Buttery and totally irresistible: Keto sugar cookies taste just like traditional sugar cookies, only without the carb load. This easy sugar free cookie recipe requires only 6 ingredients and is gluten-free, grain free, low carb and suitable for diabetics. 1g net carbs per cookie!
If you're looking for an easy and yum cookie recipe, you are reading the right post. These low carb and sugar free cookies are the perfect buddies for your afternoon coffee or tea. You can enjoy them plain, decorate them with sugar free icing or dip them in sugar free chocolate.
I've been wanting to make sugar free sugar cookies for a while now. One reason for this is that I love simple, no-nonsense cookies and these almond flour sugar cookies totally fit the bill.
The other reason is that "sugar free sugar cookies" just sounds so fun.
I've replaced the wheat flour in the traditional sugar cookie recipe with a mix of almond flour and coconut flour. I find that a mixture of these two grain free and gluten-free flours gives a texture that resembles "real" cookies.
There are recipes which include cream cheese and egg in sugar cookies (I have done this with my Low Carb Sugar Free Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies), which results in a softer, chewy texture.
For these Keto cookies I was after a gently crispy texture, which I achieved by using butter (plenty of butter!!).
You can roll the cookie dough into a log and slice them into circles or you can roll the dough out and use cookie cutters.
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Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
- Almond flour - Use regular almond flour or ground almonds. Reduce the amount by 1 tablespoon for super-fine almond flour.
- Coconut flour - sifted.
- Powdered sweetener - I used an erythritol monk fruit sweetener blend. Erythritol is best for crunchy keto cookies because it sets hard.
- Butter - softened.
- Baking powder
- Vanilla extract - check that it is sugar free.
- Xanthan gum - optional. Gives the cookies a better crumb structure. The recipe works without, but your cookies will be a little more brittle.
Instructions
(This section contains step by step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. Find the recipe card with ingredient amounts and nutritional information at the bottom of the post.)
Step 1: Mix your dry ingredients - almond flour or ground almonds, coconut flour, powdered sweetener, baking powder and xanthan gum, if using.
Step 2: Add the wet ingredients. That's just the softened butter and the vanilla extract.
Step 3: Mix! I like to use a food processor for this, but you can use an immersion blender or a regular electric mixer.
The dough will be soft in the beginning. Let it sit a couple of minutes and wait until the coconut flour absorbs some of the moisture.
Step 4: Put the cookie dough on cling film and roll into a log. Wrap the log in cling film and chill in the fridge or in the freezer. It's much easier to handle when it's cold.
Step 5: Cut off round cookie shapes. If the log gets flat at the bottom due to the knife pressing down, just give it another quick roll.
Step 6: Transfer onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. If you would like them thinner, simply flatten with your hands after you place them on the baking tray.
Step 6: Bake in the oven until lightly browned on the edges.
Top tips
Use parchment paper. I always line my cookie sheet with parchment paper. If you haven't got any, spray your tray with coconut oil to ensure the cookies won't stick.
Give them room. Space the cookies out on the tray. They spread a little while they bake.
Check during baking. Ovens do vary in temperature and how long your cookies will take to brown also depends on how thick you cut them. Check in on them after 8 minutes and take it from there. Super-sized cookies may need up to 15 minutes until they are ready.
Patience! Do not attempt to handle until they're cooled down. Keto cookies are VERY FRAGILE when hot. They firm up once cool and will be fluffy and light, gently crispy and simply delicious.
FAQ
Yes. To make sugar free cut-out cookies, separate the dough into 2 balls. Roll the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper until it has the desired thickness and place the whole lot into the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Again, cooling the dough before using the cookie cutters is an absolutely essential step.
Yes. Use an additional 1 cup or 100 grams of super-fine almond flour in place of the coconut flour. Use 1 ¼ cup or 125 grams if using ground almonds.
Yes, you can prepare the dough in advance and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Variations
Use fresh vanilla. To elevate the taste of these low carb sugar cookies, scrape out the seeds from 1 vanilla pod and use this in place of the vanilla extract. This is not the cheapest option, but will taste AMAZING.
Dairy-free. Use ⅓ cup or 80ml coconut oil instead of butter.
Nut-free. Try replacing the almond flour with a blend of sunflower seed and sesame seed flour.
Add-ins. It's easy to add different flavors to this basic sugar free cookies recipe. Here are some ideas:
- Low carb almond thins - substitute 1 teaspoon of vanilla with 1 teaspoon of almond extract
- Low carb gingersnap cookies - add 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon of cloves
- Keto cinnamon cookies - add 2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of ground coffee
- Keto chocolate chip cookies - add ¼ cup of sugar free chocolate chips.
Serving suggestions
If you're a purist, you can eat these sugar free sugar cookies straight up as they are. Here are more ideas:
Dust or dip in sweetener. To take it up a notch, dust them with powdered sweetener after baking. Alternatively, reduce the sweetener amount stated for the recipe to ¼ cup and dip the cookies in granulated sweetener BEFORE baking. That should add a nice crunch.
Dip in chocolate. Melt sugar free chocolate or 90% dark chocolate and dip the cookies or drizzle them with chocolate.
Cream cheese frosting. Mix ½ cup of cream cheese with ¼ cup soft butter, ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract and ¼ cup powdered sweetener.
ICING! Use ¼ cup of powdered sweetener and mix with 1 tablespoon water. Add food colouring, if desired, and brush over cookies or simply dip them into the icing mix bowl. Let dry on a cookie rack.
Storage
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Related recipes
I love sugar-free cookies so much that I have published an entire ebook about them - the Keto Cookies Cookbook. Here are more must-make cookie recipes:
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Keto Sugar 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. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 1 cup / 100g almond flour or ground almonds
- ⅓ cup / 35g coconut flour
- ⅓ cup / 35g powdered sweetener
- ½ cup / 120g unsalted butter softened
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum optional
Instructions
- Mix all dry ingredients - almond flour, coconut flour, sweetener, baking powder, xanthan gum (if using).
- Add the butter and vanilla extract and blend until you have a smooth dough
- Place dough on cling film and roll into a log, about 2 inch in diameter. Chill in the freezer for 15-20 minutes (or in the fridge for 30-40 minutes).
- Preheat the oven to 175 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit.
- Remove log from the freezer and cut off cookies. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten with your fingers. Leave some space between the cookies - they spread a little.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are browned. Baking time will depend on the thickness of cookies. Rotate the baking sheet if necessary.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely before handling. Low carb cookies are VERY soft when hot. They crisp up once cooled.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Patty
Hello. Do you know what would be a good substitute for xanthan gum?
Katrin Nürnberger
You could try powdered chia seeds, agar agar or guar gum.
judi
Hi,
I am allergic to almonds and coconut, what can I use for a flour substitute? would whole wheat or spelt flour work?
thanks,
judi
Katrin Nürnberger
It would probably work, but I have not tried it. It may be easier to find a wheat or spelt flour cookie recipe and simply replace the sugar with a sugar substitute.
Angelina
I made some of these yesterday. They taste nice but they didn't go crunchy, they're soft like mini cakes. Would adding the xanthan gum help?
Katrin Nürnberger
Xanthan gum actually does not make bakes crunchier, it is just a binder in place of gluten. Baking them longer will help the cookies crisp up, and making them flatter.
Attila
This is an easy recipe to follow, though the log I made didn't look nearly as nice as the one on the pictures. But the taste was nice. I used most of the cookies to create chocolate tiffin and they worked very well for that.
Thanks for the recipe:)
Karen W
Hi Can I use almond butter and change to tapioca starch or green banana flour and no sweetener may be I will just try have the mix and see what happens
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, that's a lot of changes. You'd have to go by the consistency of your cookie dough.
Karen W
ok I'm going to try them today so will let you know how I get on
Karen W
I used tapioca flour and tahini with honey in it and they came out lovely have made them a few times now
Katrin Nürnberger
That sounds yummy!
Chef K
Can you use truvia on this?
Katrin Nürnberger
You can use any low carb sweetener. Do check that it's a 1:1 sugar replacement. Some sweeteners are twice as sweet as sugar.
