl Scouts stand outside virtually every store in the country with boxes upon boxes of cookies, in order to raise money for their troops. They have many wonderful varieties, including the ever popular Thin Mints, Tagalongs, and Samoas.
Everyone has their favorites but the Samoas always ranked high on my list. They are round circles of shortbread cookie, topped with toasted coconut and caramel, and dipped in chocolate on the bottom. And with a chocolate drizzle over top.
I won’t lie, the original is truly delicious, although I am no longer even tempted to take a bite. I’ve found that it’s so easy to recreate those same flavors in far healthier options, without the sugar, grains, and hydrogenated oils of the real Samoa Cookies.
How to make Keto Samoa Donuts
These look like super fancy donuts, but they are incredibly easy to make. In under an hour, you can be enjoying your keto samoa donuts with a cup of coffee, and feeling good about your life!
The donuts:
For the base, I chose to use my coconut flour donuts to keep these completely nut-free. I really like the texture of donuts made with coconut flour, as they are light and puffy, and they hold together very well. If you’d prefer an almond flour based recipe, try my keto cinnamon donuts and just skip the added cinnamon.
The sweeteners:
When I first created this keto donut recipe, I used some coconut sugar in the topping to give it more caramel color and to keep it from re-crystallizing. Thankfully, two wonderful advancements in the world of keto baking have allowed me to ditch the coconut sugar for good.
Swerve Brown gives the best flavor and color for these donuts, and a bit of BochaSweet, allulose, or xylitol can make the topping more gooey. You can use all Swerve, if you prefer, but do know that your topping will solidify more upon cooling.
The protein powder:
Yes, it is a critical part of the recipe. Gluten is a protein and in its absence, another dry protein helps the baked goods rise properly and hold together better. You can skip it, but just expect a more crumbly donut. You can also replace it with egg white protein or hemp protein.
The chocolate drizzle:
You have so many options for keto chocolate nowadays, just use your favorite. I always recommend melting the chocolate with a little bit of cocoa butter or coconut oil to help it melt more smoothly. And always, always melt it double-boiler style to avoid any seizing.
FYI, as I write this, the ChocZero Dark Chocolate Chips are currently on sale on their website. Only $4.79 a bag and if you use code FOODDREAMER at checkout, you get 10% off.
Want more Keto Girl Scout Cookie Recipes?
Keto Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
Low Carb Samoa Donuts
Ingredients
Donuts:
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 6 tbsp Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tbsp whey protein powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 large eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Topping:
- 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup Swerve Brown
- 1 tbsp Bocha Sweet, (or allulose or xylitol)
- 1/3 cup whipping cream
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- Pinch salt
Chocolate Drizzle:
- 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips, sugar-free
Instructions
Donuts:
- Preheat oven to 325F and grease a donut pan well.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, sweetener, whey protein powder, baking powder and salt, breaking up any clumps with the back of a fork.
- Stir in the eggs, coconut oil, almond milk and vanilla extract until well combined and batter is smooth.
- Fill the wells of the donut pan 2/3 full and bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until set and edges are just golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes in pan, then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Depending on the size of your pan, you will get 12 to 15 donuts and will need to work in batches.
Topping:
- In a medium skill over medium heat, spread shredded coconut and toast, stirring frequently, until golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, Swerve Brown, and BochaSweet. Stir until butter is melted and sweetener is dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook 3 to 5 minutes, watching carefully so it doesn't burn.
- Remove from heat and add cream. Mixture will bubble vigorously. Sprinkle with xanthan gum and whisk well to combine. Add salt and stir.
- Add toasted coconut and stir well to combine. Let mixture come to room temperature so it is spreadable and not too goopy. Spread the top of each donut with coconut caramel mixture and let set.
Chocolate Drizzle:
- In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melted coconut oil and chocolate together until smooth. Drizzle over cooled donuts.
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.
Free Bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Sign up for your favorite recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus get our FREE bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
I like the Betty Crocker cookbook, actually. Although, now that I have gone low carb, I don’t use it as much.
couldn’t pick a fav- use them all. Love the Pinterest ones too!
Never enough cookbooks 🙂
These look so good, Carolyn! I’ll be scheduling these to share on my Facebook page this week.
Thanks, Briana!
I don’t really have a favorite cookbook currently, but I have been using my Trim Healthy Mama book a lot!
Right now one of my favorite cookbooks is Cooking with Coconut Flour by Bruce Fife. I’m in a learning curve with coconut flour and this really helps. Otherwise, many low carb cookbooks that I have.
I really like the Trader joe’s cookbook.
Good old Betty Crocker, but I find myself hunting through the internet for new ideas.
I love to collect cookbooks! My favorites prior to starting Trim Healthy Mama were Ree Drummond’s Pioneer Woman cookbooks and blogger, Jenny Flake’s Pickey Palate cookbook. Now I mainly cook from low carb and thm blogs.
My very favorite cookbook is Oakland Organics. They have so many cool ideas in there. Now, I just have to remember to look at it from time to time… LOL!
The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook 🙂
My favorite cookbook used to be a Taste of Home best desserts cookbook until I found my body could no longer handle sugar. Now when I’m craving something sweet, I come to your website. Your recipes have never let me down! : )
CURRENTLY, my favorite cookbook is Dana Carpender’s Fat Fast cookbook. 50 recipes to add more fat to my low-carb diet. My “go to” is either my very old Betty Crocker (someone else mentioned this one). It was one of my first. I purchased a BH&G New Cook Book on a special deal for my partner, Greg. It’s a good one for “how do I…”.
Thanks!
I love Melissa Sevigny’s eBooks as well as Caitlin Weeks & Diane Sanfillipo’s Mediterranean Paleo Cooking
Before going lo carb, I would have to say Betty Crocker- if I needed a recipe to figure out to cook something new, this was my go to book.
How to be a Domestic Goddess – Nigella Lawson…….love her!!!!!