Get ready to fall in love with these Keto Pecan Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling! Imagine a melt-in-your-mouth cookie with a perfectly textured, nutty base that's bursting with the flavor of toasted pecans. Now, picture that same cookie hugging a luscious, creamy, and subtly sweet cream cheese filling. It's the kind of delightful contrast that makes your taste buds sing!
These aren't just any ordinary cookies. They're a warm, comforting classic with a keto-friendly twist, making them the perfect guilt-free indulgence for the holiday season (or any time of year, really!). Every bite delivers a symphony of flavors and textures - the buttery crunch of pecans, the smooth and tangy cream cheese, and the delicate sweetness of the cookie itself. This recipe yields approximately 10 servings.
Why These Cookies Are a Keto Dream
These Keto Pecan Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling are a sandwich-type cookie with a rich, nutty base and a luscious cream cheese filling. You'll want to make this warm, toasty, classic cookie with a twist for the Holidays this year. Each bite offers a delightful blend of buttery pecans and smooth, creamy center.
Inspiration comes from many places and this one was a little different. She asked if they could be keto-fied for her cookie tray this year. So I took it as a challenge to get this one up on the blog as soon as possible. I didn’t want to disappoint! I created a drop cookie version instead of traditional shortbread because I think it pairs better with the cream cheese.
Key Ingredients and Their Keto-Friendly Roles
The assembly is easy! You just need a few simple ingredients to make these delicious cookies.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Coconut Flour: This is a staple in keto baking due to its low carbohydrate content and high fiber. One of my favorite keto flours to bake with, coconut flour provides structure to baked goods, but it’s highly absorbent, so it’s used in smaller quantities compared to regular flour. It imparts a light, airy texture and a slight coconut flavor.
Almond Flour: The base for these cookies. Be sure to use finely ground almond flour.
Brown Sugar-Free Sweetener: This sugar substitute replicates the taste and texture of brown sugar without the carbs. It often contains sugar alcohols or natural sweeteners like Monk fruit or stevia, sometimes blended with flavorings to mimic the molasses flavor of brown sugar.
White Granulated Sugar-Free Sweetener: Typically a blend of sugar substitutes like erythritol, Monk fruit, or stevia, this sweetener replaces regular white sugar. It is absolutely imperative to use an erythritol based sweetener such as Swerve here. Erythritol is the only sweetener that allows cookies to get crisp. Even a small amount of allulose or BochaSweet will make them too soft.
Unsalted Butter: Butter adds richness, flavor, and moisture. It also helps in the leavening process, contributing to the cookie’s texture. In a keto diet, butter is a favorable ingredient due to its high-fat content and low carb. Use softened butter. The butter should be soft enough for you to press a finger easily into it. If not, warm it up ever so slightly before proceeding, otherwise the other ingredients won’t beat in as well.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Eggs: Eggs are crucial in binding the ingredients together, especially important in gluten-free baking like with coconut flour.
Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds flavor depth and aroma. It’s a common ingredient in baking to enhance the overall flavor profile of the cookies.
Baking Powder: This is a leavening agent that helps the cookies rise.
Chopped Pecans: Pecans add a crunchy texture and nutty flavor. Pecans are a great low carb nut with just 1 gram of net carbs per 1 oz (28 grams) serving. As well as being low in carbs pecans are a great source of vitamins, calcuim and minerals.
Cream Cheese: In a cream cheese frosting or filling, it provides a rich, creamy base. It’s naturally low in carbs and high in fat, fitting perfectly within the keto diet parameters.
Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto
Powdered Sugar-Free Sweetener: This sweetener is used to add sweetness to the cream cheese filling without the carbs.
Step-by-Step Recipe for Keto Pecan Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling
Here's how to create these delectable cookies:
1. Pecan Cookie Dough
1.1. Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet.
1.2. Dry Ingredients:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together coconut flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Set aside.
1.3. Wet Ingredients:
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the softened butter, brown sugar-free sweetener, and white granulated sugar-free sweetener until light, fluffy, and the sweeteners have dissolved completely.
1.4. Combining Wet and Dry:
- Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract, ensuring it’s well incorporated.
- Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix.
1.5. Adding Pecans:
- Gently fold in the chopped pecans.
1.6. Shaping the Cookies:
- Using a spoon or cookie scoop, drop dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- Flatten or apply a criss-cross pattern with a fork. Since these cookies do not spread during baking, I added a criss-cross pattern for more depth and to make the cookies look a little prettier.
1.7. Baking:
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
1.8. Cooling:
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
2. Cream Cheese Filling
2.1. Preparing the Cream Cheese:
- Ensure the cream cheese is at room temperature. This makes it easier to mix and results in a smoother filling.
2.2. Mixing the Filling:
- In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to blend the softened cream cheese with the powdered sugar-free sweetener.
- Mix until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
3. Assembly
- Wait until your cookies have cooled completely, then take a spatula and spread some cream cheese filling between two cookies.
Tips for the Perfect Keto Pecan Cookies
Don't overmix the dough: Overmixing can lead to tough cookies. Mix until just combined. Add eggs and vanilla. Finally, add the dry ingredients, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt, to the wet ingredients. Mix until just mixed. Careful not to overmix! Fold in gently. Using a small cookie scoop, create cookie dough balls and add to cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten or use a fork to apply a criss-cross pattern. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350°F (175°C) until golden brown.
Flatten the cookies: Since these cookies don't spread much, flatten them before baking to your desired thickness.
Cool completely: Allow the cookies to cool completely before adding the cream cheese filling. This prevents the filling from melting.
Sweetener Choice is Crucial: If you want a crisp cookie, the sweetener MUST be erythritol based, with no allulose or xylitol in the blend. As long as the main ingredient is erythritol, other sweeteners such as Lakanto should be fine.
Soft Butter is Key: Use softened butter. The butter should be soft enough for you to press a finger easily into it. If not, warm it up ever so slightly before proceeding, otherwise the other ingredients won’t beat in as well.
Crispy Cookie Secret: Remember, they will continue to crisp up as they cool so, as hard as it might be, leave them alone for a bit.
Variations and Substitutions
Nuts: If you don’t like pecans, can I add something else? Absolutely! Many readers have enjoyed these as low carb chocolate chip cookies too.
Dairy-Free: Can you make them dairy free? I have not tested this myself but palm shortening or coconut oil will probably work.
Storage Instructions
These are best enjoyed right away, but you can place in an airtight container to keep in the fridge for about a week, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Once baked, simply keep these low carb cookies in a covered container on the counter for up to 5 days. You can also refrigerate them for up to 10 days or freeze them for several months.
If you would prefer to freeze the raw dough, please refer to the “Slice and Bake” method outlined below.
Slice and Bake Method
I want to give you one additional tip for these low carb cookies that I think you will appreciate, and that’s the slice and bake method. It’s ideal for making them in advance and baking a few cookies at a time.
- Divide the dough in half and roll each into a log about 1 1/2 inches thick.
- Wrap each log tightly in waxed paper and freeze for 1 hour.
- Use a sharp knife to slice the dough into 1/4 inch slices. Proceed as directed.
- You can freeze the dough logs for up to 2 months, but they will be very hard right out of the freezer. Let them soften for about 20 minutes before slicing. You can just cut a few and return the rest of the dough to the freezer, or you can make the whole batch.
Why No Eggs or Baking Powder in Some Variations?
Why don’t these low carb cookies take any eggs or baking powder? Won’t they fall apart? As mentioned above, these are shortbread style cookies. The recipe works as written and trust me, as long as you are using finely ground almond flour, they hold together just fine!
Additional Tips for Success
Soft and Creamy: Soft, buttery, and filled with nutty pecan goodness, these Keto Cream Cheese Pecan Cookies are a dream for anyone following a low-carb lifestyle. The cream cheese adds a luscious richness, while the pecans bring the perfect crunch. These cookies are not only delicious but also keto-friendly, making them a guilt-free indulgence. They’re easy to whip up and perfect for satisfying your sweet cravings.
Keep Circular Shape: You will need two muffin tins to make these cookies in order to keep a circular shape. As the cookie dough is very rich and delicate, I found that baking them on a baking tray lead to the cookies spreading. The soft cookie dough is made into two logs as I found it easier to handle dough rather than just one log. Rolled in chopped pecan nuts, it is then placed in the freezer or fridge to firm up. Once the dough is firm, it's just slice and bake! Place the pecans into a food processor and blitz until the pecans have become like small breadcrumbs.Add the cream cheese, butter, erythritol, baking powder and salt. Blitz until the mixture is blended into a very soft dough.Remove the soft mixture and using damp hands roll into two logs.Place the chopped pecans on two squares of parchment paper.Roll each cookie dough log into the chopped pecans for a coating.Wrap the cookie dough logs in parchment paper and place in the freezer for 30 minutes or the fridge for 2 hours to firm up.Lightly spray two muffin tins.Remove the cookie rolls from the fridge/freezer and cut intohalf inch slices. Place the circular slice into the muffin tins and press a pecan half in the centre of each cookie.Bake for 15-18 minutes at 180C/350F degrees until the edges are golden.Allow to cool completely before removing from the muffin tin.Store in a sealed container in the fridge.
A Note on Nutritional Information
I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. The net carbs will be the total carb count minus the fibre count. Variations may occur for various reasons, including product availability and food preparation.