This keto microwave cookie is perfect for those moments when you feel like a quick sugar free treat. It tastes delicious and is super easy to make! There are plenty of variation ideas in the post.
I regularly make mug cakes in the microwave, like this keto chocolate mug cake or my vanilla keto mug cake. Which made me think - how about a keto mug cookie? Can you make cookies in the microwave?
The answer is yes!
It took a bit of experimenting, but in the end I have come up with a recipe that is super easy and actually very delicious. You only need 4 essential ingredients. From there, you can add optional add-ins to create countless variations.
As you can see in the image above, I tested 4 different variations:
- Chocolate Chip: Add ½ tablespoon sugar free chocolate chips (top left)
- Nutella Thumbprint: Press down the middle and add 1 teaspoon of sugar free Nutella (top right)
- Double Chocolate: Add 1 teaspoon cocoa powder and ½ tablespoon chocolate chips (bottom left)
- Gingerbread: Add ¼ teaspoon ginger, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg and ⅛ teaspoon allspice (bottom right)
Jump to:
Ingredients
Keto mug cookie basics:
Almond flour - I use ground almonds, which is equivalent to regular almond flour in the US. Super-fine almond flour should also work well here.
Butter - Unsalted, room temperature butter. For a dairy free keto cookie, replace the butter with coconut oil.
Sweetener - My go-to sugar alternative is an erythritol monk fruit sweetener blend. Lakanto and So Nourished are good options.
Note: A golden erythritol tastes great in this recipe for that brown sugar flavour, but a regular (white) sweetener works well too. I recommend using erythritol over xylitol or allulose since it will result in a crunchier cookie.
Xanthan gum or gelatin - Both help with giving the cookie a stronger structure. I used a pinch of xanthan gum, about ⅛ teaspoon. If you prefer to use gelatin, use ¼ teaspoon. Another option could be ground chia seeds. I would also recommend using ¼ teaspoon.
Optional add-ins:
Cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt - I think cinnamon and vanilla extract make every cookie taste better! I also added a tiny pinch of salt.
Sugar free chocolate chips - Lily's is a popular choice in the US, or make your own sugar free chocolate chips with my easy kitchen hack. When I don't have any to hand, I use the 90% dark chocolate by Lindt.
Instructions
It's super simple: Mix together all ingredients with a fork and form a ball.
Flatten the cookie onto a plate lined with parchment paper and cook on high until it's done!
Your single serve cookie will be VERY soft and fragile straight after baking. Don't even think about touching it for at least 5 minutes. It will firm up once it cools.
Microwave timings
Microwaves cook at different strengths, so cooking times will vary.
My microwave cooks at 900 Watts. I found that 1 minute was the perfect length. When I tested cooking a cookie for 90 seconds, the inside ended up burned.
Yes, microwaves will cook your food from the inside out!
For 1200 Watt microwaves 45 seconds is probably sufficient.
FAQ
Your biggest clue is that the cookie dough will start to dry and crack open. The cookie will also take on a slightly golden colour. This means you can remove it from the microwave and start the cooling process!
For a nut free keto microwave cookie, replace the almond flour with an equal amount of sesame seed flour and sunflower seed flour. Or use 1 tablespoon sesame seed flour, 1 tablespoon sunflower seed flour and 1 teaspoon coconut flour.
Use 2 tablespoons almond flour and 1 teaspoon ground flax. This makes a more rustic cookie that tastes a little more like a digestive biscuit.
You can easily scale up the recipe and make more than one cookie. I would recommend microwaving them one at a time. It's also possible separate the dough and make two smaller cookies.
Oven and air fryer option
It's possible to make this single serve cookie in the oven. I toasted one in the oven under the grill (broiler) in about 5 minutes. This worked well, although you should keep it on a lower rack and watch it closely because almond flour burns quickly.
You could also air fry the cookie for about 5 minutes at 180 C / 350 F or bake it in a conventional oven at 180 C / 160 Fan (350 Fahrenheit) for about 8-10 minutes.
