Preheat oven to 275 °F and spray 9″ springform pan with oil of choice.
Combine chocolate and butter in a bowl. Melt in a microwave at 50% power, stirring occasionally, ~4 min. Let cool for 5 min.
Whisk together eggs, erythritol, water, glucomannan, vanilla, and espresso powder. Whisk in in chocolate mixture until smooth and slightly thickened. Filter through fine-mesh strainer into pan, then gently tap pan on counter to remove air bubbles.
Let cake mixture sit for 10 min. to let air bubbles rise to the top. Pop bubbles with a fork, then bake for 45-50 min., until edges are set and center jiggles slightly when shaken.
Let cool for 5 min., then run a paring knife around the sides of the pan. Let cool on a wire rack until barely warm, ~30 min., then cover, poke holes in top, and refrigerate for at least 6 h.
Remove sides of pan and use an offset spatula to separate cake from bottom tray. Let stand at room temperature for 30 min., then serve with whipped cream.
Whipped Cream
Whisk together all ingredients in a stand mixer on medium low for 1 min, then high until stiff peaks form, 1-3 min.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was in the comments
Note: This is an updated version of my previous post on this recipe. Since my first attempts, I’ve tried out 10 new batches, with big improvements in taste and texture. I also worked out a low-calorie version with shredded coconut instead of chocolate.
I’ve been trying to work out a low-carb chocolate chip-cookie dough ice cream to go along with my other ice cream recipes, but I haven’t liked any of the low-carb cookie dough recipes I’ve found on-line. All of them either didn’t really taste like a traditional chocolate chip cookie dough or were too soft even when frozen.
Since the oat-fiber muffins turned out so good, I decided to see if I could use an oat-fiber/whey protein base to make a cookie dough. The results turned out surprisingly good for a first attempt. Still needs some work, but I thought I’d share now to get some advice before I keep developing.
Flour → 80g oat-fiber + 44g whey protein + 16g gluten (same ratio as my oat-fiber muffins)
White sugar → allulose (1:1 by weight)
Brown sugar → allulose (1:1 by weight) + molasses (10% of sugar by weight, adapted from here)
Chocolate chips → 1 cup shredded coconut (I didn’t have any sugar-free chocolate chips, wouldn’t have done this otherwise.
Added 50% more egg to get to the right dough consistency.
Added a sprinkle of flaky sea salt to the top of the cookie before baking.
This was a pretty good start:
Good:
They tasted very similar to chocolate chip cookie dough (minus the chocolate)
They froze to a good texture.
While not as good as chocolate chips, the shredded coconut gave a nice flavor and texture to the dough.
Con:
When baked, the cookies puffed up and had more of a bread/muffin texture than a cookie texture.
The amount of coconut was more than I’d like.
First attempt at oat-fiber cookies. Taste was good, but they puffed up and had more of a bread than cookie texture.
To fix the texture problem, I made the following changes:
Removed gluten (it prevented the muffins from deflating, so removing it should reducing “puffing”)
Went from 2 eggs to 1 egg + 1 yolk (less egg white should give a less stable structure)
Halved the amount of coconut.
This was a big improvement. The taste of the dough stayed the same, but the cookies spread and gave a texture very similar to a chewy chocolate chip cookie.
Second attempt, with gluten and half of egg white removed. Taste, texture, and appearance of a chewy chocolate chip cookie (without the chocolate for now).
Reduce the molasses content (would help the carbs count, but probably make it taste worse. Could try substituting some “brown sugar” erythritol instead?)
Lower the temperature to let the cookies spread more before setting
Reduce the amount of egg white (hard to do as I’m already at 1 egg, but I could add yolks and whites separately).
At this point, I posted the recipe to r/ketorecipes on Reddit and got additional suggestion to try a blend of erythritol and allulose (erythritol for crispier texture, but keep some allulose to mitigate “cooling effect”).
