When I worked as a barista at Seattle’s Best Coffee inside Borders bookstore at South Coast Plaza, we used to sell these hot, soft pretzels that were mind-alteringly delicious. Toasty, crusty outside… soft, squishy inside… mmmmmm… cheese… savory spices…

In my history of eating ketogenically, I’ve never come across a recipe that I was satisfied with for something that tastes like a  a soft pretzel — or a bagel for that matter.

But, I found a good recipe, and of course, I tweaked it. Well, I should say, my mom tweaked it and I totally changed it so it tastes like the pretzels we sold back in the good ol’ Borders days (RIP). These are, in my humble opinion, amazing bagel replacements too. Honestly, I’ll most likely make this into a pizza crust later.

Here’s what we came up with:

Keto toasty pretzel rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/3 cup xanthan gum
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup flax meal
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp Old Bay garlic and herb seasoning
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp butter, softened but not melted
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 6 large egg whites
• 2 large whole eggs
• 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk (yes, low fat so the biscuits don’t come out too dense)
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1 tbsp melted butter for brushing and some Old Bay for dusting at the end

Materials:

• Two large mixing bowls
• Hand mixer
• Wire whisk
• Ice cream scoop like this one (with release lever)
• Big cookie sheet
• Parchment paper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a big cookie sheet with parchment.
2. In one bowl, mix the almond flour xanthan gum, coconut flour, flax meal, baking soda, salt, Old Bay, and garlic until well-mixed.
3. Cut in three of the tablespoons of butter until no more big chunks are left. I used a hand mixer with wire beaters. This doesn’t have to be perfect.
4. Mix in the cheddar.
5. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites, eggs, and buttermilk for 5 minutes with a whisk so some air is incorporated. This, again, doesn’t have to be perfect.
6. Thoroughly mix the egg mixture and the flour-cheese mixture until the dough is thick.
7. Mix in the apple cider vinegar and the water until completely mixed. Do not over-mix it!
8. Use ice-cream scoop to make mounds. Flatten each one down so it’s roughly 1 inch tall.
   

   
9. Bake for 60 minutes.
10. Let cool for 10 mins on a wire rack, brush the tops with melted butter and dust with a little Old Bay immediately before serving.
11. Store any leftovers in a loose container. Note: if you put it in an airtight container, they will become sticky from condensation. You can remedy this by toasting them in the oven, or toaster oven, or even in the regular toaster if you’re careful.

Yield 19 rolls

Nutrition per roll:

• Kcal: 100
• Net carbs: 2 g
• Fiber: 4 g
• Total carbs (fiber + net): 6 g
• Protein: 5 g
• Fat: 7 g

Just as a fun little aside, I worked at that Borders for years and one of the things I did was make chalkboard signs for SBC. Here’s a couple of my faves, just for old times sake: