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In This Post
- Why You’ll Love These Keto Shortbread Cookies
- How To Make Almond Flour Cookies
- Tips For The Best Almond Flour Cookies
- Variations
- Storage Instructions
- How To Freeze Keto Shortbread Cookies
- More Almond Flour Cookie Recipes
- Recommended Tools
- Keto Shortbread Almond Flour CookiesRecipe card
- Recipe Reviews
I’m so excited to share this keto shortbread cookies recipe this time of year. They are my favorite almond flour cookies… and very shortly, they might be yours, too. 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 these buttery almond flour shortbread cookies. 😉
Why You’ll Love These Keto Shortbread Cookies
- Rich buttery flavor
- Soft, delicate, and chewy texture
- Easy to make, using just one bowl
- 4 simple ingredients
- No eggs needed
- Only 10 minutes prep time
- 1g net carb each
- Keto friendly, low, carb, grain-free, and gluten-free treat
Ingredients & Substitutions
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for almond flour shortbread cookies, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
Basic Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies:
- Wholesome Yum Almond Flour – Of course you need almond flour for almond flour cookies! This one is super finely ground and blanched, which is important if you want the best keto shortbread cookies without a gritty texture. Almond meal is not recommended, as the result will be grainy or gritty. If you need a nut-free version, make coconut flour shortbread cookies like this instead.
- Butter – Butter is going to be far superior to any alternatives in this almond flour cookie recipe. You can use ghee or even coconut oil for a dairy-free (or vegan) option, but butter gives the best flavor and texture. I recommend using salted butter, or adding a pinch of salt if your butter is unsalted, to balance the sweetener. Be sure your butter is softened at room temperature before you begin.
- Sweetener – I use Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend, as it yields the best texture and doesn’t dry out the cookies. (It also has 0 net carbs and no aftertaste.) You can choose another granulated sweetener from the list of approved keto sweeteners (and use the sweetener conversion chart to substitute), but texture and flavor will vary.
- Vanilla Extract – With so few ingredients in these keto shortbread cookies, the quality will make a big difference. I like this brand.
Optional Chocolate Dip:
- Sugar-Free Chocolate – Any kind will work, but I love this brand of sugar-free chocolate chips.
- Coconut Oil – Helps the chocolate harden after cooling, and also makes it beautifully shiny (instead of matte) when set.
- Chopped Nuts – I used pecans, but any other keto nuts will work.
How To Make Almond Flour Cookies
This section shows how to make keto shortbread cookies with almond flour, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
Basic Keto Shortbread Cookies:
- Cream butter and sweetener. Using a mixer, cream your butter and Besti together in a large mixing bowl, until it’s fluffy and light in color.
- Beat in other ingredients. Beat in the vanilla, then begin to add in the almond flour. Do it gradually, around half a cup at a time. The dough will be crumbly.
- Form. Using a cookie scoop, scoop out the gluten-free shortbread cookie dough and place onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
- Flatten. Flatten each dough ball to about 1/3 inch thick; make sure they are all about the same size and thickness to cook well. Prick with a fork.
- Bake. Bake the almond flour shortbread cookies until golden. Cool completely before removing from pan, as they will be fragile at first.
Optional Chocolate Dipped Edges:
- Melt sugar-free chocolate with a little coconut oil in a double boiler.
- Dip the almond flour cookies halfway into the chocolateand place onto a pan lined with parchment paper.
- Immediately sprinkle with chopped nutsbefore the chocolate sets.
- Chill in the refrigerator before handling, until the chocolate is firm.
Tips For The Best Almond Flour Cookies
While it is incredibly easy to make these gluten free shortbread cookies keto, there are a few things to pay attention to:
- Cream the butter correctly. Always begin with your hand mixer 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 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.
- Start with butter that’s soft, but not too soft. 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 these almond flour shortbread cookies.
- Don’t over-beat the butter. If you do, 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 beblanched almond flour to be the right texture for keto shortbread cookies.
- Add almond flour gradually. If you dump it in in at once, it won’t mix as well and you’ll end up mixing it for too long, affecting the final texture.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl. Stop to scrape when 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 scoop. If it’s too loose in there, it might not stay together when you release. 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 as needed. There are many factors that will affect the baking time for these keto almond flour cookies, including cookie thickness, the pan you use, what you lined it with, your oven size and temperature gauge, and even the weather outside. So, check 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 firm up.
Variations
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies – Fold chocolate chips into the almond flour cookie dough before baking, instead of dipping. (These will be keto shortbread cookies with chocolate chips, so if you prefer a more classic chocolate chip cookie, make these keto chocolate chip cookies instead.)
- Thumbprint Cookies – Make a thumbprint in each cookie before baking and fill with your favorite jam. I like this brand, or sometimes make my own sugar-free chia jam.
- Extracts – Instead of vanilla, try almond extract or any other you like.
Storage Instructions
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.
How To Freeze Keto Shortbread Cookies
If you want to bake these keto almond flour 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 doughand 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 flourafterthey are already baked.Thaw in the fridge or on the counter.
More Almond Flour Cookie Recipes
If you like thesealmond flour shortbread cookies, you might also like some of these other sugar-free cookies made with almond flour:
Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
Keto Gingerbread Cookies
Sugar-Free Macarons
Keto Pumpkin Cookies
- Hand mixer– The key to the best texture in keto almond flour cookies (with 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 almond flour cookie dough.
- Medium cookie scoop– This ensures perfectly sized almond flour cookies 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.
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Recipe Card
Keto Shortbread Almond Flour Cookies
A buttery keto shortbread cookies recipe with just 4 ingredients & 1.7g net carbs! These almond flour cookies taste like real shortbread.
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
Optional Chocolate Dip
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
Basic Keto Shortbread Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat together the butter and Besti, until it's fluffy and light in color.
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.)
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.)
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
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).
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.
Chill in the refrigerator before handling, until the chocolate is firm.
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Low Carb Keto Cookies
Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
Coconut Flour Cookies
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.
Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.
Calories124
Fat12g
Protein3g
Total Carbs3.3g
Net Carbs1.7g
Fiber1.6g
Sugar1g
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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Keto Shortbread Almond Flour Cookies Recipe