Eve
So I didn’t read that it’s supposed to be powdered sweetener and I used Monk fruit golden instead but it came out fine. I tried one batch as your ginger cookies which are great but still needed something so I made the icing but added a little cinnamon and just striped them. Then I made the cinnamon espresso ones OMG I think dipping in them and chocolate would be great next time but I ran out of time lol. Sugar cookies were great as is. In the future I might make a lemon glaze. I want to say thank you I love so many of your recipes.
Katrin Nürnberger
That's so good to hear! Sounds like you had a cookie baking marathon!
Chelsea
Do you have to roll it into a log or can I roll it out to use cutters?
Katrin Nürnberger
You can also roll out the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Make sure that it's really cold when using cookie cutters so it is easier to work with. If it's sticky, simply place the rolled out dough in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Christina Johnson
They were awesome
Sarah
Hi,
This recipe looks great! I will be trying it this week.
How long will the cookies stay fresh for? What is the best way to store them?
Katrin Nürnberger
I store mine in an airtight container at room temperature - like you would other cookies,
Ellis den Hartog
Fantastic cookies, so easy to make. Thank you!
Donna L Helps
Made for the first time, and both my husband and I really liked them. I love making homemade cookies, but since my husband was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes I didn't think it was fair. These were the first ones I tried. I can't wait to try the oatmeal and raisin cookies, but need to figure out how much almond and coconut flour to use in place of flour.
Katrin Nürnberger
Glad you liked the cookies! I have a recipes for keto oatmeal cookies that you may like to try.
Laura
I SO want to add a pinch of salt… no?
Katrin Nürnberger
Of course! That always works well 🙂
Tracey
Can I use all almond flour?
Katrin Nürnberger
That should work, although you cannot replace the coconut flour 1:1. You would need around 3x as much almond flour as coconut flour, so probably 1 cup.
Rita
I don’t have xanthan gum, what does it do to the cookie and how will it be without?
Katrin Nürnberger
The cookies will be more fragile, especially when warm. Xanthan gum gives Tham a stronger crumb structure. It's possible to omit it, but you'll have to NOT TOUCH THEM AT ALL until they are fully cooled.
Candice
Can I use monk fruit sugar crystals? Thanks
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, as long as it's a 1:1 sugar replacement. If your sweetener is sweeter (some are twice as sweet as sugar), you'll have to change the quantities.
Wendy
One word - WOW!!!! I have missed cookies like this so much (T2D), and what a game changer to capture that flavor. I sliced the dough a little thick (I should have watched the helpful video), though I was able to achieve a crisp bite by turning the oven off and leaving them in over night. I made the plain cookie, which is amazing with a delicate sweet flavor and almost reminds me of the Girl Scouts Shortbread Cookies. This really is a great cookie to have with coffee or dip in a chocolate or vanilla glaze.
I will definitely make these cookies AGAIN AND AGAIN!!
Thank you for the fabulous recipe!!
Mamello Mashoba
Great recipe, I thought I had made a mistake with the recipe not including an egg but it tastes amazing and super easy.
Marija Petkovic
Perfect recipe! Easy to make and very tasty.
Janice
So easy and taste awesome.
Tanziha
Nothing has ever exceeded my expectation like this recipe did. Love love LOVE it!
laura Griffith
You are the Smart Cookie !! Thank you for this recipe. I have some fun cookie cutters I wanted
to use and give these cookies to the folks at work.
Terri L Koury
Just made these and they are absolutely PERFECT!! Bookmarking, posting and remaking SOON!!
Colleen Page
I just made these and they are so easy and taste fabulous! I used 2tsp of almond extract because I love almond cookies and then dipped half of the cookie in Lily’s melted chocolate. They are one of the best cookies I have ever had. Thank you for the recipe!!
Gabriela Guzman
Hi,
Can I substitute butter with coconut oil?
Thanks
Gaby
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, that would work 🙂
Bessie Rogers
I AM GOING TO TRY THIS SOUNDS GOOD HAVE TO SHOP FIRST BUT I AM EXCITED
Ming Siew
Can I use coconut flour only without the almond flour?
Katrin Nürnberger
You could try - although you would have to change the quantities. Normally, you can replace almond flour with 1/3 to 1/2 the amount of coconut flour. Your cookies will probably also be more crumbly so add 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum.