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Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Blueberry Biscuit Scones — An Easy, Low Carb Keto Recipe

Recently I decided to bake a batch of low carb blueberry scones using my favorite mix, the Livlo Blueberry Scones Keto Baking Mix I reviewed in December. It was nearly bedtime and I was tired and not paying close enough attention, and just after I incorporated the small cubes of butter into the Livlo Baking Mix with my pastry blender, I realized that I had added an entire stick of butter (1/2 cup) rather than the half stick (1/4 cup) that was called for. This low carb keto baking recipe is the result of that happy accident, after I turned this "lemon" situation into "lemonade."

Although I didn't have a second package of the blueberry scones mix in the pantry, I did find a bag of Livlo Biscuits Keto Baking Mix, which calls for the same added ingredients in the same quantities and the same baking instructions. By adding it to the bowl with the scones mix and butter cubes, then adding four eggs instead of two and stirring in a cup of fresh blueberries, I not only salvaged the situation but invented a new low carb, keto baking treat.

My husband devoured two as soon as they came out of the oven and dubbed this biscuits and blueberry scones hybrid "biscones." His tongue-in-cheek quip has become their official name in this household.

I promptly ordered more of both Livlo keto baking mixes so I could make another batch of blueberry "biscones" last night. Although the texture is different from either drop biscuits or blueberry scones made with wheat flour, these tender, tasty treats are delicious.

Anyone who follows a low carb or keto diet will love the macros for these delightful baked goods. Each blueberry biscuit scone has just 184 calories, 2.6g of net carbs, 3.6g of fiber, 17g of fat and 5.6g of protein.

This recipe makes 20 yummy blueberry "biscones," enough to share with others. They don't have to be watching their calories or carbs to enjoy them!

Quick & Easy Blueberry "Biscones" Recipe Low Carb Keto-Friendly

Recommended Tools and Equipment for Making Low Carb, Keto-Friendly Blueberry "Biscones"

In addition to basic baking tools and equipment like baking sheets, cooling racks and a measuring cup, here are some of the other items you will need to make this recipe, including my personal product recommendations.

Silicone Baking Mats or Unbleached Baking Parchment Paper

You will need either silicone baking mats or unbleached parchment paper to line your baking sheets to keep the biscones from sticking. (I often use a silicone baking mat topped with a sheet of parchment to help keep my baking trays clean.) The Katbite Silicone Nonstick Baking Mat Set of 3 is inexpensive, works well and is a great value. In addition to two 11 5/8" x 16 1/2" mats for lining half sheet pans, it also comes with a bonus 11 1/2" x 8 1/2" mat for lining a quarter sheet pan, which I use in one of my toaster oven baking trays. As of this recipe's publication date, the price for all three mats is less than $15 on Amazon with free Prime delivery.

I use unbleached baking parchment and love the convenience of flat, pre-cut sheets. Before I discovered them, I used to hate trying to wrestle with the stubborn, curling edges of the sheets torn from a roll! I can recommend the Baker's Signature Precut Non-Stick & Unbleached Parchment Paper Baking Sheets which come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Large Mixing Bowl

Since you will be making two batches of baking mix batter or dough in one bowl (one each of the Livlo keto blueberry scones mix and one of the Livlo keto biscuits mix) and adding an extra cup of fresh blueberries, you'll need to use a large mixing bowl. Whenever I'm mixing a batter or dough by hand, I prefer using the appropriate size bowl from my OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl Set, which includes 1.5-quart, 3-quart and 5-quart bowls, rather than the bowl from my KitchenAid electric stand mixer. The round interior bottoms of the OXO bowls make it easy to stir and scrape ingredients cleanly, and the non-skid exterior bottoms prevent the bowls from sliding even when they are tilted at an angle. For this recipe, the 5-quart bowl is the perfect size.

Silicone Spoon Spatula (AKA "Spoonula")

One of my favorite silicone cooking and baking spatulas is the GIR Premium Silicone Ultimate Spoonula, Ultimate 11 inch, a combination silicone spatula and spoon with a deep, spoon-like "bowl" and a thin, flexible edge that scrapes up every last bit of dough or batter easily. I love my pretty teal GIR "spoonula," but it also comes in other colors and sizes.

Pastry Blender AKA Pastry Cutter

I started baking when I was a kid and was taught to make biscuits by "cutting in" the butter into the dry ingredients with two knives, using a scissor-like motion. It was only later in my years as a baking enthusiast that I discovered the joy of using a pastry blender, also called a pastry cutter. It makes quick work of cutting the chunks of very cold butter into small, "petite pea-sized" bits while coating them in the flour mixture and distributing them evenly throughout the dry ingredients.

Two years ago, I bought a new pastry blender that works much, much better than any other I have used. The Spring Chef Dough Blender Large Pastry Cutter is a heavy-duty, professional grade pastry blender with sharp yet thick, sturdy blades and a comfortable, wide, soft-grip handle. It comes in a choice of 3" and 4" sizes (I bought the larger, 4" model) and a range of grip colors. I recommend it highly to anyone who makes biscuit dough, pie crusts, etc., by hand rather than in a food processor.

