Almond Flour Keto Shortbread Cookies Recipe

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I’m so excited to share this keto shortbread cookies recipe this time of year! Some people refer to the festive time at the end of the year as “the holiday season.” But I propose a new name: Cookie Season! And Cookie Season should be celebrated with the best gluten-free shortbread cookies recipe you can find (hint: keep reading). These almond flour shortbread cookies are among my favorites… and very shortly, they’ll be yours, too. I love making this low carb almond flour cookies recipe for the holidays (or any time… because Cookie Season should be enjoyed 12 months a year, who’s with me?). They are so unbelievably quick and easy, and you’re going to love this keto cookies almond flour recipe!

We may not celebrate Christmas at our house, but I’m still aaaaall about the holiday season. Um, I mean Cookie Season!

Just 4 ingredients and 10 minutes of prep time are needed for these low carb almond flour cookies – who doesn’t love that?! (That’s 4 ingredients for the basic shortbread – you’ll need a couple more if you want the chocolate dipped effect.)

This low carb almond flour shortbread cookies recipe was originally published on November 12, 2016, and updated in November 2019 with new pictures and additional tips. I even added the option to make them chocolate dipped, which I highly recommend.

If you’re curious about what my older pictures of low carb almond flour cookies looked like, here is one:

Simple & Easy Low Carb Almond Flour Cookies Ingredients

This simple keto shortbread cookie recipe needs just 4 simple ingredients:

• Blanched almond flour
• Butter
• Erythritol
• Vanilla extract

Obviously you need almond flour to make almond flour shortbread cookies. Beyond that, it’s just some butter, sweetener, and flavoring extract.

So, you can see that making some keto almond shortbread cookies to enjoy with your favorite bulletproof coffee or tea is pretty darn simple, but here are some tips for choosing these ingredients:

• Make sure you use a finely ground blanched almond flour rather than almond meal. You need that if you want the best keto shortbread cookies you’ve ever had; it really helps with the texture.
• Butter is going to be far superior to any alternatives in this recipe. You can absolutely use ghee or even coconut oil for a dairy free option, but if you’re able to use butter, it’s going to give you the best flavor and texture.
• Use salted butter or add couple pinches of salt to the cookie dough. It really balances out the sweetener and gives an overall better flavor.
• This recipe for keto cookies with almond flour uses erythritol, but you could choose any granulated sweetener from this list of approved keto sweeteners.

How To Make Keto Shortbread Cookies

These four-ingredient almond flour keto cookies are so easy to make… and oh-so-delicious. Seriously, you won’t believe that they’re sugar free, gluten-free, and (almost) carb-free when you take your first bite!

Here’s how to make gluten-free shortbread cookies:

• Cream butter and sweetener. Using a mixer, cream your butter and erythritol together until it’s nice and fluffy and light in color.

• Beat in other ingredients. Beat in the vanilla, then begin to add in your almond flour. Do it gradually, around half a cup at a time. It will be crumbly.

• Form cookies. Using a cookie scoop, scoop out the gluten-free shortbread cookie dough and place onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
• Flatten the cookies. Flatten each dough ball to about 1/3″ thick; make sure they are all about the same size and thickness to cook well.

• Bake the gluten-free shortbread cookies. Bake until golden, and let cool completely before removing from pan.

That’s it. That’s all you need to do to make the best almost flour shortbread cookies you’ve ever had!

How To Make Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies With Chocolate Dipped Edges

For the chocolate dipped almond flour cookie recipe you see in some of these pictures, there are just a couple more steps after the cookies have cooled:

• Melt sugar-free chocolate with a little coconut oil in a double boiler.
• Dip the cookies halfway into the chocolate and place onto a pan lined with parchment paper.
• Immediately sprinkle with chopped nuts before the chocolate sets.
• Chill in the refrigerator before handling, until the chocolate is firm.

Those look much prettier and more festive than the plain ones below, don’t you think?

