My keto chocolate chip cookies are the perfect combination of soft chewiness with a crunchy edge. You'll never guess they are sugar free! Perfect for gluten free and low carb diets.
"These cookies kept me on the straight and narrow when I needed something sweet. Best of all, they didn't spike my blood sugar. Will definitely be making more." (Jo)
I first published this keto cookie recipe in September 2016, and it has been a reader favourite ever since, with tons of 5 star reviews.
It is also a recipe that I make regularly at home because my whole family loves it. My husband jokingly calls it the lovechild of my keto sugar cookies and these keto chocolate cookies!
I regularly update this post with new details to help you make the best low carb chocolate chip cookies EVER. I have also shot new images to show you how they turn out with various ingredient tweaks.
The basic recipe remains the same because it was perfect the way it was.
Here is one of the original images, where I used chopped dark chocolate instead of chocolate chips:
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Why These Are The Best
Easy and quick: This is an incredibly easy recipe that you can make without a blender. All you need is a fork, a bowl and 5 minutes prep.
Rich and delicious: The recipe contains a secret ingredient that makes the taste and texture richer, creamier and infinitely more yummy: cream! This is a trick I learned from my mum (who learned it from her mum!)
Versatile: I have made this low carb cookie recipe so many times that I have tried and tested all variations possible - dairy-free, egg free, soft or crispy. Whatever your requirements are, I've got the solution.
Low carb: One cookie contains just 1.7g net carbs. It is the perfect sweet treat to enjoy while keeping blood sugar levels stable.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need to make low carb chocolate chip cookies:
- Almond flour - I used a super-fine almond flour. If you're using ground almonds, just add an additional 2 tablespoons.
- Butter. This must be very, very soft so you can mix it easily. It is also possible to melt the butter and cool it.
- Egg. I used a medium egg in this recipe.
- Heavy cream - That's double cream in the UK. It is my secret ingredient!
- Sugar substitute- I used a granulated erythritol monk fruit sweetener blend.
- Vanilla extract
- Sugar-free chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate. When I first made this recipe, I used chopped 90% dark chocolate by Lindt. As you can see in the current images for the post, they look even prettier with sugar-free chocolate chips. ChocZero or Lily's are good options and are easily available in the US. Another possibility is to make your own sugar free chocolate chips.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
It is super easy to make keto chocolate chip cookies. Here are the basic steps, illustrated with images.
For detailed instructions and nutrition info, scroll down to the recipe card.
Preparations
Start by preheating the oven to 180C / 350F electric or 160C / 320F fan-assisted.
Next, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. This is the best way to prevent cookies from sticking to the baking sheet. It works much better than greasing the sheet with butter or oil.
Make The Dough
STEP 1: Add the almond flour, egg, cream, butter, vanilla extract and granulated sweetener into a large mixing bowl.
Mix everything with a fork - it comes together really easily.
Let the batter sit for a few minutes for the flour to absorb the moisture.
STEP 2: Fold in sugar-free chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate.
Now's a good moment for a little taste - adjust your sweetener if you wish 🙂
STEP 3: Roll the batter into cookie dough balls (or portion them with a cookie scoop) and place them on the baking sheet. The dough will still be soft and sticky.
The mixture makes 10 cookies with a diameter of around 6 centimetres. (I tried so much of the dough we only ended up with 9!)
STEP 4: Flatten the low carb chocolate chip cookies with your hand (or press down with a fork to make a criss-cross pattern.
They should be about ½ centimetres thick.
Bake
STEP 5: Bake the cookies in the oven for around 13 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
Let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. After that, you have the option to carefully transfer them onto a cooling rack to cool fully.
Katrin's Top Tip
Patience! Keto cookies are really soft and fragile when fresh out of the oven. Let them cool fully before eating them. They firm up as they cool down.
As almond flour does not contain gluten, low carb cookies are always softer than their wheaten counterparts. The browned edges still have a lovely crunch though.