Spring-Action 4-Tablespoon Stainless Steel Scoop

I have a collection of trigger or spring-action stainless steel scoops that I use constantly for baking and cooking, for everything from portioning cookie dough and cupcake batter to making evenly sized meatballs. Most of mine are made by Norpro, which are excellent quality, very durable and easy and comfortable to use and measure accurately.

By trial and error, I found that my Norpro 56mm 4-Tablespoon Stainless Steel Scoop is the perfect size for dividing the blueberry biscuit scones batter evenly into 20 nicely shaped mounds. Being able to easily make all the biscones the same diameter, height and volumes helps ensure that they bake evenly at the same time. It's also helpful if you are tracking the calories, carbohydrates, and other nutrition metrics of the food you consume.

Low Carb Keto Blueberry Biscuit Scones Recipe (AKA "Biscones")

Baked blueberry "biscones" on plate on lace tablecloth

These 10 fragrant, freshly baked low carb, keto blueberry biscuit scones are just half the recipe's yield; the other 10 have been frozen to enjoy in the future.

These keto-friendly, low carb blueberry "biscones" are quick and easy to make, thanks to two delicious Livlo Keto Baking Mixes with clean, wholesome ingredients. Just add cold butter, eggs and fresh blueberries!

Servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, very cold, cut into 1/4" cubes
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 package Livlo Blueberry Scones Keto Baking Mix
1 package Livlo Biscuits Keto Baking Mix
1 cup organic fresh blueberries, rinsed and patted dry

Instructions

Ingredients for Low Carb Keto Blueberry Biscuit Scones Recipe

Setting out and preparing the ingredients makes everything go even quicker.

Preheat the oven to 350 ℉. Line two full-size baking sheets (or four smaller baking trays, if baking in a countertop oven) with silicone nonstick baking mats or unbleached baking parchment sheets. Cut the butter into 1/4" cubes, beat the eggs lightly and rinse and dry the fresh blueberries.

Cutting the butter cubes into the dry baking mixes with a pastry blender

My large, sturdy pastry blender makes cutting in the butter cubes a snap!

Empty both the bags of keto baking mix into a large mixing bowl. Stir the cold butter cubes into the dry ingredients with a silicone spoon spatula (spoonula), then use a pastry blender to "cut in" the butter into smaller pieces and distribute them evenly throughout, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl and the blades of the pastry blender as needed.

Biscones dough in mixing bowl after adding beaten eggs

Stirring in the lightly beaten eggs creates a stiff batter or dough.

Stir in the beaten eggs with the silicone spoon spatula to form a thick batter or dough, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl.

Biscones dough after adding fresh blueberries

Adding fresh blueberries ensures that every bite is filled with juicy, flavorful berries!

Stir in the fresh blueberries until evenly distributed.

Mounds of raw keto blueberry biscuit scones dough on lined baking sheets

A 4-tablespoon scoop makes it easy to portion the dough into uniformly sized and shaped mounds.

Use the 4-tablespoon stainless steel scoop to portion the dough evenly into 20 mounds on the lined baking sheets or trays.

Bake until the tops of the blueberry biscones are golden, approximately 15 minutes. Do not overbake!

Baked blueberry "biscones" (biscuit scones) on cooling rack

Make sure to let them cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring the biscones directly to the cooling rack.

Transfer the baking sheets to cooling racks and let the biscuit scones cool for a few minutes before removing them from the pans. (Lifting them off the baking sheet while still hot makes them prone to crumbling.)

Nutrition Facts

The following was calculated by entering the nutrition data for each of the ingredients into a "custom recipe" in the Carb Manager app.

Amount Per Serving (1 blueberry "biscone" (1/20 recipe))

Calories	184
Total Fat	17g
Sat. Fat	0.5g
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	5.1mg
Total Carbohydrate	9.2g
Dietary Fiber	3.6g
Total Sugars	1.5g
Added Sugars	0g
Sugar Alcohols (Erythritol)	3g
Protein	5.6g
Net Carbs 9.2g total carbs-3.6g dietary fiber-3g sugar alcohols = 2.6 net carbs	2.6g net carbs

Recipe Notes

These blueberry biscones are delicious as is, but even better if you split, butter and lightly toast them or drizzle them with a bit of glaze (the instructions for making a glaze are on the Livlo Blueberry Scones Keto Baking Mix package).

They're great for breakfast, brunch, dessert, or as a low carb snack with a cup of tea or coffee or a glass of cold nut milk or other low-carb, plant-based milk.

Since this recipe makes 20 biscuit scones, I like to freeze some of them to enjoy at a later date.

