Keto Sugar Cookies
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
My keto sugar cookies are buttery soft yet crisp, and honestly irresistible. Made in one bowl, I love how similar they taste compared to classic sugar cookies! 1 gram net carbs per cookie.
Keto sugar cookies make my holiday table every year
My almond flour sugar cookies have been one of my most-made holiday cookies for years, so when several readers reached out asking if I could develop a keto option, I was confident I could, since I already knew how almond flour behaves in cookies.
I loosely adapted the recipe, using a keto sweetener and adding cream cheese for that melt-in-your-mouth texture with crisp edges. Here’s why I love them:
- Made in one bowl. So cleanup is a breeze.
- Fun to decorate. I find the cookie dough is really soft and malleable, so you can cut it into all different shapes using cookie cutters and decorate them to your heart’s content (which is usually tricky with almond flour doughs!).
- You can freeze the cookies for up to 2 months. I only bake low-carb sugar cookies around the holidays, but you better believe I make extra to keep in the freezer whenever I have a craving!
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need, along with my kitchen notes. Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Almond flour. I always prefer blanched almond flour over almond meal, as it can make cookies coarse and mealy.
- Coconut flour. This absorbs moisture and helps prevent the dough from spreading. Do not omit or substitute it for more almond flour- it won’t work.
- Powdered sweetener. Use keto powdered sugar for the finer consistency. If you don’t have any, I’ve often made it myself by blending granulated allulose until it reaches a powder-like consistency.
- Salt. Just a pinch to balance the sweetness.
- Unsalted butter. Softened to room temperature. If you only have salted butter, you can use that and omit the salt.
- Cream cheese. Softened to room temperature. If you forget to leave the cream cheese out (I sometimes do this), microwave it for about 15 seconds.
- Vanilla extract. I like a little vanilla to round out the buttery flavor.
- Allulose. Optional, but I like to roll my unbaked cookies in allulose or monk fruit sweetener for an extra touch.
How to make keto sugar cookies
Step 1- Make the sugar cookie dough. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the softened butter and cream cheese. Using an electric mixer, beat until crumbly- it can take up to a minute. Add vanilla and continue beating until combined.
Step 2- Chill the dough. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth. Cover the dough ball with plastic wrap, flatten it, and refrigerate for 40 minutes. You can refrigerate it for longer, up to 24 hours. If you do that, bring it to room temperature for half an hour before baking.
Step 3- Prep work. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place another sheet on your kitchen counter.
Step 4- Shape the cookies. Transfer the dough onto the counter and place another piece of parchment paper on top. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to ¼ inch thick. Cut out the cookies with a cookie cutter, then dip them in the sweetener.
Step 5- Bake. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes or until the edges turn lightly golden. I usually check at the 12-minute mark to be safe. Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Chill the dough. Don’t skip the 30 minutes, since it keeps the cookies from spreading. You can also make the dough up to 3 days ahead; let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling so it doesn’t crack.
- Don’t overbake the cookies. They continue to firm up as they cool. You’ll know they’re done when the edges are golden and begin to lift from the baking sheet.
More keto holiday cookies to try
Keto Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons almond flour blanched almond flour, 90g
- 2 tablespoon coconut flour 15g
- 6 tablespoon sugar free powdered sugar 45g
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup butter softened, 57g
- 1 tablespoon cream cheese softened, 14g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup allulose or monk fruit sweetener, 40g
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the almond flour, coconut flour, sugar free powdered sugar, and salt, and mix well. Add your softened butter and cream cheese and using a stick mixer, beat the butter into it, until crumbly. Add the vanilla extract and continue beating, until clumps of dough remains.
- Add some almond flour onto a kitchen surface. Transfer the dough onto it and gently knead, until smooth. Cover the ball of dough completely and flatten, then refrigerate for 40 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a large sheet of parchment paper onto a kitchen surface. Transfer the dough onto it and place another sheet of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until 1/4 of an inch in thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut out circles of cookie dough. Lightly dip each side of the cookie in the granulated sweetener and place it on a lined cookie sheet. Repeat until all the cookie dough has been used up.
- Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges just begin to go lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Made today for the first time. Made the dough, chilled it, balled it out after 40 minutes then used a fork to flatten slightly. I lightly dusted with low cal powdered sugar. They were amazing. Next time I’ll 3x the batch. My diabetic mother fell in love
With them and that’s a huge win.
Aw, Harriet. I’m so glad your mother enjoyed them, so lovely of you to bake them for her. I love the idea to dust them with low calorie powdered sugar.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a lovely review and rating 🙂
These sugar cookies were great. I even had accidentally burned them (my fault) and they still tasted great. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Oh no! Sorry to hear that Candace, but I’m glad they still turned out ok!
My family enjoyed the cookies i made using your recipe and they are easy to make. this is the best sugar cookie recipe i have ever tried
Aw, Rachel- I appreciate your kind words and review. I’m so glad the family enjoyed them 🙂
Great sugar cookie recipe! I chill overnight and roll slightly thicker than 1/4 inch so I can use for cut out cookies. Delicious soft/crisp texture and holds up perfect for my keto royal icing or keto buttercream decorations.
Hi Susen, thanks so much for sharing these tips! Some great suggestions. Your icings sound amazing too. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
These are great tasting, no aftertaste. Only problem I didn’t make enough.
Haha Ken- what a good problem to have! Thanks for making my recipe and for the lovely review 🙂
Can I substitute acorn flour in this recipe?
Hi T! Oh wow, I’ve actually never tried acorn flour ever- Would you mind commenting the brand you use, and I’ll investigate it and see if it will work – I’m so intrigued!
These are very good. They really do taste like sugar cookies. But just a few comments. I made the recipe for 16. I got seven 2 1/2″ diameter cookies out of that. There are only three wet items: butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract. My dough was so dry it would not roll into a ball. I had to add water to get the mixture to stay together to get it rolled up and put in plastic wrap. I used monk fruit with erythritol granulated for topping of the cookies. The erythritol leaves a cooling effect in my mouth. Not bad, but just distracting. I think I will try allulose granulated for the topping of the cookies. Could you add the “almond extract” to the recipe section and say it is optional. I read it in the text, but I used the printed recipe which did not mention on the almond extract and I completely forgot it.
I hope you can provide some guidance on the dryness of the recipe and what to add to get it wet enough to form a ball.
Thanks!
Hi Roger, thanks so much for sharing this! A very common issue. As almond flour is less absorbent than all purpose flour, we typically use less wet ingredients to form the dough. Adding a splash of water or milk of choice is the perfect way to balance this, as you did, because different brands of almond flour can have quite a varied impact on moisture in the dough, depending on the grind size and how much they’ve been defatted. I would definitely try these with allulose too! Hope this helps!