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:
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoon coconut flour
- 6 tablespoon Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tablespoon whey protein powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 large eggs
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk or water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
- ¾ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 3 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup Swerve Brown
- 1 tablespoon Bocha Sweet (or allulose or xylitol)
- ⅓ cup whipping cream
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- Pinch salt
Chocolate Drizzle:
- ½ tablespoon coconut oil
- ⅓ 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 ⅔ 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.
Christy says
Do these donuts have an eggy taste to them? I find that whenever I try low carb breakfast foods (pancakes, waffles), they all have a lot of eggs to make up for the gluten protein, and they all have an overwhelming egg taste. Can someone honestly give me a review on these? Don’t want to waste the time/money if that’s how they are??? Sorry! THanks!
Carolyn says
What brand of coconut flour are you using?
Res says
OMG OMG – these just came out of the oven and are reasonably close to Tim Horton’s coconut glazed doughnuts…I’m soooo happy!!!! Thank you!!!
Melisa says
Do I have to use the protein powder or can I leave it out?
Carolyn says
It’s best for helping the donuts rise properly.
Melisa says
Oh, I kinda figured that. Is there anything I could replace it with? That would let the donut rise!! I don’t use protein powder. These look delicious and I really want to make them!!
Carolyn says
Gluten is a protein and in its absence, you need to add another dry protein. You could use egg white protein.
Melisa says
I new to baking without gluten!! I just got diagnosed with gluten sensitivity 3 1/2 weeks ago. Thank you so much for answering my questions!! Can’t wait to try these!!
Carolyn says
You’re welcome! You can always skip the protein powder but your results may not be as good.
Bethany says
Hi there, I am going to make these soon. I understand protein powder helps in baked goods to rise but the same size and brand container of the vanilla protein powder here in the UK costs £31 (which is about $45 when converted) …uh hem…thus I tend to skip recipes with protein powder. Would psyillium husk possibly be something I could use instead or is that basically like adding more coconut flour? I sometimes have small sachets of egg white powder (but don’t have any on hand); any thing other than that I could use? Just thought I would ask. Thank you!
Bethany says
Ok, disregard previous comment…so I found at the back of my cupboard a single sachet of egg white powder that measured exactly 1T, so I halved this recipe. OH MY GOODNESSSS. So amazing. The texture of the cake is my new go-to. I used 2 mini-bundt pans for the doughnuts and turned the rest into “doughnut holes” in my mini-muffin tin. Wow. The coconut caramel topping was enough to write home about. I could have stopped the recipe there. yum. THANK YOU!!!!!!! Definitely a keeper. Wish I had a way to post a pic. Looks like yours!
Carolyn says
I’m sorry protein powder is so expensive for you guys but Yay!!!! So glad this worked out!
Bethany says
Ok, disregard previous comment…so I found at the back of my cupboard a single sachet of egg white powder that measured exactly 1T, so I halved this recipe. OH MY GOODNESSSS. So amazing. The texture of the cake is so light and similar to naughty donuts, this is my new go-to cake recipe. I used 2 mini-bundt pans for the doughnuts and turned the rest into “doughnut holes” in my mini-muffin tin. Wow. The coconut caramel topping was enough to write home about. I could have stopped the recipe there. yum. THANK YOU!!!!!!! Definitely a keeper. Wish I had a way to post a pic. Looks like yours!
Bethany says
Sorry, this accidentally got posted twice.
Jan says
Oh good to know that egg white powder works! That’s all I have and I’d like to try these..except no donut pan right now.
Tara says
Hi! Could I substitute with erithrytol? Would it be an equal substitute?
Carolyn says
erythritol on its own is not quite as sweet as Swerve so I would maybe add a little stevia too.
Liz says
I have had big problems with stuff sticking to my donut pans. I want to do more donuts, but how do you keep your recipes from sticking. No matter what recipe I try, it sticks and breaks up. These looks so wonderful and I really want to have some sweet treats with my coffee in the morning.
sophie says
How many GRAMS of coconut flour is that?
Knowing the grams is very helpful…coconut flour is so finicky!
Thanks!
Carolyn says
I don’t know, I’ve never had any trouble measuring by cups.
Jo says
Carolyn, I hate to even ask this because I don’t mean to disrespect your recipe but lately I can’t seem to tolerate coconut flour at all, so here goes…can almond flour be subbed in place of the coconut flour and how much would you suggest? Thank you.
Heather says
I think your recipes are amazing I have tried some before and I am in love. My question is a lot of the baking recipes require whey protein. Is this just to add protein to the recipe or bulk or both? Can it be omitted? If not, do you think a cost effective substitute would be to but the unflavored and add extra vanilla if needed? Thanks.
Carolyn says
It has nothing to do with getting extra protein in my diet and everything to do with trying to compensate for the fact that gluten is a protein that helps baked goods rise and hold their shape. IN its absence, you need another dry protein to make up for it. It helps a LOT in the finished product, but you can skip it if need be. You can also use powdered egg whites. And yes, you can always do unflavoured and add in some vanilla. Or vice versa!
heather says
I have to tweak that aspect too, just because I can’t find a protein powder that doesn’t give me a migraine (something to do with the preservative maybe). Anyhoo, I’ve been putting in an equal amount of Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour with good success. So in this recipe we’re talking 2 tbsp. It does bump up the carb count a bit but for myself it works.
Michelle says
I love your recipes! My problem is that every time I open your site it crashes my computer. Is there anyway to view it without all the ads. (my husband says that is the problem.) I just signed up for your e-mail.
Carolyn says
Hi Michelle. What browser are you using? Since I haven’t heard any other complaints and have no trouble of my own, I suspect you might be using an outdated browser?
Jessica says
i want to try these but I can only find a pan for mini bundts it looks about the right size, they’ll just come out little fancier
Carolyn says
That should work just fine.
Jessica says
i want to try these but I can only find a pan for mini bundts it looks about the right size, they’ll just come out little fancier
Marie-Eve says
I just want to start by saying I never post comments, I mean never (I’m web shy). I’ve been gluten-free for over a year now and have had numerous baking disasters when trying recipes involving coconut flour. I like the taste of coconut flour, but I find that the resulting texture in baked good is either too dry or too eggy. So I was a little wary at first when I saw coconut flour was the only flour used for these donuts. But since Samoas are hands down my favorite cookies, I had to give this recipe a try. And I didn’t regret it. These are absolutely OUTSTANDING!!! The donuts were spot on: perfect cake-like texture, not dry at all, and most importantly, didn’t taste like scrambled eggs. Even my “anti-gluten-free” in-laws caved in to try one and came back for more. Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe!
Carolyn says
Wow, now that might be the best testimonial EVER. Thanks for not being to shy to let me know, I truly appreciate it.
Nicole says
My go-to reference is Mark Bittman’s “How to cook everything Vegetarian”. Now that I am married to a meat eater I’d love to add his original to my collection!!
norma says
I have a lot of favorite cookbooks but the fave for right now is THE PALEO APPROACH cookbook.
Kathy says
Can’t wait to try these!
Ceste says
luv the GAPS cookbook
D. Maynard says
I’ve been partial to Southern Living cookbooks for years.
Lori F says
Love the Nom Nom Paleo cookbook!
Anita D says
I don’t have a favorite cookbook right now. After changing up how we are eating I’ve had to almost start over with cookbooks to understand how to cook with different ingredients than “traditional” ingredients.