Round 1: Optimizing Texture
Based on the ideas above, I tried the following experiments:
All: I bought some Montezuma 100% cocoa chocolate from Trader Joe’s (surprisingly not bitter!) and used that in all recipes. I really l like the taste and texture it adds, particularly the contrast with the sweet taste of the cookie.
Reduced baking temperature and increased time (375 °F/11 min., 350 °F/13 min., 325 °F/15 min., 325 °F/16 min.)
Taste: no change
Texture: no significant change, maybe slightly less chewy…
Spread: no change
Conclusion: Original time/temp (375 °F/11 min.) is best
Went from 1 egg + 1 yolk to 2 yolk, plus added 10 g almond milk (needed to get dough to correct consistency)
Taste: creamier, less drying
Texture: slightly crispier
Spread: Much more spread during baking, similar to a regular cookie
Conclusion: Definite improvement in taste and I prefer the more spread out/thinner shape
Replace 50% of allulose with erythritol
Taste: no change (no perceptible cooling effect)
Texture: much crispier
Spread: no change
Conclusion: Much closer to my preferred texture
This was a big improvement in just a few tries and pretty close to what I wanted. I had originally planned to try out a bunch more variations (flour:fat & flour:protein ratio, amount of molasses, type of protein, etc.), but these were so good I decided to just combine the improvements and see if that did the trick.
Replaced whole egg with egg yolk and added almond milk. Improved taste and spread like a regular cookie. Still too chewy, thought.
Replaced half of allulose with erythritol. Crispier on the outside, but still chewy in the middle.
Round 2: Combining Changes & Low-Calorie Version
Based on the success of round 1, I made a batch combining all the improvements together. I also made a couple batches using yogurt and shredded coconut in place of the butter and chocolate to reduce calories.
2 egg yolk + 30 g almond milk + 50% erythritol
Taste: Fantastic, really tastes like a Nestle’s toll house cookie.
Texture: crispy on the edges, soft/chewy on the inside. I’d prefer a little crispier, but this is great.
Spread: Just like a regular chocolate chip cookie
Conclusion: Got the combined improvements from Round 1. While it could always improve, this was almost exactly what I was looking for.
Replace butter with yogurt & chocolate with shredded coconut. Removed almond milk (dough was already too “wet” before adding)
Calories: Drops from 106 to 36 calories/cookie
Taste: Not as good as the butter/chocolate version, but pretty good. Much “lighter”.
Texture: Way too “bready.” Must be an effect of the yogurt.
Spread: Much less
Conclusion: Ok for a first try, but the “bready” texture is a real problem. Will try less yogurt.
Same as above except half as much yogurt + 10g almond milk
Calories: Drops from 106 to 36 calories/cookie
Taste: Same. Not as good as the butter/chocolate version, but pretty good. Much “lighter”.
Texture: Back to normal. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside.
Spread: Still didn’t spread as much as the butter/chocolate cookie, but not a big deal.
Conclusion: This was great. I prefer the taste of the chocolate/butter based cookie, but I can eat a lot more of these. Will definitely make again.
All improvements combined (no egg whites, 50% erythritol, added almond milk). Taste, texture, and spread exactly how I want!Cross-section so you can see the crispier outside and chewy center.Goes great with almond milk!Low-calorie version with yogurt instead of butter and shredded coconut instead of chocolate. Almost as good and 1/3rd the calories.
My original plan was to do a whole bunch more batches with different substitutions and varying ratios, but I’m really happy with how these turned out. I might come back to this recipe in the future if I want to really dial it in or get a different effect, but for now I think I’ll leave it as is and start working on something else.
Hope you enjoy it,
– QD
Low-carb Adaptation of Nestle Toll House Cookies
QD
A low-carb adaptation of Nestle Toll House Cookies
Whisk together oat fiber, whey protein, baking soda, and salt.
Cream butter, allulose, erythritol, molasses, and vanilla with a stand or electric mixer.
