I know I’m taking a risk here with an unpopular stance, but CAN WE ALL JUST CALM DOWN ABOUT PUMPKIN ALREADY?? I mean seriously, I love pumpkin as much as the next blogger, but I’ve been seeing pumpkin recipes since early August and I find it a little alarming.
Think of the long haul people – pumpkins will be here through the end of NOVEMBER. That’s three whole months from now!!! Even I don’t want to eat pumpkin flavored everything for three months!
More importantly, can we just take a moment to appreciate APPLES for crying out loud? When did they become so insignificant to fall themed recipes?? I’m confused as to how this happened, because apple season was a big deal when I was living in Connecticut.
We picked apples as kids every year, we ate them fresh, in apple pie, apple fritters, and of course apple cider donuts were sold in Every. Single. Grocery Store. for at least a month before we moved on to pumpkins in mid October.
I feel like apples are the red-headed stepchild this year – it’s like they DON’T EVEN EXIST! It’s just not right, and I for one am going to protest this travesty and shout from the rooftops: THINK OF THE POOR APPLES!
So many varieties with so many subtle differences – juicy, sweet, tart, and crisp, just waiting to be enjoyed in a multitude of ways.
In my defense of apples, I plan to post at least one apple themed recipe a week for the rest of September – even if I AM the only one on the interwebs posting low carb apple recipes this month. I implore my fellow bloggers to take a break from the pumpkin and join me in embracing keto apple recipes.
First on the list are these fantastic keto apple cider donuts. I’m pretty excited to have produced a low carb donut that can be fried instead of baked. Because let’s be honest, baked donuts are really just muffins in disguise – which is fine, but they simply can’t compare to the crispy outside and soft, cakey inside of a real fried donut.
In order for these keto apple cider doughnuts to hold together in the oil, the xanthan gum and protein powder are important, so I don’t recommend leaving them out. I used this brand of protein powder which has 0 carbs – but you can use any brand, just be sure to add whatever carbs are in your brand to the total and divide by number of donuts.
You can garnish these keto donuts in a number of ways – I loved them best with butter, cinnamon and granulated sweetener because they reminded me of the cider donuts we’d buy from the farm stands when I was younger. But you can also try them drizzled with some sugar free caramel sauce – then throw some chopped nuts on there too if you want.
To make these keto apple cider donuts even more festive, you can get a candy apple color by adding a few drops of red food coloring to some store bought sugar free caramel sauce before drizzling it on.
No matter how you eat these, you won’t believe they are low carb – and you definitely won’t be wishing they were pumpkin flavored!
Apple Cider Donuts – Low Carb and Gluten Free Recipe
A low carb and gluten free apple cider donut recipe that is as close to the real thing as you can get! Keto, Paleo, LCHF, and Atkins Diet friendly recipe.
- Yield: 6 donuts 1x
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar substitute (Splenda, Swerve, etc.)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 Tbsp vanilla protein powder see example
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum see example
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sparkling cider (non-alcoholic)
- 1 Tbsp butter, melted
Oil for frying
Cinnamon Coating:
- 4 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar substitute (Swerve, Splenda, etc.)
- 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine all of the wet ingredients in a small bowl. Mix the two together thoroughly and wait 2 minutes. Form the dough into 5 balls of equal size. Press each one into a disc about 1 inch thick and 4 inches in diameter. Use a spoon to scoop out a one inch piece from the center of each disc – then use your fingers to smooth into an even circle/classic donut shape. Combine the small pieces to form a 6th donut shape with your hands.
- Pour your choice of oil in a heavy bottomed pot to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. Heat oil until about 350 degrees (or until a small drop of water sizzles when it hits the oil.) Cook your donuts in batches of 2 each for about 2 minutes per side, or until dark golden brown. Be sure to flip away from you so you don’t splatter yourself with hot oil when turning them. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate until all of the donuts are cooked.
For the Coating:
- Combine the cinnamon and sweetener in a small bowl. Brush the donuts with melted butter, and sprinkle generously with the cinnamon mixture until well coated. Best eaten within one day of frying, but these will keep in the fridge for several days.