Blueberry Biscuit Scones — New, Easy, Low Carb Keto Recipe by Margaret Schindel

Posts About My Keto Diet Journey

My First Year on The Keto Diet

Preparing to Succeed on the Keto Diet, Part One

Preparing to Succeed on the Keto Diet, Part Two

Low Carb Muffins & Cupcakes: Treats to Enjoy on a Keto Diet

Low Carb Keto Chocolate Yogurt Granola Chip Pudding Recipe

Good Dee’s Keto Cookie Low Carb Baking Mix Review

Hamama Microgreens Growing Kit Review & Success Tips

My Favorite Hamama Microgreens Seed Quilt Accessories

Keto Cheddar Cheese Biscuits With Chives Recipe

The Ultimate Keto Hot Chocolate Recipe

The Best Low Carb Keto Gift Ideas: Keto Gift Guide

The Best Low Carb Keto Cinnamon Muffins

Wholesome Yum Keto Bread Mix and Yeast Bread Recipe

The Good Chocolate 100% Organic No Sugar Dark Chocolate Review

The Best Advice to Maintain Your Keto Diet Weight Loss

My New Irresistibly Delicious Keto Cheese Crackers Recipe

Luscious Low Carb Keto Triple Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies Recipe

Quick & Easy Livlo Blueberry Scones Keto Baking Mix Review

Snack Better With The Best Healthy Keto Cookie Dough Bites

The Best Quick and Easy Low Carb Keto Pizza Recipe

The Best Quick and Easy Low Carb Keto Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe

Comparing the Best Keto-Friendly Chocolate Hazelnut Spreads - No Added Sugars

The Best Low Carb Keto Sandwich and Burger Buns Mix

Blueberry Biscuit Scones — New, Easy, Low Carb Keto Recipe

The Best Keto Pizza Crust Mix With 0 Net Carbs

An Unusual, Delicious Strawberry Chocolate Tea With 0 Calories

Delicious Sugar-Free Keto Cookies That OREO Fans Will Love

Healthy Pistachio Cherry Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cereal Treats Recipe

Easy, Decadent, High Protein, Sugar-Free Rocky Road Cottage Cheese Ice Cream

The Best Quick & Easy Low Carb Sausage and Ricotta Calzones

How to Make Refreshing Vanilla Italian Soda (With or Without Cream)

Reviews of the Keto Diet by Barbara C. (aka Brite-Ideas)

My Personal Keto Testimonial

How I Stayed Committed to the Ketogenic Way of Eating

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

The Best Low Carb Keto Cinnamon Muffins

I love baking homemade cinnamon muffins, which always fills our house with the lovely, nostalgic aroma of this traditional, warm spice. So, I've been collecting and trying out low carb, keto-friendly cinnamon muffin recipes that fit my healthy, ketogenic approach to eating.

The recipes I'm sharing produce scrumptious sugar free cinnamon muffins that the whole family will enjoy, especially if they are trying to reduce or eliminate grains or sugar and other sweeteners that can spike their blood sugar levels and be harmful to their health in potentially more serious ways.

Any of these cinnamon muffins can be paired with a cup of hot tea, coffee, or cocoa, or a glass of cold, unsweetened vanilla almond milk or macadamia milk for a guilt-free, wholesome, low carb treat for breakfast, dessert, or a healthy, nutritious, and delicious snack.

I am also sharing my product review of BochaSweet Keto Cinnamon Muffin Mix, which makes excellent low carb muffins in practically no time when mixed with just two ingredients: eggs and melted butter (or coconut oil).

Bon appétit!

Keto-Friendly Cinnamon Muffins - The best low carb recipes and baking mix

The Best Low Carb Keto Cinnamon Muffin Recipes

I have hand picked the following recipes based on their flavor, texture, calories, net carbs, and other aspects of their nutritional profile that make them good choices for people who love baked goods and follow a low carb or keto diet, or who just want to reduce or eliminate sugar from their diets as part of a healthier lifestyle.

The keto cinnamon muffin recipes I've chosen to feature also can accommodate a range of common dietary restrictions. Most of them are low carb, sugar free, gluten free, grain free, and diabetic friendly. Two are also dairy free, and many of the others can be used to make dairy free muffins by replacing the butter with coconut oil. One of those is vegan. The other suggests substituting sunflower seed meal (aka sunflower seed flour) for the almond meal or almond flour for a nut-free cinnamon muffin recipe option.

Replacing almond flour or meal with sunflower seed flour or meal works well in many low carb or keto baking recipes, and for someone with nut allergies, it's well worth experimenting with. (You might need to use a bit more than the specified amount of almond flour.)

If you are making these treats for someone who has dietary requirements other than, or in addition to, following a low carb or keto diet, be sure to review the ingredients for each recipe to ensure that it will fit that person's specific dietary restrictions.

Keto Cinnamon Cream Cheese Muffins Recipe (Wholesome Yum)

Maya Krampf developed the recipe for these yummy low carb keto cinnamon cream cheese muffins for her deservedly popular Wholesome Yum low carb and keto website. She is also the author of one of my favorite low carb cookbooks, The Wholesome Yum Easy Keto Cookbook: 100 Simple Low Carb Recipes. 10 Ingredients or Less.

A sweet vanilla cream cheese filling makes her low carb keto cinnamon cream cheese muffins like a cross between a coffee cake muffin with cinnamon streusel and a cheese danish pastry. I always make sure to warm these up before eating them (or sharing them with my husband, who also enjoys them), so the creamy filling returns to its slightly runny, just-out-of-the-oven state.

The batter and cream cheese filling are sweetened with Maya's granulated/crystallized Besti monk fruit allulose sweetener blend. She says you could substitute allulose, or granulated erythritol for the batter and powdered erythritol for the filling, if you wanted to. The cinnamon streusel topping is sweetened with her Besti Brown monk fruit allulose sweetener blend, and she says she hasn't found another healthy, keto-friendly brown sugar substitute that works well in this recipe.