Tips For The Best Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies

While it is incredibly easy to make these gluten free shortbread cookies keto, there are a few things to pay attention to if you want them as good as they can be!

Creaming the butter and sweetener together is a must.

Use a hand mixer to mix your butter and sweetener together. This is called “creaming.” Always begin at a lower speed, so that butter and sweetener don’t fly everywhere, then increase as it starts to incorporate.

This method creates little pockets of air, so you end up with more cookies… and more is never a bad thing when you’re talking cookies, is it?

Also, because the air doesn’t conduct heat as well, the butter and sweetener in the cookies melts more slowly during baking. That means your keto almond cookies end up with a more delicate crumb.

Please note: This method doesn’t work quite as well with coconut oil, which is why the texture is a little different if using that, but it does still work to some degree.

Start with butter that’s soft, but not too soft.

Now, if your softened butter is too warm, it won’t form those air pockets. That’s why you want to let it soften naturally instead of speeding up the process in the microwave.

Take it out of the fridge, cut it up, and wait about 10-15 minutes – that’s the “just right” level of softness for this sugar-free almond flour cookies recipe.

Of course, if it’s summer or you’ve been cooking a lot, you’ll need less time. A kitchen that is much warmer than 70 degrees F will speed up this process.

Don’t overbeat the butter.

If you spend too long creaming the butter and erythritol, the air will actually break down and have the opposite effect of what you want. Five minutes is perfect.

Use blanched almond flour.

The type of almond flour you use is important. It needs to be blanched almond flour to be the right texture for sugar free shortbread cookies.

Add almond flour gradually.

Remember that tip about not over-beating your ingredients? That’s why you need to go slowly.

If you dump in your almond flour all in at once, it won’t mix as well and you’ll end up doing it too long to get the result you want. And then, your shortbread keto cookies won’t have that perfect shortbread crumb… so do it gradually. It’ll be worth it!

Scrape the sides of the bowl.

Take your spatula and scrape the sides of the bowl back into the batter while you’re creaming the butter, and again after adding the almond flour.

If you skip this step, you’ll end up with some pieces being more dense than others.

Pack the dough gently into the cookie scoops.

If it’s too loose in there, it might not stay together when you release, so be sure to pack it in (gently).

One lightly packed tablespoon of dough, flattened to about 1/3″ thickness, is going to give you the most delightful low carb shortbread cookies!

Adjust oven time.

There are many factors that will affect that baking time for this keto cookies almond flour recipe, including cookie thickness, the pan you use, what you lined it with, your oven size and temperature gauge, and even the weather outside.

So, be sure to check on your almond flour cookie recipe promptly after 10 minutes in the oven, and then every couple minutes after that.

Don’t open the oven too far to check because the oven temperature will drop. It’s best to use a light if you have one and just a tiny crack of the door, when needed.

Be patient after baking.

When they first come out of the oven, your almond flour shortbread cookies will be too soft and crumbly.

Let them cool completely before handling them so that they can get nice and crispy! Just like low carb almond cookies should be.

How To Store Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies

Like most almond flour cookie recipes, this is one will last a while on the counter – at least a few days in an airtight container is fine.

If you want to keep them even longer, the fridge is fine for over a week. If they soften due to humidity, you can pop them in the oven at low temperature for a bit, then let them cool to crisp up.

How To Freeze Keto Cookies With Almond Flour

If you want to bake these keto almond shortbread cookies fresh for a party, a holiday, or just because you like still-warm-from-the-oven yumminess, you can! Make the cookie dough and freeze it. Lots of options here:

• Freeze a whole ball of dough and then thaw later to make the gluten-free shortbread cookies.
• Scoop out the raw dough to form cookies qand freeze them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Once solid, transfer to a plastic freezer bag. When ready to place in the oven, you can just bake the frozen cookies.
• Freeze the keto cookies with almond flour after they are already baked. Thaw in the fridge or on the counter.

