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    Home » Gluten Free » Keto Samoa Donuts

    Published: Mar 16, 2015 · Modified: Feb 14, 2020 by Carolyn

    Keto Samoa Donuts

    This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    10.4K shares
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    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.

    Low Carb Samoa Donuts

    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!

    Low Carb Grain-Free Samoa Donuts

    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.

    Low Carb Gluten-Free Samoa Donut Recipe

    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.

    Sugar-free Grain-Free Donuts with caramel and coconut

    Want more Keto Girl Scout Cookie Recipes?

    Keto Thin Mints

    Keto Tagalong Bars

    Keto Tagalong Cookies

    Keto Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

    Keto Iced Lemon Cookies

    Low Carb Samoa Donuts

    Love Girl Scout cookies? You will adore these low carb Samoa donuts, topped with sugar-free coconut caramel and chocolate.
    4.91 from 10 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Breakfast
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: samoa donuts
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
    Servings: 14 doughnuts
    Calories: 174kcal

    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.
    Nutrition Facts
    Low Carb Samoa Donuts
    Amount Per Serving (1 donut)
    Calories 174 Calories from Fat 133
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 14.8g23%
    Cholesterol 81mg27%
    Sodium 167mg7%
    Carbohydrates 6.2g2%
    Fiber 3.8g15%
    Protein 4.3g9%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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    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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      Recipe Rating




    1. Christy says

      August 08, 2017 at 5:56 pm

      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!

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        August 08, 2017 at 10:13 pm

        What brand of coconut flour are you using?

        Reply
    2. Res says

      April 24, 2017 at 11:58 am

      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!!!

      Reply
    3. Melisa says

      October 27, 2016 at 8:14 pm

      Do I have to use the protein powder or can I leave it out?

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        October 27, 2016 at 10:18 pm

        It’s best for helping the donuts rise properly.

        Reply
        • Melisa says

          October 27, 2016 at 11:04 pm

          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!!

          Reply
          • Carolyn says

            October 28, 2016 at 8:13 am

            Gluten is a protein and in its absence, you need to add another dry protein. You could use egg white protein.

            Reply
            • Melisa says

              October 28, 2016 at 8:24 am

              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

              October 28, 2016 at 8:35 am

              You’re welcome! You can always skip the protein powder but your results may not be as good.

    4. Bethany says

      May 09, 2016 at 3:34 pm

      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!

      Reply
      • Bethany says

        May 09, 2016 at 4:45 pm

        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!

        Reply
        • Carolyn says

          May 09, 2016 at 4:57 pm

          I’m sorry protein powder is so expensive for you guys but Yay!!!! So glad this worked out!

          Reply
      • Bethany says

        May 09, 2016 at 4:46 pm

        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!

        Reply
        • Bethany says

          May 09, 2016 at 4:51 pm

          Sorry, this accidentally got posted twice.

          Reply
        • Jan says

          May 11, 2016 at 5:05 pm

          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.

          Reply
    5. Tara says

      March 18, 2016 at 6:48 pm

      Hi! Could I substitute with erithrytol? Would it be an equal substitute?

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        March 19, 2016 at 5:46 am

        erythritol on its own is not quite as sweet as Swerve so I would maybe add a little stevia too.

        Reply
    6. Liz says

      June 11, 2015 at 9:12 pm

      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.

      Reply
    7. sophie says

      June 10, 2015 at 9:17 pm

      How many GRAMS of coconut flour is that?
      Knowing the grams is very helpful…coconut flour is so finicky!

      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        June 11, 2015 at 7:15 am

        I don’t know, I’ve never had any trouble measuring by cups.

        Reply
    8. Jo says

      June 07, 2015 at 6:54 pm

      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.

      Reply
    9. Heather says

      June 05, 2015 at 11:14 am

      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.

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        June 05, 2015 at 1:45 pm

        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!

        Reply
      • heather says

        June 10, 2015 at 9:17 pm

        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.

        Reply
    10. Michelle says

      May 05, 2015 at 6:48 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        May 06, 2015 at 2:01 pm

        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?

        Reply
    11. Jessica says

      March 23, 2015 at 10:52 pm

      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

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        March 24, 2015 at 8:33 am

        That should work just fine.

        Reply
    12. Jessica says

      March 23, 2015 at 10:51 pm

      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

      Reply
    13. Marie-Eve says

      March 23, 2015 at 10:05 am

      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!

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        March 23, 2015 at 11:21 am

        Wow, now that might be the best testimonial EVER. Thanks for not being to shy to let me know, I truly appreciate it.

        Reply
    14. Nicole says

      March 22, 2015 at 10:25 am

      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!!

      Reply
    15. norma says

      March 22, 2015 at 5:19 am

      I have a lot of favorite cookbooks but the fave for right now is THE PALEO APPROACH cookbook.

      Reply
    16. Kathy says

      March 21, 2015 at 9:50 pm

      Can’t wait to try these!

      Reply
    17. Ceste says

      March 21, 2015 at 12:35 pm

      luv the GAPS cookbook

      Reply
    18. D. Maynard says

      March 21, 2015 at 10:50 am

      I’ve been partial to Southern Living cookbooks for years.

      Reply
    19. Lori F says

      March 20, 2015 at 10:37 pm

      Love the Nom Nom Paleo cookbook!

      Reply
    20. Anita D says

      March 20, 2015 at 8:52 am

      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.

      Reply
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