Compare the macros for Maya's Keto Cinnamon Cream Cheese Muffins, at 4.8g net carbs each, with those for Winchell's Donut House Cream Cheese Muffins (the most similar commercial muffin I could find nutrition data for), at a whopping 81g net carbs!

	Nutrition Facts
	Keto Cinnamon Cream Cheese Muffins (Wholesome Yum)	Winchell's Donut House Cream Cheese Muffins (source)
Serving Size: 1 muffin
Calories	318	610
Total Fat	29.3g	27g
Total Carbohydrate	8.7g	82g
Net Carbs	4.8g	81g
Dietary Fiber	3.9g	1g
Sugars	1.8g	56g
Protein	9.3g	9g

Recipe Notes:

As of this writing, these sweeteners are not yet available on Amazon.ca. However, you can order Besti sweeteners on Wholesome Yum Foods and have them shipped to Canada (although the shipping obviously will be higher). If you live in a country other than the U.S. and Canada and would like to be able to order these products, Wholesome Yum plans to expand its distribution internationally, based on demand. To express your interest, you can sign up to be notified when Besti sweeteners will become available in your country.

Keto Coffee Cake Muffins (All Day I Dream About Food)

Like any coffee cake worthy of the name, these tempting keto coffee cake muffins from Carolyn Ketchum have a grain-free, sugar-free cinnamon crumb topping, as well as an optional sweet vanilla glaze drizzle. Carolyn is the writer and fabulous recipe developer for another extremely popular low carb recipe blog and website, All Day I Dream About Food, another of my go-to resources for consistently excellent keto recipes.

She says these keto coffee cake muffins are "better and healthier than any bakery option!" For me, that's a bit of a stretch. (Even though my taste buds have adapted to enjoy the baked goods from the best keto baking recipes, which definitely includes Carolyn's, I have never eaten keto baked goods that have a better taste and texture than their flour- and sugar-laden counterparts from a good bakery.) That said, this recipe produces wonderful, bakery-style low carb muffins that have an unusually moist and tender crumb (for keto-friendly baked goods), thanks to the use of both almond flour and coconut flour, as well as unflavored whey protein powder that helps them rise properly, since there is no gluten in the grain-free batter. The cinnamon streusel topping and optional vanilla glaze also add to their bakery muffin taste and texture.

The recipe calls for Swerve Brown sweetener for the crumb topping, granulated Swerve sweetener for the muffin batter, and powdered Swerve for the vanilla glaze drizzle.

Compare the huge differences in nutrition between a Keto Coffee Cake Muffin from All Day I Dream About Food (3.9 g of net carbs) and a Cinnamon Coffee Cake Muffin from Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (54 g of net carbs):

	Nutrition Facts
	Keto Coffee Cake Muffins (All Day I Dream About Food)	Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Cinnamon Coffee Cake Muffins (source)
Serving Size: 1 muffin
Calories	285	450
Total Fat	24.4g	23g
Total Carbohydrate	7.6g	55g
Net Carbs	3.9g	54g
Dietary Fiber	3.7g	1g
Sugars	-	32g
Protein	9.1g	4g

Recipe Notes:

Swerve sweeteners are mostly erythritol. If you don't care for the taste of erythritol, or if it causes you gastric distress, you can check out Carolyn's Ultimate Guide to Keto Sweeteners Ultimate Guide to Keto Sweeteners on All Day I Dream About Food to find suitable keto-friendly brown, granulated, and powdered sweetener alternatives.

Nutella-Stuffed Cinnamon Muffins (All Day I Dream About Food)

I have had a long and complicated relationship with Nutella. The first time we met, it was love at first bite. I fondly remember the blissful decades when we were together. Sadly, when I started focusing on improving my health and trying to lose weight, I was forced to accept that my beloved "Nutty," with its palm oil, sugar, and artificial vanilla flavoring, was just no good for me. Finally, I found the strength to break up with it, fervently hoping that, someday, I would find another chocolate hazelnut spread that would be just as sweet, satisfying, and special, but also would support my commitment to a healthier lifestyle.

Fortunately, when I began researching low carb and ketogenic diet recipes, I discovered Carolyn Ketchum's All Day I Dream About Food website, which includes quite a few Nutella inspired low carb and keto recipes. Her amazing keto Nutella-stuffed cinnamon muffins hide a sweet surprise—a rich, creamy chocolate hazelnut filling made with healthier, fresher ingredients than the popular commercial spread. In this recipe, her sugar free Nutella filling is made from freshly toasted and husked hazelnuts, hazelnut oil, dark cocoa powder, heavy cream, keto-friendly sweetener, and pure vanilla extract.

These luscious keto cinnamon muffins are sweet and rich enough to enjoy for dessert. Served with a cup of fresh, hot coffee, they also make a truly decadent breakfast.

The most comparable muffins I could find (from a reliable source I trust) for a nutritional comparison were the Nutella-Stuffed Cinnamon Sugar Muffins from Sally's Baking Addiction, which have a cinnamon-sugar topping instead of Carolyn's streusel crumb topping and vanilla glaze drizzle.

Compare the calories, net carbs, fat, fiber, and protein in these indulgent yet low carb, keto-friendly Nutella-Stuffed Cinnamon Muffins from All Day I Dream About Food to the wonderful Nutella-Stuffed Cinnamon Sugar Muffins on Sally's Baking Addiction.