More Keto Cookies With Almond Flour

If you like these almond flour shortbread cookies, you might also like some of these other gluten-free cookies made with almond flour:

• Keto Macarons – So light, sweet, and elegant — it’s easy to make this classic cookie low carb with this no-fail recipe.
• Keto Pumpkin Cookies – This cookie combines the classic fall flavors in a perfectly spiced pumpkin cookie!
• Low Carb Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Cookies – If you want a boost of protein with your cookies, this is the treat for you.
• Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cookies – The classic cookie gets a healthy upgrade that’s both keto and low carb. It’s a favorite for a reason!
• Low Carb Gingerbread Cookies – These adorable gingerbread cookies need to make your holiday baking list!

• Hand mixer – The key to the best texture in almond flour cookies no sugar is beating the butter and sweetener with a hand mixer first. This one is nice and compact.
• Stand mixer – If you want to, you can also use a stand mixer instead of a hand mixer to mix up the sugarless almond flour cookies dough.
• Medium cookie scoop – This ensures perfectly sized almond flour cookies keto that bake evenly every time.
• Sheet pan – This is one of my favorite sheet pans. They never stick!
• Double boiler – Use this for melting chocolate to dip your low carb shortbread cookies.

4.82 from 174 votes

Almond Flour Keto Shortbread Cookies Recipe

This buttery keto shortbread cookies recipe with almond flour has just 4 INGREDIENTS & 1g net carb each! Low carb almond flour cookies taste just like real shortbread. No one can tell they're gluten-free shortbread cookies.

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 12 minutes

Total: 22 minutes

Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings: 18 (adjust to scale recipe)

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Ingredients

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Basic Keto Shortbread Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups Wholesome Yum Blanched Almond Flour ▢
• 6 tbsp Butter (softened; can use coconut oil for dairy-free, but flavor and texture will be different) * ▢
• 1/3 cup Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend (or 1/2 cup pure allulose or pure erythritol) ▢
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract ▢

Optional Chocolate Dip

• 1/2 cup Sugar-free dark chocolate chips ▢
• 2 tsp Coconut oil ▢
• 3 tbsp Pecans (chopped) ▢

Try My New Fluffy, Chewy Keto Bread Mix!

GET KETO BREAD MIX

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

Basic Keto Shortbread Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat together the butter and erythritol, until it's fluffy and light in color.

3. Beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the almond flour, 1/2 cup (64 g) at a time. (The dough will be dense and a little crumbly, but should stick when pressed together.)

4. Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie to about 1/3 in (.8 cm) thick. (You can make them thicker or thinner to your liking. Keep in mind they will not spread or thin out during baking, so make them as thin as you want them when done.)

5. Bake for about 12 minutes, until the edges are golden. Allow to cool completely in the pan before handling (cookies will harden as they cool).

Optional Chocolate Dip

1. Allow gluten-free shortbread cookies to cool and harden completely before dipping in chocolate. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper (one that will fit in your fridge).

2. Melt sugar-free chocolate and coconut oil in a double boiler. Once melted, dip the cookies halfway into the chocolate and place onto the lined pan. Immediately sprinkle with chopped nuts before the chocolate sets.

3. Chill in the refrigerator before handling, until the chocolate is firm.

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Recipe Notes

Serving size: 1 cookie

• Nutrition info does not include optional chocolate dip and pecans.
• Salted butter is recommended. If using unsalted, add couple pinches of sea salt to the dough in step 3.
• Want to make these with coconut flour? Use this coconut flour shortbread cookie recipe.
• Want these flavored with almond flavor and keto brown sugar? These keto almond cookies are for you!

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 124

Fat 12g

Protein 3g

Total Carbs 3.3g

Net Carbs 1.7g

Fiber 1.6g

Sugar 1g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keywords: almond flour shortbread cookies, gluten-free shortbread cookies, keto cookies with almond flour, keto shortbread cookies

Calories: 124 kcal

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