Beat in egg yolk and almond milk, then slowly beat in oat fiber mixture, then fold in chopped chocolate.
Transfer to a lined baking sheet (I use a 1″ cookie scoop) and bake for 11 min.
Let cool on a wire rack, then serve.
Notes
0.9g net carbs per cookie.Nutrition information calculated by adding up macros of the individual ingredients. Allulose not included in the Total or Net carbs.Cookie dough can be frozen and stored for at least 1 month before baking.Unlike regular cookie recipes, this does not benefit from letting the dough rest in the refrigerator before baking (spreads less and doesn’t taste quite as good). If you don’t want to bake immediately, put the dough in the freezer.
Whisk together oat fiber, whey protein, baking soda, and salt.
Cream yogurt, allulose, erythritol, molasses, and vanilla with a stand or electric mixer.
Beat in egg yolk and almond milk, then slowly beat in oat fiber mixture and shredded coconut.
Transfer to a lined baking sheet (I use a 1″ cookie scoop) and bake for 11 min.
Let cool on a wire rack, then serve.
Notes
0.7g net carbs per cookie.
Nutrition information calculated by adding up macros of the individual ingredients. Allulose not included in the Total or Net carbs.
Cookie dough can be frozen and stored for at least 1 month before baking.Unlike regular cookie recipes, this does not benefit from letting the dough rest in the refrigerator before baking (spreads less and doesn’t taste quite as good). If you don’t want to bake immediately, put the dough in the freezer.
All my recipes so far have been desserts or snacks, so I thought I’d share my favorite dinner recipe, Burmese Tea Leaf salad. It’s got a fantastic umami flavor from the tea leaves, fish sauce, and nuts, with a great combination of crunchy textures from the nuts, lettuce, and garlic.
I adapted this recipe from Burma Superstar, a great Burmese restaurant where I live. I’ve always loved their Tea Leaf salad, but it has dried lentils and tomatoes, which makes too high in carbs for anything other than a once-in-a-while cheat meal.
The restaurant has a cookbook with the recipe, but when I tried to reproduce it, it didn’t taste nearly as good as what I get at the restaurant. Fortunately, I discovered that when you order the salad to go, the put the ingredients separately in a box for you to mix together yourself. I got a box and weighed out the individual ingredients.
From there, over several tries, I made the following modifications:
Removed the tomatoes and lentils to reduce carbs.
Increased the amount of nuts from 100 to 130 g to increase calories.
Changed the nut mix to ones I like better (I actually vary this based on my mood)
Replaced the sliced jalapeño with red pepper flakes for convenience.
Replaced garlic chips with fried minced garlic to reduce cost.
Use pre-seasoned fermented tea leaves for convenience.
Added flaky sea salt as a garnish to give an additional crunchy texture.
This recipe is extremely customizable. You can modify the seasonings or nut mix to whatever you like. I use whatever nuts I’m in the mood for and often swap out the red pepper and fish sauce for other spices. You can also tune the calories up or down by using more or less nuts.
A note on macros: A lot of tea leaf containers claim very high carb content (e.g. 16g per tbsp.). From testing my blood sugar, this is not correct. I only need an extra 0.5u of insulin when I eat this compared with my normal dinner (300g meat, 150g low-carb vegetable), which suggests the net carbs from the 85g of tea leaves can’t be more than ~5 g).
Hope you enjoy it!
– QD
Low-carb Adaptiation of Burma Superstar’s Tea Leaf Salad
QD
A low-carb Burmese Tea Leaf Salad, adapted from the Burma Superstar recipe.
Mix together nuts and garlic. This can be done in a large batch and stored for use for multiple salads or other dishes.
Combine all ingredients except for salt in a medium bowl and let sit for 5-10 min. This mellows the flavor of the garlic chips.
Add salt right and serve (if you add salt too early, it will dissolve and you won’t get the crunchy texture).