Notes
To see a list of my favorite low carb products and brands that I recommend for sweeteners, flours, etc. you can check out the [url:3]IBIH Pantry Ingredients Page![/url]
Approx nutrition info per donut: 207 calories, 17g fat, 5.5g net carbs, 9g protein
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I love these donuts. They are so good. I was wondering if you could give me the recipe for what you used on the top of the donuts in the picture though, Thanks
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I absolutely LOVE your recipes!!! My husband has no idea he is eating Keto food when I cook from your recipe items! He is losing weight and has noticed that though! :) Thank you for ALL of your ingenious ideas!
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An earlier commenter asked about how diabetic friendly this recipe is. I’m wondering the same thing. I am a diabetic who is also trying to stay in ketosis. When I make this, it will be the first “dedicated sweet” that I’ve had in a long time. I know I’ll LOVE it, but I hope it doesn’t spike my blood sugar. I think it all depends on how my body will react to the sparkling cider. Thank you so much for this recipe! ❤️
Made these today for a fall bake-sale. Used a BabyCakes mini-donut maker to make smaller sized donuts and they were amazing. Thank you!
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I didn’t have sparkling cider, so I used diet ginger ale. The eggs I used were extra large, so I added an extra tablespoon of coconut flour. I also added a tablespoon of wheat gluten. I had no trouble with crumbling. They fried up just fine. They tasted just like a regular donut, but the mouth feel was off, like it always is with coconut flour. Thank you for a great recipe!
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My whole family loved these keto cider donuts!!! Perfect for fall!
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Hate to necro an old post, but did anyone ever figure out a solution to the crumbling? I attempted these last night and I couldn’t form them at all. Made sure I didn’t use too much liquid, let it sit for 5 minutes for the coconut flour to soak everything up and they still fell apart. I salvaged a few by putting some batter in a donut pan and baking at 350. The batter was delicious and I know that the flavor is close, but being able to fry them would turn this recipe up to 11. I think I may retry this adding a couple tablespoons more protein or maybe some gluten to boost the elasticity, but I’d prefer to not waste expensive ingredients if this has already been figured out
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If they are crumbling then it’s possible that you actually need a little more liquid because the coconut flour is so absorbent.
Is there anything else could substitute for the protein powder?
I just tried these tonight frying in coconut oil and they turned so dark without even being on one side for a minute :( not sure what Ive done wrong. My dough was a little crumbly but not bad. Can you bake and then fry for a few seconds?
If they got that dark that fast then your oil was likely too hot.
Do you think these could be made in a donut pan and baked in the oven? Or a donut maker even?
Hi, your nutritional info doesn’t list sugar totals…
Im curious how ”keto” the recipe is and if it would be suitable for diabetics
Hi! I featured this recipe in my post 15 Low Carb Desserts that are Absolutely Delicious! https://jenniferbanz.com/15-low-carb-desserts
I attempted these yesterday. My dough was the perfect consistency. I’ve never fried anything before and used EVOO and I think my oil was too hot, because the outside burned. I didn’t even let them sit for 2 minutes on each side. BUT, the inner part was DELISH!! I just gotta get the frying part figured out! I plan on a take 2 in the near future!
EVOO is not good for frying because it gets too hot and will burn – avocado oil is perfect, or in a pinch vegetable oil will work fine, it’s just not the healthiest option.
Do you think this recipe would still work if I used some strong brewed apple cinnamon tea instead of the cider? I have a lot of it on hand.
Any suggestions for dough that’s too wet? I had a hard time being able to plop them into the oil. They held together decently, but flipping them was a pain.
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Thanks for the recipe. Unfortunately, I had the same issue as some others. When I went to flip, the just crumbled and fell apart. The crumbs taste good though. Wish I’d thought to do donut holes. Maybe next time.
These turned out really well and tasted a lot like a cake donut:D! I did not have sparkling apple cider so I used a carbonated Fuji apple flavored water I bought from walmart that has zero carbs…I then put 1/2 tsp of apple cider vinegar into the wet mix with the flavored water…had a good apple flavor:)
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Was finally able to find the sparkling apple cider at a liquor store and yes, it is non alcoholic. Mixed together as instructed. Smelled so good. Let it sit for longer than two minutes and once donut shaped, let those sit as well. I think my oil was too hot as they immediately burned and fell apart. Will try again adding a bit more coconut flour. I doubled the recipe, so I really hate that two batches fell apart. Hoping it is me. I will try again, but very sad.