My keto thumbprint cookies are easy gluten free cream cheese cookies with a fruity raspberry jam filling. They are ready in 25 minutes!
Friends, this is the most versatile keto cookie recipe you'll ever make!
My sugar free thumbprint cookies are made with almond flour. They are deliciously soft and buttery on the inside, with a lovely crunch.
But the real fun starts with the fillings!
I ended up making several batches - one with raspberry jam, one with a cream cheese filling, one cinnamon "sugar" version and even one without a filling altogether.
Love cookies? Try my keto peanut butter cookies and keto chocolate chip cookies.
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🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The texture - Crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy inside.
- The flavor - The fruity raspberry filling pairs perfectly with the buttery vanilla crumb.
- Gluten-free - These are almond flour cookies, which means they don't contain any gluten.
- Keto friendly - Only 0.9 garms of net carbs
- Easy, quick recipe - 7 ingredients, 1 bowl, no special equipment needed
Ingredients
You only need 7 ingredients for this recipe:
- Almond flour - I used ground almonds, which is equivalent to regular almond flour in the US.
- Cream cheese - Full fat cream cheese works better than low fat.
- Unsalted butter - Make sure that it is room temperature so it's easy to make the cookie dough.
- Sweetener - I used a granulated erythritol monk fruit sweetener blend. The first time I used a white sugar alternative. The next time I chose a brown sugar alternative called Lakanto Gold, which gives the cookies a nice caramel flavor. This is the sweetener you see in the step by step images below. Both worked well.
- Vanilla extract
- Egg - size medium. If you can only get hold of large eggs, increase the almond flour by a tablespoon.
- Sugar-free raspberry jam - no cooking necessary! Or, use any other low carb jam.
Option to also add a pinch of salt to the dough. It's not necessary to use baking powder - but if you like an extra fluffy cookie, add ½ teaspoon.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
It's so simple to make keto thumbprint cookies. Here are the basic steps.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed method with ingredient amounts, oven timings and nutrition information.
STEP 1
Blend the cream cheese, softened butter, vanilla extract and sweetener until smooth.
I used a food processor, but a large bowl and an electric hand mixer work just as well.
STEP 2
Add the egg and whisk. Then, add the almond flour and blend until a smooth dough forms.
STEP 3
Form cookie dough balls (or use a cookie scoop). Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Press your thumb into the middle of each ball to form an indentation.
STEP 4
Fill each indentation with sugar-free jam or a filling of your choice.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden.
Katrin's Top Tips
Chill the dough. If the dough feels sticky and too soft to handle, form a ball and wrap it in clingfilm. Then cool it in the fridge for 20 minutes (or in the freezer for 10).
Patience. After baking, don't touch cookies until they have cooled down. Keto cookies are very fragile when hot. They firm up as they cool.
Variations
I have tried various fillings for these keto cream cheese cookies:
Cinnamon Sugar: Mix melted butter, cinnamon and powdered sweetener.
Cheesecake: Stir together cream cheese, powdered sweetener and a few drops of vanilla extract. Add lemon zest or lemon juice for a lemon cheesecake version.
Chocolate: Put a few sugar free chocolate chips into each thumbprint hollow.
Nutella: Use my sugar free nutella!
Peanut butter: Mix it with a pinch of sea salt. Or, use almond butter.
No filling. This is a great pared-down version that ends up deliciously crunchy.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Any sugar free jam can be used. Try my blueberry jam or this sugar free strawberry jam. Store-bought jams should be sweetened with stevia or erythritol and not grape juice.
I recommend an erythritol based sweetener for cookies, because it makes them nice and crunchy on the outside. Pure erythritol works, or erythritol blends such as Swerve. Xylitol, Bocha Sweet and allulose make softer cookies.
No, you cannot replace it 1:1. I recommend making coconut flour cookies instead, and add the raspberry filling.
Yes, you can prepare the cookie dough up to 2 days in advance. Wrap in cling film and store in the fridge.
