It's so easy to make these keto butter cookies! They are crisp on the outside and deliciously soft and buttery in the centre. My gluten free keto spritz cookies require only 6 ingredients and are ready in less than 25 minutes.
Butter cookies are a very traditional type of shortbread biscuit. They have a high butter content, which make the dough soft enough to be piped rather than cutting or shaping it by hand.
In my home country Germany we would call this type of butter cookie "Spritzgebäck". It's a popular Christmas cookie, but it's also enjoyed all year round as a classic afternoon biscuit.
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I made this recipe 3 times before I arrived at the perfect ingredient ratio. Here are all the reasons why you will love it:
🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Texture. Crisp on the outside and deliciously soft on the inside.
- Flavor. Delicate and ultra buttery, with lovely notes of almond and vanilla.
- Gluten-free. This recipe uses almond flour, which is grain free.
- Keto friendly. Only 0.8g net carbs per cookie.
- So pretty. I'll show you how easy it is to pipe them!
Ingredients
Let's take a look at the ingredients.
Almond Flour - I always use ground almonds in my recipes, which is equivalent to regular almond flour in the US. Super-fine almond flour should work just as well, but you may need 2 tablespoons less.
Butter - It is important that your butter is room temperature. Take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking.
Powdered Sweetener - I used powdered Bocha Sweet, but a powdered erythritol monk fruit sweetener, pure erythritol, xylitol or confectioners swerve will also work. I don't recommend using allulose because the cookies won't crisp up as well.
Vanilla Extract - An absolute essential for flavor. Make sure you choose a sugar free one.
Egg Yolk - Adding the egg yolk helps with the structure of the cookie.
Xanthan Gum - Optional. I added it to ensure the cookies have a sturdy texture.
Instructions
This section contains step-by-step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Blend the butter, egg yolk, vanilla extract and powdered sweetener until smooth, fluffy and airy.
You can use a bowl and hand mixer here, or a food processor like I did. If the butter is nice and soft, it's even possible to simply use a fork.
Combine almond flour and xanthan gum, add to the butter mix and blend until combined.
Fill the low carb cookie dough into a piping bag and pipe onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Important! Don't pipe the cookies too flat or they may become fragile. Also, leave space between the cookies as they will spread a little.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned on the ridges.
Let cool fully before touching. Almond flour cookies are very fragile when hot, but crisp up as they cool.
Equipment
Piping Bag - Choose a sturdy piping bag. I have made the dough as soft as it can be, but it does need to be pressed out of the nozzle.
Cookie Press - This is a good alternative to a piping bag.
No equipment - You won't be making keto spritz cookies since there's no piping, but you'll still make totally delicious Keto Butter Cookies. Simply scoop the dough with a spoon and shape it into round cookies.
Variations
Egg Free: The most basic sugar free butter cookies require just 4 ingredients - almond flour, powdered sweetener, vanilla and butter. You could roll this kind of dough into a log, chill it in the fridge or freezer and then slice.
Coconut Flour: Not recommended. Coconut flour is more brittle than almond flour and the cookies would crumble without at least 1 full egg.
Chocolate chip butter cookies: Add sugar-free chocolate chips such as Choczero or Lily's.
Dairy free: Use a vegan butter or coconut oil as a substitute.
Flavor options:
- Use 1 teaspoon of almond extract or orange extract
- Add lemon extract or the zest of lemons and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- Add an optional sprinkle of salt
- add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder for chocolate cookies
Toppings And Decorations
Here are a few variations I can think of for these shortbread cookies:
- Dip half of the baked cookie in melted sugar free chocolate
- Sprinkle with chopped nuts or coconut chips
- Top with granulated sweetener before baking
- Instead of piping, scoop cookies onto the baking sheet or silicone mat and press a criss-cross pattern on top with a fork
Storage
Store in an airtight cookie jar or container for up to 1 week. I found they were especially delicious on day two - delicate, crisp and utterly buttery.
It's possible to make the cookie dough ahead of time and freeze it for up to 3 months. When you're ready to bake, defrost to room temperature and proceed with the recipe.
More Keto Cookie Recipes
I love baking cookies so much that I have written an entire cookbook about it! Check out the Keto Cookies ebook here.
Here are more easy sugar free cookie recipes:
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Keto Butter Cookies
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cup almond flour or ground almonds, 200g
- ¾ cup butter room temperature, 170g
- ⅓ cup powdered sweetener 55g, use ½ cup for a sweeter cookie
- 1 egg yolk large
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract sugar free
- ⅛ teaspoon xanthan gum optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 C electric / 160C fan / 350 F.
- Blend the butter, egg yolk, vanilla extract and powdered sweetener for about 1 minute until smooth, fluffy and airy.
- Add the almond flour and xanthan gum and blend until combined. Taste the dough and adjust sweetener to taste.
- Fill the cookie dough into a piping bag and pipe onto a cookie sheet lined with baking paper. Make sure you don't pipe them too flat or they may become fragile. Also, leave space between the cookies as they will spread a little.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned on the ridges.
- Let the cookies cool fully before touching. They are very fragile when hot, but crisp up as they cool.
Sheila d
If you use less butter would the dough be stiff enough to roll out, and cut with cookie cutters?
Katrin Nürnberger
Probably. I made a test with 1/2 cup butter, and the taste was good. I did not try to roll out the dough though, so you would have to test it. A good dough for rolling out would be these keto sugar cookies. Always roll out dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and then freeze for 15 minutes. It's easier to cut out shapes when low carb dough is cold.
Nigel
Just taken these out oven so now cooling-off.
I used full egg and some crunchy peanut butter I think the sugar I am using is too light in weight and sweet . Using Aldi stevie sugar.
Look delicious though.
Debbie
Can you use a cookie press?
Katrin Nürnberger
I haven't tried it but it could work!
Rachid
Hi everyone,
I've made them yesterday with a cookie press ; it worked quite fine !
Next time I'll try with maybe 5g less of erythritol and 10g of butter and maybe a whole egg.
Thanks
Sneha Epstein
Hi Katrin, these look luscious! I'm not too fond of the erythritol monkfruit aftertaste in cookies though. Do you think liquid Monkfruit would work at all?
Katrin Nürnberger
It would make the batter more liquid, so I'd offset that by using 2 tbsp less butter and see how you get on.
Sneha Epstein
Sounds great, thank you for the tip!
Cathy Pitts
I love these! I made them without xantham gum, as I'm not a fan. They turned out amazing. Since I always bake with unsalted butter, next time I'll add a pinch of salt. This recipe has been added to my favorite keto cookies file. Thanks, again, for another winning recipe!
Cathy Pitts
Thank you! I've been craving spritz cookies since Christmas time. It's 3am here, so I'll need to wait until my husband is up and off to work. So excited!
Katrin Nürnberger
You're like me... online in the middle of the night!! Let me know how you liked these tomorrow - would love to hear 🙂
Katrin Nürnberger
It's the same one I use for piping whipped cream and frosting. No more than 1.5 cm at the tip.
Sarah in CA
does the tip have a number on it? I will have to look for a tip that is that diameter.
Katrin Nürnberger
I'm so sorry. There's no number.
Lourdes
I am going to try making them today. Waiting for the butter to reach room temperature. They sound delicious and very easy to make. Thank you
Katrin Nürnberger
Let me know how they turn out! I've already seen some pics by people who made them right away after I posted on Facebook - excited to hear whether you're giving them the thumbs up as well.
Michele Harvey
I want to bake these cookies but could you please tell us what temperature to bake them??
I'm presuming they might be baked on something like gas mark 5- 6 ??
Lori
I have been craving (and eating!) butter cookies so much lately. I need to try this keto version fast! In your pics you seem to be mixing it in a food processor. Is that necessary? Or can I just mix in a bowl with regular hand mixer? Thanks!
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Lori, you can absolutely use a hand mixer and a bowl!