Notes
Macros are heavily dependent on the type of nuts and tea leaves you use.This recipe is extremely customizable. You can modify the seasonings or nut mix to whatever you like. I use whatever nuts I’m in the mood for and often swap out the red pepper and fish sauce for other spices. You can also tune the calories up or down by using more or less nuts.A note on macros: A lot of tea leaf containers claim very high carb content (e.g. 16g per tbsp.). From testing my blood sugar, this is not correct. I only need an extra 0.5u of insulin when I eat this compared with my normal dinner (300g meat, 150g low-carb vegetable), which suggests the net carbs from the 85g of tea leaves can’t be more than ~5 g).
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was in the comments
Low-carb replica of Nestle Tollhouse Cookies – Still a work in progress
I’ve been trying to work out a low-carb chocolate chip-cookie dough ice cream to go along with my other ice cream recipes, but I haven’t liked any of the low-carb cookie dough recipes I’ve found on-line. All of them either didn’t really taste like a traditional chocolate chip cookie dough or were too soft even when frozen.
Since the oat-fiber muffins turned out so good, I decided to see if I could use an oat-fiber/whey protein base to make a cookie dough. The results turned out surprisingly good for a first attempt. Still needs some work, but I thought I’d share now to get some advice before I keep developing.
Flour → 80g oat-fiber + 44g whey protein + 16g gluten (same ratio as my oat-fiber muffins)
White sugar → allulose (1:1 by weight)
Brown sugar → allulose (1:1 by weight) + molasses (10% of sugar by weight, adapted from here)
Chocolate chips → 1 cup shredded coconut (I didn’t have any sugar-free chocolate chips, wouldn’t have done this otherwise.
Added 50% more egg to get to the right dough consistency.
Added a sprinkle of flaky sea salt to the top of the cookie before baking.
This was a pretty good start:
Good:
They tasted very similar to chocolate chip cookie dough (minus the chocolate)
They froze to a good texture.
While not as good as chocolate chips, the shredded coconut gave a nice flavor and texture to the dough.
Bad:
When baked, the cookies puffed up and had more of a bread/muffin texture than a cookie texture.
The amount of coconut was more than I’d like.
First attempt at oat-fiber cookies. Taste was good, but they puffed up and had more of a bread than cookie texture.
To fix the texture problem, I made the following changes:
Removed gluten (it prevented the muffins from deflating, so removing it should reducing “puffing”)
Went from 2 eggs to 1 egg + 1 yolk (less egg white should give a less stable structure)
Halved the amount of coconut.
This was a big improvement. The taste of the dough stayed the same, but the cookies spread and gave a texture very similar to a chewy chocolate chip cookie.
Second attempt, with gluten and half of egg white removed. Taste, texture, and appearance of a chewy chocolate chip cookie (without the chocolate for now).
Reduce the molasses content (would help the carbs count, but probably make it taste worse. Could try substituting some “brown sugar” erythritol instead?)
Lower the temperature to let the cookies spread more before setting
Reduce the amount of egg white (hard to do as I’m already at 1 egg, but I could add yolks and whites separately).
At this point, I’m going to post the recipe to r/ketorecipes on Reddit and see if I can get more suggestions (worked for the oat-fiber muffins) before making another batch.
Recipe as it stands now below.
Hope you enjoy it,
– QD
Low-carb adaptation of Nestle Toll House Cookies
QD
A low-carb adaptation of Nestle Toll House Cookies
Whisk together oat fiber, whey protein, baking soda, and salt.
Cream butter, allulose, molasses, and vanilla with a stand or electric mixer.
Beat in egg and egg yolk, then slowly beat in oat fiber mixture.
Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet (I use a 1″ cookie scoop) and bake for 11 min.
Let cool on a wire rack, then serve.
Notes
0.5g net carbs per serving.Nutrition information calculated by adding up macros of the individual ingredients. Allulose not included in the Total or Net carbs.Cookie dough can be frozen and stored for at least 1 month before baking.
