Gluten Free & Keto Pull-Apart Christmas Tree

Searching for a show-stopper holiday treat?! This dairy free & keto pull apart Christmas tree, with its scrumptious cinnamon roll filling, is most definitely it!

Oh, and if baking with cups rather than grams is your thing, just click on US Cups for an instant conversion.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword dairy free, gluten free, keto, low carb

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Resting Time 10

Servings servings

Calories 188kcal

Ingredients

For the keto dough:

192 g almond flour
48 g coconut flour
4 teaspoons xanthan gum
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 eggs lightly beaten
8-12 teaspoons water as needed

For the 'cinnamon roll' filling

28 g unsalted grass-fed butter or coconut butter/oil, melted
3-6 tablespoons golden erythritol or xylitol, to taste
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon to taste

For the cream cheese glaze (optional, but highly suggested!)

60 g cream cheese softened
28 g unsalted grass-fed butter softened
2-4 tablespoons powdered erythritol
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch kosher salt
1-3 tablespoons almond milk as needed (optional)

Metric - US Cups

Instructions

For the keto dough:

Add almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt to food processor. Pulse until thoroughly combined. Alternatively feel free to use your stand mixer (works just as well) or your hand mixer (dough is very stiff, but works well too with a little more arm muscle).
Pour in apple cider vinegar with the food processor running. Once it has distributed evenly, pour in the egg. Followed by the water. Stop the food processor (or stop beating) once the dough forms into a ball. The dough will be sticky to touch, but very firm.
Wrap dough in cling film and knead it through the plastic for a minute or two. Think of it a bit like a stress ball. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes (and up to 5 days in the fridge).

For the keto pull-apart Christmas tree

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line a baking tray with a baking mat or parchment paper.
Divide the dough in two and roll out between two sheets of parchment paper with a rolling pin. I try and roll it out in a rough triangle shape to keep dough trimmings to a minimum. When working with the dough, keep it covered with a moist cloth to keep it from drying out.
Assemble in the prepared tray by brushing both sides with melted butter and sprinkling with the cinnamon 'sugar' to taste. Place one piece of dough on top of the other, trim edges into a triangle shape and cut strips of dough (see pictures for reference). Twist gently, pinching the dough together to seal closed. If making ahead, you can refrigerate it at this point (well covered!!) for a couple days. Oh, and don't forget to make a star with the trimmings!
Brush with egg wash and bake for 18-25 minutes (I did 20), until the tree just begins to brown. You want to only bake it briefly so it stays moist and doughy, otherwise you'll get cookies (still good, but not ideal!).
While your Christmas Tree is in the oven, cream together with an electric mixer the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the powdered sweetener, vanilla extract and salt. If you want it more of a drizzling consistency, add a few teaspoons of almond milk to thin it out.
It's best served warm straight from the oven, with a generous drizzle of cream cheese glaze. But it also does re-warm very well.

Notes

Please note that nutrition facts below are estimated for 1/10th of the Christmas Tree.

Nutrition