Add-ins
There are many ways to jazz up the basic single serve cookie recipe if you don't want to use sugar free chocolate chips. Here are a few ideas:
- a squeeze of lemon juice and grated lemon zest
- orange extract and orange zest
- almond extract
- pumpkin spice
- ginger, cardamom, mace, nutmeg and allspice
- sugar free dried cranberries or freeze-dried berries
- crushed nuts (pecans, walnuts, slivered almonds etc)
Related recipes
I love cookies so much I've even written an entire cookbook called Keto Cookies. If you're a fellow cookie monster you should definitely check it out.
Feel like a larger batch of cookies? Try these sugar free cookie recipes:
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Single Serve Keto Microwave Cookie
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.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon almond flour
- ¾ tbsp butter room temperature (11g)
- ½ tbsp golden erythritol or more, to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon xanthan gum or ¼ teaspoon gelatin
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon optional
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract optional
- tiny pinch salt optional
- ½ tablespoon sugar free chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Mix together all ingredients with a fork, then form a ball.
- Put on a plate lined with parchment paper and press into a thick cookie.
- Microwave on high for 45-60 seconds. My microwave cooks at 900W and 1 minute was perfect.
- Let cool fully before eating. Cookie will firm up as it cools. To speed up the cooling process, place in the freezer.
Jessica
This recipe is the perfect cookie texture I've been looking for! Thank you!!
Jayne Donnithorne
I have tried the recipe twice. The center of the cookie wasn't cooked through either time.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Jayne, if the cookie is not done, you have to microwave it a little longer. Perhaps you are cooking on a lower power level than me. Keep in mind that microwaves cook from the inside out and you don't want to burn it either!
Lammy
It took a few tries to get the perfect combination of cookie thickness and microwave cooking time but this is now my current favourite fast, easy, single-serve dessert. By the time I've finished my main meal and done the dishes it's cooled down, firmed up, and ready to enjoy.
Thank you very much for the recipe! <3
Mary
Very good recipe!
Ashlea
I admit I was a bit skeptical about this recipe not having any egg for binder/richness, but I used gelatin (had experience using in full sized cookie batch recipes for "chewy" results) and it turned out pretty nice I would definitely make it again, next time I'm thinking chocolate chocolate chip! I will also use allulose next time since I don't love the cooling effect of erythritol.
Katrin Nürnberger
Good to know that adding the gelatin works well!
Regina
These are a perfect single serve snack when the munchies or a sweet tooth attacks! I did ad a 1/2 tsp of unflavored Keto protein powder and a 1/4 tsp of Butternut flavouring. Delicious recipe, thank you!!
William Heller
Hi. I made these twice this week. I like them a little more done, tho they do burn in the middle slightly. It's hard for me to get good crispness with Keto cookies. Maybe the Plant Butter has something to do with it, nevertheless these are great.
Katrin Nürnberger
Glad you like the recipe! You could experiment with a lower wattage and cook the cookies for longer. Maybe that way you will find the perfect moment at which the cookies are crisp but not yet burned in the middle.
Carol Cripps
I screwed up. I made my biscuits too thin. I did a double batch, twice. The ones I did in the microwave burnt, but the ones I did in the toaster oven for about 7 minutes were delicious. I thought I had a thick enough biscuit, because I did the variation with the flax seeds,but I guess not. The ones in the toaster oven were deliciously nutty in flavour, but not at all like the digestive id been craving. Is there any possibility of designing a recipe for mock digestives for those of us craving the real thing?
Katrin Nürnberger
I think the closest recipe to digestives that I currently have on the blog are the Keto Graham Crackers.
Elsa
I LOOOOOOVED this cookie! So delicious! The only thing I didn't like was having to wait for it to cool down xDDDD Do you think it could work using xylitol? I'm not a big fan of erythritol's cooling sensation in my mouth.
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, you can use xylitol in this recipe. Glad you liked it!
Katrin Nürnberger
It's 3/4 tbsp of butter. That's enough fat to form a cookie dough 🙂
Margaret
Yes, that's what I use when I don't add the peanut butter.
Margaret
I reduced the butter to 1 teaspoon and added 1 tablespoon of peanut butter at room temperature. Yum!