And by the way, I think they taste even better (and are crunchier) on the second day!
Crispy Vs Chewy
Crispy Cookies
There are a few options to make low carb chocolate chip cookies crispier:
- 1. Replace the cream with more butter.
- 2. Flatten them more! The thinner your cookies are, the crispier they will end up.
- 3. Bake them for longer. You want the edges to be golden-brown. Consider placing aluminium foil over the cookies so they don't burn and add another few minutes to the oven time.
- 4. Turn off the oven when they are done and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. Then you leave the cookies in for longer. The air circulating around them will help them to continue crisping up.
Chewy Cookies
- 1. Don't miss out on the cream! It helps with the chewiness.
- 2. Make the cookies larger and thicker. This way, the centre stays lovely and chewy.
- 3. Watch out that your cookies do not brown much. Take them out as soon as the edges start to turn golden!
- 4. Consider replacing the erythritol with xylitol or allulose. Especially allulose is great for soft baked goods.
Variations
Using Cream Vs Butter
In the image above you can see the difference between a cookie made with cream and butter (on the left) versus one where I have replaced the cream with more butter.
I had them both in the oven for exactly the same time (13 minutes). The butter-only cookie browned more than the one that also contained cream. It also spread more.
Substitutions & Add-Ins
Here are more ideas on how you can change up the recipe. All tweaks have been tested by myself over the years.
- Coconut flour chocolate chip cookies: Use 40 grams or ⅓ cup of coconut flour instead of almond flour. Coconut flour absorbs a lot more moisture than almond flour, that's why you need less of it. You may want to add ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum to make them a little firmer.
- Extra fluffy cookies: Add ½ teaspoon baking powder or ¼ teaspoon of baking soda.
- Dairy-free: Use coconut oil instead of the butter.
- No egg: This low carb chocolate chip cookies recipe also works without the egg! The end result is crispier (but also more fragile when hot). Add an extra splash of cream to loosen the dough.
- Pinch of sea salt: Adds even more flavor to the cookie dough.
- Make them nutty: Add ¼ cup of chopped walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts to the dough. If you decide to do this, keep the cookies larger and thicker so they don't fall apart.
- Macadamia nut flour: A reader told me that she makes this cookie recipe with macadamia flour instead of almond. I tried it and it works really well.
Recipe FAQs
If the cookie dough is too soft, simply put it in the fridge for 10 minutes to let it firm up. This helps the butter to solidify.
The recipe works best with a medium egg. If your egg is large, increase the amount of extra fine almond flour by 2 tablespoons.
For crispy cookies, always use erythritol-based sweeteners. This can be either pure erythritol or erythritol blends that also include monk fruit or stevia. I also recommend trying golden erythritol in the recipe. This is a brown sugar alternative. It adds a lovely caramel flavor.
Use coconut flour as mentioned in the Recipe Variations above, or replace the almond flour with a 50/50 blend of sunflower seed and sesame seed flour.
Storage
I recommend storing the cookies in a cookie jar at room temperature for up to 5 days or in an airtight container in the fridge for 7-10 days.
You can also freeze almond flour chocolate chip cookies! They stay fresh for up to 3 months. I freeze them in a single layer and then transfer them to a freezer bag. This way, they don't stick together.
Related Recipes
Here are more keto-friendly cookie recipes to try:
- Low Carb Keto Peanut Butter Cookies15 Minutes
- Keto Shortbread Cookies41 Minutes
- Keto Coconut Macaroons20 Minutes
- The Best Keto Coconut Flour Cookies20 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Low Carb Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour 100g (to my UK readers - ground almonds work well here, just add another 2 tbsp)
- 1 medium egg not large
- 2 tablespoon double/heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon butter unsalted, VERY soft
- 3 tablespoon granulated sweetener
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup chopped dark chocolate 50g (85% cocoa solids minimum or sugar free), or sugar free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius/350 Fahrenheit.
- Combine all ingredients apart from the chocolate with a fork. Let the dough sit for a few minutes so the flour can absorb the moisture.