Storage
Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Suitable for freezing. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Related Recipes
For a "best of" low carb cookie compilation, get my Keto Cookies cookbook. More recipes like this:
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Keto Thumbprint Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup almond flour 150g
- ¼ cup full fat cream cheese 2oz / 55g
- ¼ cup unsalted butter 2oz / 55g room temperature
- 5 tablespoon granulated erythritol 50 grams
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg medium ***
- ¼ cup sugar free raspberry jam 60g, or any other sugar free jam
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit electric or 160C / 320F fan assisted.
- Mix the cream cheese, softened butter, vanilla extract and erythritol in a food processor or with a hand blender until smooth.
- Add the egg and mix, then add the almond flour and blend until a smooth dough.
- If the dough feels too soft to handle, form a dough ball, wrap it in clingfilm and cool in the fridge for 20 minutes (or in the freezer for 10).
- Form small balls (15 grams) in your hands and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Press your thumb into the middle of each ball to form an indentation. Fill each indentation with sugar free raspberry jam.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Paige P
I know I’m late to the game here, but I had to tell you how much my boys (ages 6 & 2) and I love these cookies! They helped make and roll the dough. Instead of jam I made a simple little sugar-free buttercream frosting and they are delish! Next time I might get crazy and roll the dough balls in chopped walnuts before baking. Thank you for this recipe!
Katrin Nürnberger
Love the idea of walnut cookies!! And how great your boys like the cookies. Kids are always the most critical of all!!!
Stephanie
I’m excited to make these. I’ve got the batter made and in the fridge firming up before I shape and bake. I am wondering how these would freeze after baking??? I’m trying to get my holiday baking done ahead of time!
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Stephanie, I have frozen these without problem. Should they collect a little moisture in the freezer, you can always pop them back in the oven for 5 minutes to crisp them up.
Jules
I do love these. Grew up with Mom making them. I LOVE Swerve sweetener as a replacent and found a local farm that does sugar free jam. Score!!
Jacqueline
Hi,
Just made these cookies and they look awful but taste great! My problem was that I used all the proper ingredients in the right order but it didn’t result into a dough. I couldn’t roll it at all ( not even after putting it in de fridge) . What could I’ve done wrong? My egg was definitely bigger and I used a mixer with dough hooks. Could it be that my creamcheese was too thin?
Thanks,
Katrin
First of all, if they taste great, that's the most important thing 🙂 It's possible that your dough was too liquid because your egg was much bigger than the one I used. I don't think the cream cheese could have been the problem because cream cheese always goes very liquid when mixed, but firms up when cold. And, if possible, always weight your ingredients as opposed to using the cup measurements because it's more exact.
Donna
I’ve made these several times and they are delicious. However, when I put my thumb the dough seems a bit sticky and not as firm. The hike pops back up. Any suggestions?
Katrin
Sounds like your dough is softer than mine. Maybe your butter is too liquid? You could try using room temperature butter. Or cool the dough in the fridge for a bit before making the cookies.
Vickey
Hi, these sound amazing and easy. Can you use coconut sugar instead of stevia? Thanks
Katrin
Hi Vickey, I've used erythritol in this recipe, but you could use coconut sugar instead 🙂
Laura Mathieu
Hi,
I’m trying this recipe tomorrow for a friend who’s narcoleptic, I was just wondering how many grams are each cookie? I’m always using a scale when I bake cookies so they all turn out the same and cook evenly. Thank you!!
Katrin
Hi Laura, my cookies weighed around 15g each.
Carolyn
What size egg did you use? Mine was 80gm probably too big, it didn’t come out doughy just battery lol.
Katrin
Hi Carolyn, I get my eggs from a farm, they are mixed. I just measured 2 - one was 61, another one 68 grams. So yes, a bit smaller than yours, but not too much. Dough consistency can also be affected by how fine your almond flour is or how long you leave the cookies in the oven. Were you able to roll your dough into balls like in the video?
Melina
I made these last night and my husband and I devoured them! They were delicious! I am making them again right now as chocolate chip cookies!
sue
I only have confectioners swerve......... will that work?
Katrin
of course!!! You might need more though, because powdered sweetener weighs less than granulated sweetener. Have a taste of the dough and add if necessary