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.
If you’re looking for an easy and yum cookie recipe, you are reading the right post. These Keto sugar 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 a healthified low carb version of sugar cookies totally fit the bill. The other reason is that “sugar free sugar cookies” just sounds so nutty it’s kind of fun.
I’ve replaced the wheat flour in the traditional sugar cookies 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 in sugar cookies (I have done this with my Low Carb Sugar Free Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies), which results in a softer 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 – the choice is yours!
How to make the perfect Keto sugar cookies – step by step:
1.) Mix your dry ingredients – almond flour / ground almonds, coconut flour, powdered sweetener, baking powder and xanthan gum, if using.
Xanthan gum gives the cookies a better crumb structure, it is often used in gluten free baking. The recipe works without, but your cookies will be a little more brittle.
2.) Add the wet ingredients. In this case, that’s just the butter and the vanilla extract. If you want cookies to taste utterly buttery, you need a decent-sized amount of butter 🙂
TIP: 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.
3.) Aaaaand mix! I like to use my trusted old food processor for this, but you can use a stick blender or an electric mixer.
TIP: 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.
4.) Now get yourself some cling film and roll the dough into a log that’s roughly 6 cm in diameter. Wrap the log in cling film and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes or twice as long if you put it in the fridge instead. It’s much easier to handle when it’s cold.
If you prefer to make sugar free cut-out cookies, separate the dough into 2 balls. Roll the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper until it’s 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.
5.) It’s a doddle to cut nice round shapes now! If the log gets flat at the bottom due to the knife pressing down, just give it another quick roll.
If you would like your cookies to be thinner, simply flatten them with your hands after you place them on the baking tray. Space them out a bit – they spread a little while they bake.
Tip: I always line my baking tray with parchment paper. If you haven’t got any, you can spray your tray with a bit of coconut oil to ensure the cookies won’t stick.
6.) And this is how your Keto sugar cookies will look like after 8-10 minutes in the oven – lightly browned on the edges.
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’re ready.
IMPORTANT!!! Do not attempt to handle these cookies until they’re cooled down. Keto cookies are VERY FRAGILE when hot. PATIENCE!! They firm up once cool and will be fluffy and light, gently crispy and simply delicious.
This Keto sugar cookies recipe is the perfect starting point for recipe variations:
- For low carb almond thins – substitute 1 tsp of vanilla with 1 tsp of almond extract
- Low carb gingersnap cookies – add 1 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp of nutmeg and 1/4 tsp of cloves
- Keto cinnamon cookies – add 2 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of ground coffee.
Serving suggestions
If you’re a purist, you can eat these sugar free sugar cookies straight up as they are.
To take it up a notch, dust them with powdered sweetener after baking. Alternatively, reduce the sweetener amount stated for the recipe to 1/4 cup and dip the cookies in granulated sweetener BEFORE baking. That should add a nice crunch.
Another idea – melt some sugar free chocolate or 90% dark chocolate and dip the cookies or drizzle them with chocolate.
Last but not least – ICING! Use 1/4 cup of powdered sweetener and mix with 1 tbsp 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.
You might also like these cookie recipes:
- Keto Almond Butter Brownie Cookies
- The Ultimate Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Low Carb Peanut Butter Cookies
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Keto Sugar Cookies
Are you ready for some sugar free sugar cookies? These super simple Keto sugar cookies are only 1 g net carbs per cookie. Enjoy them with or without icing!
Ingredients
- 1 cup / 100g almond flour or ground almonds
- 1/3 cup / 35g coconut flour
- 1/3 cup / 35g powdered sweetener
- 1/2 cup / 120g unsalted butter softened
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 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.
Recipe Notes
My cookies weighted between 12 and 17g. The mix makes 18 cookies in total.
If you want to use cookie cutters, roll out the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and place in the freezer/fridge to cool. Remove the top parchment and cut out shapes.
See directions in the post for sugar free icing.
This recipe works best with regular almond flour. Super fine almond flour can result in crumbly dough. If you only have super-fine almond flour, either reduce the amount of almond flour by 2-3 tbsp or reduce the amount of coconut flour to 1/4 cup.
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Kath Robinson says
I’m not sure what sweetner you are supposed to use, but I used general powdered Steva from the supermarket and thought that 35g would be too much. I cut it down to 5g (which is still a lot) and the end result just tastes artificial! what did I do wrong?
Katrin says
Hello Kath, erythritol has a sweetness of 1:1 in comparison to sugar. I have used powdered stevia before that was 2:1. Maybe that’s the issue with the sweetener you used – it might be a lot sweeter than sugar? It should say on the packet. Also, there ARE sweeteners that taste fake and not very nice. It’s all down to personal preference. I have found a couple of brands I really like, among them Lakanto and SoNourished (both available in the US) and NKD Living and Sukrin (available in the UK/Europe).
