Did you don’t have to give up cookies when you are on the keto diet? My almond flour shortbread cookies recipe will make enough to last all week. And the best part is they are low carb cookies!
Keto Shortbread Cookies
Have you ever had a craving for cookies right when you are cutting out sugar? It’s the worst! All you want is something crunchy with a hint of sweetness. They are so indulgent and such a fun treat.
I knew there had to be a way to create a recipe for cookies that were both low carb and high protein. A snack that would fit into my new keto lifestyle.
Low Carb Flour
The key to making these almond shortbread cookies and keeping them low carb is the type of flour you use to make them.
The best low carb flour is almond flour. It is high protein and since it comes from nuts, doesn’t have many carbohydrates. In fact, 1 cup of almond flour has 160 calories, 6 grams of carbs and 3 grams of fiber. Making this only 6 total carbs or 3 net carbs per serving. Bob’s Red Mill is one of my favorite almond flours. You can also find reasonably priced organic almond flour in bulk at Costco.
The only thing is that when you make shortbread cookies with almond flour, the dough is super crumbly and doesn’t stick together very well.
That is why I added xanthan gum to the recipe. It is a natural ingredient that acts as a glue and helps hold the cookie ingredients together.
I also added some coconut flour to help give them a bit of thickness and to cut down on the nutty flavor of the almond flour.
How to Make Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies
If you know how to make drop cookies, you can make these. The only difference between these shortbread cookies and drop cookies is that you will roll out the dough and cut them into the cookie shapes.
They won’t spread out or rise very much. They will basically maintain their shape as they bake.
If you want to skip the cookie cutters, you can roll the shortbread dough into a log. Then, you just slice and bake. You will not need to shape the dough.
The entire recipe for these cookies is in the recipe card at the end of this post. You can easily jump to recipe by scrolling to the bottom. Here is an overview of the recipe real quick.
Low Carb Cookies Ingredients
There are only 6 easy ingredients in this recipe. In fact, after making them one time, you’ll have this recipe memorized.
Here is what you will need from the store before you make these yummy cookies:
- Almond flour
- Unsalted butter
- Coconut flour
- Swerve
- Xanthan gum
- Salt
What to Eat with Keto Cookies
You might be tempted to dunk them into milk. If you do, choose unsweetened non-dairy milk or the most full fat dairy you feel comfortable drinking. High-fat dairy has less lactose than milk so it’s better on Keto than a low fat milk or whole milk. It will have fewer carbs and sugar.
Unsweetened Almond Milk
Unsweetened almond milk is my favorite non-dairy milk choice when you are on a low carb or keto diet. In fact, one cup of almond milk only has only one gram of net carbs and three grams of fat. It has tons of nutrients as well.
Low Carb Berries
You can also eat these with a side of your favorite low carb fruit like raspberries or blackberries. Those are you best choices on the keto diet.
These Keto Shortbread bars also go great as a little sweet treat that you can dip into a cup of coffee or a hot tea.
If you choose low carb drinks and sides with them, you will stay on track and stay in ketosis. These can be a really great way to fulfill those sugar cravings without throwing your body out of ketosis.
You can also do what I did here and top the Keto Coconut Shortbread Cookies with Keto Whipped Cream. You can get the Low Carb Whipped Cream recipe here. Then, I used a mircoplane to grate fat bomb shavings on top. Here is my favorite fat bomb recipe. You can also grate low carb chocolate.
How to Make Keto Shortbread Cookies?
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F.
Sift the Almond and Coconut flour.
Mix the almond and coconut flour, the xanthan gum, and the salt together in one bowl.
In a separate bowl, cream the room temperature butter and the swerve together until completely combined.
Mix the dry ingredients with the creamed butter and combine.
Form the dough into a ball.
The almond flour is gluten free, and although it’s helped by the xanthan gum, it still will be a little bit crumbly.
Once it is rolled out to a quarter into in thickness, use a knife or a cake scraper to cut out the cookies into triangles.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the cookies onto a cookie sheet on a baking tray and bake for 12 minutes.
Take them off the baking sheet and set on a rack to cool completely before adding any toppings.
Can you Freeze Almond Shortbread Cookies?
Almond Shortbread Coookies will keep in the freezer for up to 3 or 4 weeks. After baking the keto shortbread cookies, allow the low carb shortbread cookies to cool completely. Store the cookies in flat-bottomed, square or rectangular plastic containers with an airtight lid. Line the bottom of each container with waxed paper or plastic wrap. Repeat between each layer of cookies, ending with the paper/wrap. Label with cookie type and date frozen. Before serving, thaw the cookies overnight in the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature.
Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 225 g almond flour
- 225 g unsalted butter softened
- 110 g coconut flour
- 110 g Swerve
- 2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix the almond and coconut flour, the xanthan gum, and the salt together in one bowl. I sifted them to make sure everything was smooth.
- In a separate bowl, cream the butter and the swerve together until completely combined.
- Mix the dry ingredients with the creamed butter and combine.
- Form the dough into a ball. The almond flour has no gluten, and although it's helped by the xanthan gum, it still will be a little bit crumbly.
- Once you form it into a ball, use a rolling pin to gently roll the dough out. It may need some reshaping to maintain consistency.
- Once it is rolled out to a quarter into in thickness, use a knife or a cake scraper to cut out the cookies into triangles.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the cookies onto a cookie sheet on a baking tray and bake for 12 minutes.
- Take them off the baking sheet and set on a rack to cool completely before adding any toppings.
More Low Carb Sweets
I have more low carb treats here on the April Golightly. Here are some of my favorite recipes you should try next.
- This yummy Keto Hot Chocolate will keep you warm on cold days and keep your sugar cravings at bay.
- Are you looking for better yummier ways to meet your fat goals for the day? These Keto Chocolate Fat Bombs are the bomb!!
- Keto Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
This looks super yummy for a Keto Recipe. I cannot wait to try it.
I haven’t made this recipe, yet. I’ve been gathering the ingredients.
It would have been time saving and very helpful for the amounts of ingredients to have been stated in equivalent quantities – grams = ounces or cups.