- Chop your chocolate and stir into the dough.
- Form dough balls with your hand or spoon the mixture on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Press down into the desired shape (about ½ cm thick).
- Bake for around 13 minutes or until the edges are golden. The cookies are soft when straight out of the oven but firm up as they cool down.
Dee
is the carb count before or after taking out the fiber?
Katrin Nürnberger
It's the total carbs. You have to deduct the fibre to get the net carbs. 🙂
Jan
I wanted a crispier cookie but wanted to see what the heavy cream did so I added 1 Tbsp instead of 2. I also added a pinch of salt and a large egg instead of medium because that's what I had on hand. I liked them.
They weren't supper crispy like the old regular/non-keto cookies but the almond flour taste was more subtle. I've tried other recipes and I don't like how overpowering the almond flour taste is.
I will say the dough was very sticky to work with, but I still got 9 good size cookies with this recipe.
Definitely my new go to.
Katrin Nürnberger
For a cookie that is crispy through and through I would replace the cream with more butter and use only the egg white. Also, thin and flat is the way to go, plus let them brown properly (and then cool fully).
Janet
I put these in the oven for 11 minutes while I went to peg my washing out. When I came in to check them they were far too well done. They tasted burnt
Katrin Nürnberger
What a shame! Try baking on a lower shelf next time so they don't burn as quick. Or use a slightly lower oven temperature
Janet
They were still delicious though. I am going to make 20 next time & I will put them on a lower shelf & a slightly lower temperature. Thanks for the recipe
rose
looks great thanks!
so question here.. why couldn't we ADD gluten?
#1 it's a protein, sure from wheat, but as a protein would not trigger insulin
for gluten=intolerant folks could omit
Katrin Nürnberger
You can add to these chocolate chip cookies whatever you want 🙂 I avoid wheat myself, so you won't find any gluten on this website 🙂
Jan
can you use oat flour instead of almond flour (nut allergy!)
Katrin Nürnberger
I think you probably could. Check if you need to use the same amount though or maybe a little less.
MiRai
what about a Soya cuisine (Alpro / plant based cream alternative) instead of heavy cream? Have anyone tried that?
Katrin Nürnberger
A reader once tried it in another recipe (the required regular yoghurt I believe) and the result was watery. I would just leave out the cream altogether, maybe increase the butter a little.
Ally
How about almond cream? That should work, right? I used normal cream since its hard to find double cream here in Germany and the Xanthan (which is suggested with the coconut flour) I replaced with Konjac Powder. I had to add extra cream because the batter was a bit dry.
firdos telili
can you use Silk Coconut Milk instead of Heavy Cream
Katrin Nürnberger
If it is coconut cream from a can and not the watery milk replacement, it should work 🙂
Beda Stoner
Just took these out of the oven. I made in 9 x 9 pan. I cut them in 12 bars. Very good.
Trisha Farris
Tastes great, but not crunchy enough for me. I omitted the cream, flattened the Cookies , added More time and they’re still not crunchy. Any advice?
Katrin Nürnberger
The crunchiest I have ever gotten pure almond flour cookies was these keto biscotti. Other ways to increase crunch could be to use only egg white and omit the yolk and adding flax.
Sophie
The batter is runny, even if you put it in the fridge. I even put it in the freezer for a bit and it barely helped. You would have to add a lot of extra almond flour to get it to a normal consistency. I put these in the oven with the runny batter and they came out really good. Once the time was up, the edges were crispy, but the middle still seemed raw. After a few minutes out of the oven though, it cooked.
What I really liked about this recipe was the it did not call for a lot of swerve. The thing about a lot of Keto baking is that it contains a lot of swerve, and I don't like that for 2 reasons:
#1. It gives a cold taste
#2. It's super expensive. It's $10 a bag, and if you are making recipes that take a cup of it, it will not last very long.
That was a big plus about this recipe.
Thanks for the recipe!
Patty
Made these tonight. Excellent!!