Jean says
Can you use ground almonds, if so what quantity? I only have access to ground almonds and almond meal. Thanks
Katrin says
Yes, ground almonds is absolutely fine. Same quantity. Regular almond flour in the States and ground almonds in the UK are basically the same thing.
Aitch says
I made this recipe exactlytly following the directions and it was super super super dry like I couldn’t get it to form a good log
Katrin says
If you measured all the ingredients correctly, this may have something to do with the almond flour you used. If you used super-fine almond flour, your dough would be denser. Can I ask which brand you used?
Kristu says
My cookie dough was super crumbly I had to squish together to make cookies. Would a little more butter help with this? The raw recipe tastes delicious though! Hope the cooled cookies hold together!
Katrin says
I’m wondering if your almond flour was super fine? Maybe that was the reason why your dough was firmer than mine. I remember mine was actually more on the moist side. You could definitely use a little more butter to accommodate for it. A little more butter never hurts 😉
Low carb cookies harden significantly once they are cooled down. You might find that once cooled they’re just right!
Glenda says
I love your recipes! I was wondering if you have an app for android also as I don’t have an iPhone?
Katrin says
I’m sorry, the Ketoapp is not available on Android at the moment! But you CAN subscribe to my push notifications, which can be received on android. Or join my newsletter and I can inform you of new recipes that way 🙂
Karen says
Wonderful recipe! I melted the butter and was able to mix with a spatula – I always love when I can minimize the amount of dishes that need to be washed. This definitely helped with cravings during the holidays!
Katrin says
Glad you liked the cookies Karen!
Stacey says
Could these be made without coconut flour?
Katrin says
I have a yum recipe for almond flour cookies which you try instead – these thumbprint cookies. I have made the recipe without the raspberry filling and it works well. Alternatively you could try doubling the amount stated for coconut flour using more almond flour instead. See if you have a workable dough consistency and increase to triple the amount stated for coconut flour if necessary. Happy baking!
Jenn says
I love these cookies! Because I like to change things up, I split the almond extract to use 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp almond extract. I could not be more pleased! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Katrin says
Glad they were a success!
Aimee says
You’re Pinterest pin button doesn’t work from my email.
Katrin says
Hi Aimee, thank you for letting me know. Do you mean the pinterest icon at the bottom of the last newsletter I sent? I clicked through without problems from the test email I sent myself. Maybe just a glitch on your side?
MELISSA VAN HOVE says
I don’t see a link for the icing recipe. I was wondering if you could share it? I can’t wait to try these cookies. So far every recipe that I have tried of yours has been fabulous!! Thank you so much!
Katrin says
Hi Melissa, you simply mix 1/4 cup of powdered sweetener with 1 tbsp of water and stir until you have a glaze. You can flavour it with a squeeze of lemon, or add a bit of vanilla/almond/orange extract.
Wendy Fitzgerald says
i onoy have butter that is salted could you use that?
Katrin says
You would be able to taste it a little. It’s probably fine though as the amount of butter is not large. Taste your dough and maybe up the sweetener a bit if necessary.
Wendy says
thank you idid use it will let you know how they turn out thanks Wendy
Theresa says
When you counted the carbs did you include the carbs from the sweetener? My daughter is a type 1 diabetic so we have to count all carbs, even from sugar alcohols. Just wondering if I would need to retally the info on these. Thank you!
Katrin says
Hi Theresa, I never include the carbs in the erythritol, as is it not absorbed by the body.
Theresa says
I am so happy to find an easy recipe for crispy SF cookies! My sister is diabetic but she is also a Cookie Monster who loves crispy cookies! Thank you for this recipe and the extra dets like your per cookie weight! I will be making a batch this weekend.
Theresa
Katrin says
Hi Theresa, thanks for trying the recipe and checking out my blog 🙂
Rose says
Can this be made with granulated sweetener instead of powdered? I have erythritol but in its granulated form! Thanks a bunch 🙂
Katrin says
Yes, you could use granulated sweetener. If you want, you can also stick your granulated sweetener in a food processor and blitz it so it becomes powdered.
Florence B says
We used cookie cutters and dipped them in icing – will definitely be making these again before Christmas!!
Katrin says
That’s great to hear!! Thank you for your comment
Laura says
I’v just made these and they are great!!! Definitely wait until they are cooled down- when I tried to pick one up while it was still hot it fell apart. But now that they are room temperature they are perfect! Thank you for this recipe
Katrin says
Cookies made with grain free flours are really fragile when they’re hot. I’m always amazed at how sturdy they become when they are cooled down. Glad you like them!