	Nutrition Facts
	Nutella-Stuffed Cinnamon Muffins (All Day I Dream About Food)	Nutella-Stuffed Cinnamon Sugar Muffins (Sally's Baking Addiction) (source)
Serving Size: 1 muffin
Calories	310	450
Total Fat	29g	23g
Total Carbohydrate	8g	55g
Net Carbs	4g	54g
Dietary Fiber	4g	1g
Sugars	-	32g
Protein	10g	4g

Recipe Notes:

In the comments, Carolyn Ketchum explains how she toasts and husks the hazelnuts. Toast the nuts in a preheated 350 °F oven for 8 to 10 minutes, take them out, and let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Then roll them between your fingers while still warm and most of the husks will come off easily. Don’t worry about a few stubborn bits of husk; they won’t matter after you grind the hazelnuts.

In my experience, nuts can go from nicely toasted to burned very quickly. I toast mine on a rimmed baking sheet, so I can give it a shake every few minutes without the nuts falling off the pan, and keep a close eye on them until I remove them from the oven. I let them cool for only 3 or 4 minutes, and then rub the toasted nuts briskly inside a clean kitchen towel to loosen the husks. I find that they loosen more easily when they are quite warm, and the towel protects my fingers from the heat.

Note to low carb baking enthusiasts:

In addition to being the driving force behind All Day I Dream About Food, Carolyn Ketchum has written eight keto cookbooks (as of this writing). I highly recommend the two I have purchased so far, the Keto For Two Cookbook (e-book) and The Ultimate Guide to Keto Baking: Master All the Best Tricks for Low-Carb Baking Success, which I consider my keto baking "bible" and a must-have for anyone who wants to understand the chemistry and techniques of successful keto baking recipes (which are fundamentally different than those of successful conventional baking).

Note to conventional baking enthusiasts:

For many years, Sally McKenny's Sally's Baking Addiction website and her superb baking cookbooks have been among my favorite sources for consistently reliable, clearly written and clearly explained recipes for mouthwatering baked goods made with conventional ingredients, such as sugar, wheat flour, and cornstarch. So, although they don't fit within a sugar free, gluten free, or low carb diet, I recommend her cookbooks and website very highly to anyone who loves to bake with sugar and other high carb ingredients.

Low Carb Cinnamon Roll Muffins (The Big Man's World)

This high protein, low carb cinnamon roll muffins recipe from Arman Liew of The Big Man's World is quite unusual, since it contains no eggs and no butter. In fact, this recipe is keto, paleo, vegan, sugar free, gluten free, grain free, and dairy free.

These almond flour muffins also contain vanilla protein powder to add sweetness, increase the protein, and help them rise in the absence of gluten, which creates a lighter texture and a better crumb. Pumpkin purée makes them moist. Coconut oil provides the fat in the muffin batter, along with your choice of unsweetened, low carb nut butter or seed butter (Arman suggests almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter), which further boosts the protein, while coconut butter (also called coconut manna) gives the lemony glaze a luxurious mouthfeel.

It was hard to find a close analog for a nutritional comparison. I finally chose to compare the impressive macros for these Low Carb Cinnamon Roll Muffins from The Big Man's World (only 1g of net carbs per serving) to Starbucks Cinnamon Muffins (41g of net carbs each).

	Nutrition Facts
	Low Carb Cinnamon Roll Muffins (The Big Man's World)	Starbucks Cinnamon Muffins (source)
Serving Size: 1 muffin
Calories	112	350
Total Fat	9g	27g
Total Carbohydrate	3g	42g
Net Carbs	1g	41g
Dietary Fiber	2g	1g
Sugars	-	30g
Protein	5g	5g

Keto Cinnamon Muffins (Sweet As Honey)

This versatile recipe for gluten free, dairy free, sugar free cinnamon muffins comes from another of my favorite low-carb food bloggers, Carine Claudepierre, the writer, recipe developer, food photographer, and videographer at Sweet As Honey.

Her bakery-style keto cinnamon muffins are dipped into sugar-free cinnamon sugar while they're still hot, to add a crunchy topping and more cinnamon flavor. After they have cooled completely, the tops are coated with icing, made from powdered sugar-free sweetener mixed with just enough unsweetened almond milk to achieve your preferred consistency.

This recipe is made with equal amounts of almond flour and flaxseed meal (aka flax meal). Flax is a source of many nutrition and health benefits, and flaxseed meal contains very few carbs, so it's great to bake with. Carine recommends using golden flaxseed meal rather than brown flaxseed meal, which would give these baked goods an unpleasant, bitter aftertaste (and no one wants that!). I prefer Bob's Red Mill organic golden flaxseed meal.

She says she always uses an erythritol and monk fruit sweetener blend, and although the ingredients list says "erythritol," it links to the original Classic White Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener With Erythritol. The recipe was published in August 2019, three months before the brand introduced its Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener With Erythritol, which also contains tapioca fiber, chicory root inulin, and cellulose gum and was created specifically as a 1:1 sugar replacement for baking recipes. According to Lakanto, some of its advantages for baked goods recipes are that it "dissolves effortlessly, retains moisture, can control cookie spread, and provides better browning for your desserts." I suspect it would be even better than the Classic White Lakanto for this recipe.

Since I couldn't find any commercial equivalents to these Sweet As Honey Keto Cinnamon Muffins whose tops are completely covered with icing (2.3 g of net carbs), I'll compare them to the Walmart Bakery Marketside Cinnamon Coffee Cake Muffins with no icing (45g of net carbs):

	Nutrition Facts
	Keto Cinnamon Muffins (Sweet As Honey)	Walmart Bakery Marketside Cinnamon Coffee Cake Muffins (source)
Serving Size: 1 muffin
Calories	217	370
Total Fat	16.5g	19g
Total Carbohydrate	5.5g	46g
Net Carbs	2.3g	45g
Dietary Fiber	3.2g	1g
Sugars	0.4	26g
Protein	5.3g	5g

Recipe Notes:

Carine offers several suggestions for optional mix-ins, if you would like to customize these muffins to suit your personal preference. (Keep in mind that any additional ingredients or substitutions will affect the calories, macros, and other aspects of this recipe's nutritional profile.)

Even though the recipe uses flaxseed meal, she warns against trying to replace the whole eggs with "flax eggs" (flaxseed meal mixed with water), egg white, or another substitute.

She suggests coconut milk as an alternative to almond milk for the glaze. (I'm sure any keto-friendly dairy-free milk would work.)

If you don't need dairy-free muffins, you can use melted butter in place of the coconut oil, if you prefer.

For nut-free low carb cinnamon muffins, you can replace the almond flour with the same amount of sunflower seed flour or meal.

BochaSweet Keto Cinnamon Muffin Mix

If you don't have a lot of time for (or don't enjoy) baking from scratch, you can still indulge in some delicious, fragrant, freshly baked keto cinnamon muffins, thanks to BochaSweet Keto Cinnamon Muffin Mix.

BochaSweet Keto Cinnamon Muffins on cooling rack

My most recent batch from BochaSweet Keto Cinnamon Muffin Mix

Low Carb Muffins in About 15 Minutes

Preparing these tasty treats couldn't be any faster or easier! Just mix the contents of one bag of BochaSweet Keto Cinnamon Muffin Mix with 3 whole eggs and 1/2 cup of melted butter (or coconut oil, for dairy free muffins), portion the batter into a lightly greased 12-cup cupcake or muffin tin, and bake in a preheated 425 ℉ oven for 12–14 minutes, until golden brown, and enjoy!

Low carb keto baking recipes often turn out to be dense, coarse, and dry. Not these delectable muffins! The texture is lighter than I was expecting, which is great. My first batch was a bit on the dry side, but only because I left them in the oven a bit too long. (It's hard to tell when the muffins are "golden brown" when that's the color of the batter to begin with, lol.) So, I baked my second batch for just 12 minutes, and allowed them to cool a bit longer before sampling them. This time, the muffins were delightfully moist and tender! And, both times, not just my kitchen but my whole smelled divine.

High Quality, Wholesome, Healthy Ingredients

I have shared many posts on Review This Reviews about my keto diet weight loss journey that began in May 2019 and enabled me to lose nearly 60 pounds, and my subsequent decision to continue to follow a very low carb, ketogenic approach to eating that has made it easy to maintain my new, slim, healthy weight for more than a year so far. If so, you know that my primary motivation for this change in diet and lifestyle was getting healthier and lowering my risk of cancer and other serious diseases. So, although I am somewhat flexible, I try to make fairly "clean" food choices. And, when I purchase a low carb or keto baking mix (or prepared baked goods), the first thing I look at is the ingredients.

BochaSweet Keto Cinnamon Muffin Mix is made with the same high quality, wholesome, healthy ingredients I use in my homemade keto baking recipes when I'm making low carb muffins from scratch: almond flour, BochaSweet (kabocha extract), grass-fed collagen, psyllium husk powder, organic coconut flour, organic cinnamon, MCT oil powder, baking soda, aluminum-free baking powder, pink salt, and xanthan gum. The ingredients are non GMO, and the mix contains no preservatives or additives. (For that reason, the prepared muffins need to be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.)

I love the fact that this keto cinnamon muffin mix is sweetened with BochaSweet sugar replacement, my favorite zero calorie, zero glycemic sweetener! BochaSweet tastes nearly identical to cane sugar and (to me and many other happy BochaSweet customers) has no aftertaste and none of the cooling effect produced by some other keto friendly sweeteners (such as erythritol). After using this healthy sweetener every day for about 1.5 years so far (to sweeten my tea, among other things), I have experienced zero gastric distress or laxative effect from this healthy sweetener, and most other product reviews I have read from customers who mention their reactions concur with my experience. The only downside is that it costs more than most other healthy keto-friendly sweeteners. However, for me and many other people who are looking for healthier, zero calorie, zero glycemic sugar alternatives, it's worth paying the higher price for this one, as well as for products that are sweetened with it.

BochaSweet Keto Cinnamon Muffin Mix was launched in late August, 2020, just as I was finishing up my review of recipes and baking mixes for making Low Carb Muffins & Cupcakes: Treats to Enjoy on a Keto Diet. That meant I wouldn't be able to order, test, and review this new cinnamon muffin mix in time to include it in that review of my favorite keto muffins and cupcakes. In the course of testing the recipes and mixes for that review, I ended up with a freezer full of baked goods and a pantry that was positively overflowing with packaged low carb keto baking mixes. So, it was only recently that I finally ordered a couple of bags of the BochaSweet Keto Cinnamon Muffin Mix to try. Now that I've made these quick and easy, tender, toothsome low carb keto cinnamon muffins, I will definitely update that review to include this yummy, convenient BochaSweet baking mix!

	Nutrition Facts
	BochaSweet Keto Cinnamon Muffin Mix
Serving Size: 23g of dry mix
Calories	60
Total Fat	3g
Total Carbohydrate	13g
Net Carbs	3g
Dietary Fiber	4g
Sugars	<1g
Protein	4g

Product Review Notes:

The company provides this information for the dry mix only. However, you can easily calculate the nutrition data for the prepared muffins by entering the data for the dry mix into a tracking app such as Carb Manager and then creating a recipe entry in the app that will calculate the macros based on the ingredients (12 servings of the dry baking mix, three large eggs, and 1/2 cup of butter or coconut oil).

The net carbs for this BochaSweet Keto Cinnamon Muffin Mix are calculated as follows:13g total carbohydrates - 4g dietary fiber - 6g BochaSweet = 3g net carbs

BochaSweet is the name of the company, its flagship product (BochaSweet sugar replacement), and the overarching brand for its other products (such as baking mixes), including those with secondary brands (such as BochaSweet BochaBars high protein, high fiber bars and and BochaSweet Bocha-Beets nutritional supplement). For some reason, on the brand's logotype, the words Bocha and Sweet are separated by a space, which likely explains why it is often misspelled "Bocha Sweet" (occasionally, you'll even see an Amazon product listing for a "Bocha Sweet" product).

Recipes and Product Review: The Best Low Carb Keto Cinnamon Muffins by Margaret Schindel

Posts About My Keto Diet Journey

My First Year on The Keto Diet

Preparing to Succeed on the Keto Diet, Part One

Preparing to Succeed on the Keto Diet, Part Two

Low Carb Muffins & Cupcakes: Treats to Enjoy on a Keto Diet

Low Carb Keto Chocolate Yogurt Granola Chip Pudding Recipe

Good Dee’s Keto Cookie Low Carb Baking Mix Review

Hamama Microgreens Growing Kit Review & Success Tips

My Favorite Hamama Microgreens Seed Quilt Accessories

Keto Cheddar Cheese Biscuits With Chives Recipe

The Ultimate Keto Hot Chocolate Recipe

The Best Low Carb Keto Gift Ideas: Keto Gift Guide

The Best Low Carb Keto Cinnamon Muffins

Wholesome Yum Keto Bread Mix and Yeast Bread Recipe

The Good Chocolate 100% Organic No Sugar Dark Chocolate Review

The Best Advice to Maintain Your Keto Diet Weight Loss

My New Irresistibly Delicious Keto Cheese Crackers Recipe

Luscious Low Carb Keto Triple Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies Recipe

Quick & Easy Livlo Blueberry Scones Keto Baking Mix Review

Snack Better With The Best Healthy Keto Cookie Dough Bites

The Best Quick and Easy Low Carb Keto Pizza Recipe

The Best Quick and Easy Low Carb Keto Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe

Comparing the Best Keto-Friendly Chocolate Hazelnut Spreads - No Added Sugars

The Best Low Carb Keto Sandwich and Burger Buns Mix

Blueberry Biscuit Scones — New, Easy, Low Carb Keto Recipe

The Best Keto Pizza Crust Mix With 0 Net Carbs

An Unusual, Delicious Strawberry Chocolate Tea With 0 Calories

Delicious Sugar-Free Keto Cookies That OREO Fans Will Love

Healthy Pistachio Cherry Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cereal Treats Recipe

Easy, Decadent, High Protein, Sugar-Free Rocky Road Cottage Cheese Ice Cream

The Best Quick & Easy Low Carb Sausage and Ricotta Calzones

How to Make Refreshing Vanilla Italian Soda (With or Without Cream)

Reviews of the Keto Diet by Barbara C. (aka Brite-Ideas)

My Personal Keto Testimonial
How I Stayed Committed to the Ketogenic Way of Eating

Wednesday, July 5, 2023

The Best Quick & Easy Low Carb Sausage and Ricotta Calzones

Last month, I was watching an old episode of Chopped on The Food Network and my mouth started watering when I saw one of the chefs in the competition use the crazy basket ingredients for one of the courses to make delicious calzones. Then, my friend Sam Monaco published his easy homemade calzones recipe here on Review This Reviews. I guess I had calzones on the brain, because the next time I reached for my Scotty's Everyday Keto Pizza Crust Mix to make pizza, I decided to try using the zero carb pizza crust mix to make low carb calzones instead.

I decided to fill the dough with ricotta, mozzarella and Parmigiano Romano cheeses, precooked sausage and herbs and serve the calzones with a good quality jarred pizza sauce as a dipping sauce. They turned out to be a big hit with both my husband and me. They also reheat well and we discovered that the leftovers are even good cold, which is great for a quick and easy hot weather dinner without turning on the oven.

