These sugar free Tootsie rolls are such a fun way to enjoy a low carb version of the chocolate chewy candy. The taste and texture are just like the real thing!
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Have you tried using fiber based sweetener syrups in your recipes yet? They’re a common sweetener in popular low carb products and protein bars. They give treats a nice, chewy texture that many people find very satisfying.
Once I came across fiber syrups, I knew they would be perfect to create a chewy chocolate candy. So I set about inventing a low carb, sugar free Tootsie roll.
The original recipe calls for artificial sweetener and skim milk powder. Using this as my basis, I modified the ingredients to create a healthier, low carb candy.
Is taste and texture comparable to the real thing?
I wasn’t entirely sure how the taste would turn out. But as soon as I tried them, I knew I had a winner!
These sugar free Tootsie rolls are very similar to the real thing. In fact, my non-low carb friends could hardly tell the difference! They couldn’t believe they were made with fiber syrup and low carb sweetener.
It’s always great to have low carb treats on hand for when your sweet tooth kicks in. Baked goods like cookies and brownies can be nice, but I really enjoy having these sugar free candies prepared.
They’re a much smaller serving size, so when you just need a small sweet bite, they’re perfect!
How to make sugar free Tootsie rolls
This homemade tootsie roll recipe is very easy to make. And I have a few tips and tricks to share from my experience:
- First, I find that the fiber syrup is easiest to work with when heated. So to start, I microwave it in a glass bowl for about 30 seconds until I just start to see bubbles forming.
- Once the fiber syrup is warmed and thinned, mix in melted butter and vanilla extract.
- Mix together dry ingredients, then work the dry mixture into wet ingredients. The dough will become crumbly as it comes together.
- From there, knead the mix with your hands until the dough is uniform. It will have a texture similar to “Play-Doh” and become shiny as it is kneaded.
- Flatten out the dough, cut it into strips, and then roll each strip into long rolls. From there, cut these long rolls into your Tootsie rolls.
A few notes on the recipe
- You can make your candies into any size you like. Personally, I wanted to mimic the smaller size candy rolls, which yielded about 3 dozen pieces.
- Your sugar free Tootsie rolls will be a bit soft, so you’ll stick them in the refrigerator. This helps them become harder like the traditional version.
- You can individually wrap each roll in a small rectangular piece of wax paper. You certainly don’t have to do this, but they look really cute wrapped up and look more like the real thing this way!
How many carbs in sugar free Tootsie rolls?
Traditional Tootsie roll carbs come in at about 4.7 carbs per roll, plus over 3 grams of sugar. It’s certainly not the worst candy out there, but I knew that I could create a healthier version.
So for this sugar free Tootsie roll recipe, each candy will have 3.3 grams of carbs, 1.4 grams of fiber, and 1.5 grams of erythritol. Since you can subtract both the fiber and erythritol from the total carbs, this leaves you with 0.4 net carbs per candy.
And compared to how much sugar is in a Tootsie roll, this sugar-free version definitely wins!
Is fiber syrup really low carb?
There is some controversy over the impact that fiber syrups have on your blood sugar. In general, the fiber in IMO-type sweeteners is actually digestible, meaning it does not lower the total carb count.
When I first created this recipe, I used VitaFiber syrup. However, as more information came out about IMO-type sweetener’s impact on blood sugar, I wanted to find a different product.
After some research, I found that Sukrin Fiber Syrup is a great alternative. It gives the same combination of sweetness and chewiness as VitaFiber syrup, but does not appear to have the same effect on blood sugar based on reviews.
You could also use ChocZero Honest Syrup. However, ChocZero is sweeter, so you’ll want to reduce the amount of low carb sweetener used.
Other Low Carb Small Treat Recipes
Looking for a few other sugar free candies or small treats to ease your sweet tooth? Check out a few of these other favorites:
- Chocolate Kisses Molded Candies have the traditional candy kiss shape and are the perfect bite to ease your chocolate craving!
- White Chocolate Keto Truffles have a creamy soft filling covered in yummy dark chocolate for an indulgent treat.
