Low Carb Cinnamon Rolls

So, I broke down and bought Carbquik. You can get it from Netrition.com or you can take yourself to Health Foods Unlimited and buy it there. Now, it's like a Bisquick sort of deal, but I'll tell you right away that it has an odd smell and an odd texture in its "raw" state.  However, I'm discovering things that it can do--hence the rolls.  

1 2/3 cup Carbquik
1 Tbls Splenda (white)
1/2 cup low-carb milk (or 1/4 cup cream and 1/4 cup water)
1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup brown sugar substitute (Splenda Blend or SugarTwin)
3 teaspoons cinnamon 
1/2 cup nuts (Optional)

Icing:

1/4 block of cream cheese
1/3 cup UNSALTED Butter
3/4 cup Splenda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine Carbquik, 1 Tbls Splenda and milk until moist. Let it sit for a minute. Stir again until well combined. Sprinkle some Carbquik on a kneading surface and turn dough onto surface.
Knead for approx. 3-4 minutes. Add more Carbquik if necessary to keep dough from sticking.
Roll into a rectangle shape. Spread butter over entire rectangle, then sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar substitute. Roll up lengthwise and slice into 6-8 rolls.Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Spread icing over top and serve warm!

Icing:
Whip on high speed for 2 minutes

This recipe contributed by: Aediekins (Low Carb Friends)

Comments:  Needed more liquid to get the right doughy consistency--I used the cream and water, but it was closer to a cup than a half by the time the dough felt right...but then, I'm not the most careful when it comes to measuring flour-type things. Knead the snot out of it until it gets that stretchy texture! Use the butter liberally (ignore the measurements, just schmear it on), the brown Splenda blend is awesome, and don't skimp on the cinnamon. Mine were done at about 15 minutes--I didn't want to overcook so I yanked them when the tops started to get brownish.  Also, I used "normal" butter for the icing--didn't make a bit of difference. It does make small rolls--I haven't worked out if it can be doubled with success yet.  No pictures because, well, we ate them. Boy said he wouldn't know that they were low carb, but they don't have the yeasty taste that normal rolls do. They were pretty darn close, though. A keeper!

The Great Macaroon Adventure

So, I tried French Macaroons, using this recipe and well, here they are. A few things that are good--they have "feet" and they are not hollow on the inside...nice chewy texture inside with, and the tops didn't crack. However, they are not smooth on top...which means, at my best guess that my almond meal needed to be ground finer than it was.

I have read that you can smooth out the tops with a fingertip and water, and that tapping the pan (like I do with cakes) can help them flatten out. *sigh*

I should point out that I made powdered sugar Splenda (a combination of Splenda and cornstarch processed together until it resembles actual powdered sugar) and used that instead of actual sugar-sugar. I don't think this had anything to do with the lumps--I really should have ground the almond meal to a finer consistency.

While researching the issue, I found a wealth of posts and articles about the difficulty of making French Macaroons--the fact that humidity will screw with them, getting them the same size is impossible (unless you have one of these) and egg white are tricky no matter what.

They really do taste good, though--I opted for the almond extract in this batch, although I think they would be good without it, or with a lemon or orange flavor. I used Nutella as the filling since that's what I had handy (come on, like Nutella isn't good on *everything* anyway) and I thought it would taste good with the almond.

At any rate, I will be trying these again. The cookie piper worked fairly well for getting a somewhat even amount, but I was trying to make rounds instead of just letting them round out on their own. And heck no, the recipe did not make 84 cookies...not even close.