I've provided both the low carb sausage and ricotta calzones recipe and variations for those of you who either don't follow a low carb or keto diet or who may be watching your calories and fat intake. And you can easily use regular pizza dough with wheat flour, if you aren't watching your carbs.

Enjoy!

Low Carb & Keto-Friendly Sausage & Ricotta Calzones -- Quick & Easy

Using Scotty's Everyday Keto Pizza Crust Mix with 0 net carbs makes this low carb sausage and ricotta calzones recipe quick, easy and keto diet friendly!

Just because you're following a low carb or ketogenic diet doesn't mean you can't enjoy delicious pizza or calzones! Check out my product review of Scotty's Everyday Keto Pizza Crust Mix with 0 net carbs, which I use in this low carb calzones recipe.

The Best Quick & Easy Low Carb Sausage and Ricotta Calzones Recipe

Using my favorite 0 net carbs keto pizza crust mix makes this recipe quick and easy to prepare so you can get this yummy dinner on the table in less than 40 minutes. It's a real treat for carb lovers who are watching their carbs, and it's also easy to adapt to make it lower in calories and fat.
You can also substitute conventional store-bought pizza dough if you aren't counting carbs, so it's a great recipe for everyone at your table.
Buon appetito!
Serves: 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Baking Time: 18–20 minutes

Tools, Supplies and Equipment

Rectangular pizza stone with pizza paddle
Rimless cookie sheet
9"x12" baking parchment paper
Stand mixer with paddle attachment and dough hook
Large silicone pastry mat*
Rolling pin
Heat-resistant 6-inch wide nonstick slotted turner spatula
Small ramekins

*When making low carb sausage and ricotta calzones, you can't use wheat or semolina flour (which is high in carbs and can spike insulin levels) to keep the dough from sticking as you roll it out. I have tried substituting almond flour or coconut flour, but it doesn't work well. A lightly oiled silicone pastry mat is the best rolling surface I have found for working with keto dough.

Ingredients

Filling:

12 links Applegate Naturals Classic Pork Breakfast Sausage (or other sausage of your choice)
1 cup whole milk (4% fat) ricotta cheese (I recommend Maplebrook Farms brand)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
4 ounces finely shredded mozzarella cheese
Fresh or dried herbs to taste (I love Penzeys Greek or Italian Herbs for this recipe)
16 pitted black Greek olives (I use Divina organic kalamata olives), coarsely chopped

Crust:

1 package Scotty's Everyday Keto Pizza Crust Mix
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Assembly:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Water

Dipping Sauce:

1 cup Primal Kitchen unsweetened pizza sauce (Rao's and Yo Mama's are also good low carb, keto friendly brands of pizza sauce)

Directions

Place the pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 425 ℉. Line the rimless cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
To make the filling, pan fry the sausage links according to directions in a nonstick pan, then halve each link lengthwise and slice. (Alternatively, crumble and brown bulk Italian sausage.) Add to a mixing bowl along with the ricotta, Parmigiano Reggiano, finely shredded mozzarella, herbs and chopped olives and mix to combine. Cover and set aside.
To make the dough, add the keto pizza crust mix, water and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the bowl of a stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment to mix at low speed until the dough comes together. Scrape the bowl and the paddle attachment, replace the latter with the dough hook attachment and let the mixer knead the dough for about 3 minutes until it is uniform and smooth.
To assemble, use 1 tablespoon of the oil to grease the silicone pastry mat. Divide the large ball of dough into four pieces and roll each piece into a smooth ball. Roll out each ball thinly. Place 1/4 of the filling mixture along the center of one half of the dough, leaving a margin of dough around the rim. Moisten the rim with water, fold the dough over the filling and press the moistened edges together firmly. Use the extra-wide turner to help you carefully lift and transfer the calzone onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Repeat with the three remaining balls of dough and the rest of the filling. Use your fingers to spread the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the tops of the calzones.
Open the hot oven and, using potholders to protect your hands, carefully slide the parchment paper with the calzones onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until the bottoms are nicely browned and the tops are baked through.
Put 1/4 cup pizza sauce in each ramekin and serve with baked calzones.

Serving Suggestion

I enjoy serving these low carb sausage and ricotta calzones with either a side salad of fresh greens or just some micro greens, as shown here. (Check out my Hamama microgreens seed quilts review. These microgreens are SO easy to grow, no green thumb required—just soak in water and let them do their thing!)

Nutrition Information

For those of you who are counting calories or carbs or tracking macros on a low carb or ketogenic diet, these generously-sized low carb sausage and ricotta calzones each have 691 calories, 54.3g of total carbs, 46.3g of fiber, 8g of net carbs, 35.1g of protein and 51.1g of fat.

Recipe nutrition data calculated by Carb Manager app

Variations for Conventional, Low Calorie or Low Fat Diets

If you're not worried about calories, carbs or fat, you can easily substitute homemade or ready-to-use pizza dough, your favorite sausages (Italian would be great) and your favorite pizza sauce. You could also roll out your dough on a board sprinkled with semolina and bake on a semolina-sprinkled pizza stone.

To reduce fat and calories, you could try substituting low fat ricotta (although the filling might be a bit watery) and substitute Applegate Naturals Chicken & Sage Breakfast Sausage links.