- Easy Dark Chocolate Keto Fudge combines cream cheese and rich chocolate for a soft, decadent treat. The taste and texture are almost exactly like traditional fudge!
- Sugar Free Keto Coconut Macaroons are the perfect mini treats. Drizzle these low carb gluten free cookies with chocolate for more decadence.
- Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is gluten free, low carb, and meant to be eaten raw. No baking required!
- Keto Brownie Bites are just the right size for snacking!
Follow us on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, and INSTAGRAM for even more tasty keto-friendly recipes!
Recipe
Sugar Free Tootsie Rolls
Ingredients
- ¼ cup cocoa I used Ghirardelli
- ¼ cup unflavored whey protein
- 2 tablespoons powdered whole milk
- ½ cup low carb sugar substitute powdered
- teaspoon pinch salt about ⅛
- 60 grams Sukrin Fiber Syrup or other Oligosaccharide syrup
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Powder granular sweetener in blender or food processor.
- Mix cocoa, whey protein powder, powdered milk, low carb sweetener, and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
- Heat fiber syrup in microwave until bubbles form (about 30 seconds). Add melted butter and vanilla.
- Stir dry cocoa mix into wet fiber syrup mix until crumbly. Using hands, knead mixture until a dough is formed.
- Shape dough into a ball, then flatten out. Cut into strips and roll out each strip into a rope about the diameter of a Tootsie roll. Cut dough rope into Tootsie roll size pieces.
- Wrap each roll in small rectangular pieces of wax paper if desired. Store rolls in refrigerator so they will be firm.
Notes
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
Notes on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Copyright
© LowCarbYum.com - Unauthorized use of this material without written permission is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes. Single photos may be used, provided that full credit is given to LowCarbYum.com along with a link back to the original content.
Sherry Campbell
I can't do powdered milk - can I just skip it? I don't use any milk and not going to buy it for this.
Lisa MarcAurele
You can likely skip it if you add a little more whey powder.
gloria stafford
is there an alternative or substitute for the whey protein?
Lisa MarcAurele
You can try using a powdered milk or coconut milk.
KELLY
OUR WHOLE FAMILY JUST LOVES TOOTSIE ROLLS, NOW WE WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE THIS MUCH HEALTHY VERSION, THANKS.
Lisa MarcAurele
Enjoy these little chocolate treats!
Anne
Can u alter this recipe to make vanilla rolls instead?
Lisa
That should work out. I'd sub in additional whey powder and add some vanilla flavoring.
Kestrel
In comparing this recipe to actual tootie rolls, there isn't a lot of difference in certain areas.
They have 28g carbs per 6 rolls (which they list as 40 grams, not 36. They must include paper!). The nutritional difference plus the time, effort (and cost, if you care about that) isn't so large that it would be worth the effort FOR ME to make these. I'm just saying this on behalf of ME. Literally, a gram here and there - except for protein, in which your recipe has a lot more - sometimes it's Nutritional Minutiae.
Anyways, some people are much stronger adherents, such as the difference between vegetarian and vegan. Other people are on a looser plan. Is there a time/effort/cost cutoff for you or will you always try to make something healthier? At what point do you say "screw it, I'm using the @#!% teaspoon of _______" or does it bug you to know you can improve on something nutritionally.
I find that I start getting into a competition to see if I can trim little bits here and there until it makes me batty so now I try to be more easy-going about it. I hate almond butter. Hate it. Sun butter? No. I like peanut butter. The difference for ME, isn't worth it. I'd rather eat what I like than suffer through what I don't care for and deal with the nutritional fallout later. We tried every low carb bread option under the sun for sandwiches for my (very healthy, ideal-weight husband). Finally, we both said "the bread is better for this. Eat. The. Bread." and he loved sandwiches again. 2 pieces of bread were better than missing out or turning to another food option simply to save 20g of carbs.
Sorry, long post, but I always want to ask the paragons of LC diets if they have a line in the sand when it comes to certain things.
Lisa
I no longer use fiber sweeteners for this reason.
Sean
--Hi Lisa;
What do you use in your recipe now as a substitute foi the fiber sweetener?
Thanks
-Sean -:)
Lisa MarcAurele
I use ChocZero Honest Syrup. It doesn't seem to impact like Vitafiber does.
Julie
Why the rant? Look at the amount of time and trouble you went to, too point out your reason why you wouldn’t make this. If people want to make the tootsie rolls they can and if not, they don’t have to. I personally choose easy LC recipes to make but if a more complicated recipe looks good I will make it.
Helen Peachey
Looked at this recipe and then the price of the ViterFiber Syrup here in the UK and it's way out of my pocket .
Lisa
You can use Sukrin clear syrup instead.
Joan snyd.
Hi Lisa! Do you think this recipe would make an EatMore like chocolate bar? Not sure if that's just a Canadian bar, but it's a chocolate toffee with lots of peanuts in it.
Lisa
I'm not familiar with that, but if it's a chew bar with peanuts, it could work.
Joan snyd
OMG... It's fantastic! I used some peanut butter cup whey protein powder, 1 cup of roughly chopped peanuts, lard instead butter, and a wee bit more vitafiber syrup
Lisa
Nice flavor combo!
Ron
I've been following your low-carb recipes since I am a diabetic and I love what you do for the world!
In this Tootsie Roll recipe, your "new" (to me) use of VitaFiber (an IMO-type sweetener) got me to look at your Amazon reference and do a little research. I came across a scientific-sounding paper about IMO's. It is concerned with whether the carbs in an IMO are actually digested (a question that arose since some diabetics on Amazon say they spike on IMO's). This independent paper seems to conclude with "Most of these carbohydrates are fully digested" in an IMO (and in this case, it's the FIBER that is fermented into carbs in the colon, at about 69%-to-83% of the rate of pure maltose). Remember, since this is in the colon, the spike is much, MUCH later in time than a stomach or small intestine spike. Their web address is http://easacademy.org/trainer-resources/article/isomalto-oligosaccharides and the author is Steve Hertzler, PhD, RD, LD.
SO, might there a workable alternative for diabetics like me for the VitaFiber IMO? I know you say use "other oligosaccharide syrup" in your recipe, but another study says similarly to the above "oligosaccharides are fiber in most senses of the word (in particular, they would fall under the categories of both soluble fiber and fermentable fiber)". If the colon effectively ferments some (or all) of the fiber that gets to it in these sweeteners, we probably cannot continue to subtract all sweetener fiber from the total sweetener carbs to get what we may like to have as the net carbs. Besides, all my doctors say it doesn't work as simply as subtracting all fiber from all carbs (period) -- and they are not nice about their position for diabetics!
Well, I want Tootsie Rolls SO bad, I want this to work with some kind of alternative. Can we make a syrup of sorts from other sweeteners than the fermentable oligosaccharide syrups that could be substituted in this recipe?
Lisa
I only use IMO syrup in small quantities since I realized it wasn't so low carb. It's also the sweetener used in Quest bars and a few other protein bars. The fiber does seem to impact me and I avoid fiber based sweeteners as much as I can now.
I wish I knew of a great aleternative, but there really isn't one. Glycerine could work to a degree, but it may also impact insulin.
Karon
Would yacon syrup work as a replacement?
CeliaT
Sorry I'm late to the discussion on this... I have the same problem with glucose spikes. The only way I can use any of these syrups is to have anything made with them following a fat, and then only eat about half of a typical serving. Not great, but better than nothing :-).
Lisa
That's pretty much true for any carb. The effect is less eaten following fat. I believe, some of the carbs in the IMO syrup are digestible.
Sydney
These look great! Any chance of doing a dairy free version of this?
Lisa
You could try replacing butter with coconut oil. The milk powder and whey protein could probably be replaced with dairy free protein powder.
Sam
These look great! Thank you for the link back to my original post :). Vitafiber is a seriously amazing product! I've been really into baking with the powder version lately!
-Sam
Lisa
Thanks for sharing the original recipe Sam! Although I purchased some of the VitaFiber powder, I have not tried it yet in baking. I'm loving the IMO syrup.