Indulge Guilt-Free: Decadent Keto Shortbread Crust Recipe You Can’t Resist!

These buttery keto shortbread cookies, crafted with almond flour, offer a rich and tender experience. These cookies are buttery, flaky, golden, and sweet (but not too sweet). This recipe makes twelve cookies, which admittedly is not a lot, but you can easily double it and use two baking sheets. These shortbread cookies are easy to make and so delicious. They are so tasty you will hardly know that they are better for you. They are made from wholesome ingredients, and can be made with a variety of sweeteners (even regular sugar for just 4 grams of net carbs per cookie).

Why Shortbread is Special

Shortbread cookies are one of my favorites. They are reminiscent of those classic buttery shortbread cookies from childhood. The term "short," in the context of pastries, means "crumbly," as these cookies should be. Being crumbly does not mean they are dry - the butter takes care of that. Take a look at the image below - it shows you how soft and buttery these cookies are on the inside. These buttery keto shortbread cookies are made with almond flour. Much like almond flour cookies, these cookies are wonderful as a treat accompanied by coffee (as shown in the photo below) or mint tea.

Ingredients You'll Need

This recipe is super simple with just 8 ingredients, no baking powder or eggs required.

Unsalted butter: I love using European-style butter. For a dairy-free and paleo option, you can use softened Miyokos Plant Butter. I prefer salted butter for these cookies. Be sure to use softened butter, not melted!
Sweetener: I use stevia glycerite. I like the glycerite formulation and find that it nearly eliminates the typical stevia aftertaste. By using stevia, the recipe only needs ¼ cup of granulated sweetener, so even regular sugar can be used and the cookies will still be low carb. I don't recommend omitting the stevia.
Vanilla extract: Instead of vanilla extract, you can use almond, coconut, or orange extract.
Almond flour: I use superfine almond flour. I purchase blanched ultra-fine almond flour from Costco, and this is what I use in all my baking recipes that call for it. It is of great quality and inexpensive.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the butter in a medium, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave it on high until melted, for about 30 seconds.
Add the stevia, vanilla, and salt. Whisk to incorporate.
Gradually add the almond flour. Mix with a rubber spatula or a fork, and then lightly knead the mixture into a dough. After mixing the ingredients and lightly kneading, you should have a dough that you can easily manipulate by hand. It should be crumbly but not dry. If it's very dry, add a tablespoon of water. If using a granulated sweetener instead of stevia, you'll likely need to add some water to make the dough a little less crumbly.
Scoop the dough onto the parchment paper with a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop.
Shape each cookie with your hands into a 2-inch-diameter, ¼-inch thick cookie. Space the cookies 1 inch apart. They don't expand much during baking.
Bake the cookies until they turn golden and fragrant, about 12-15 minutes. Don't overbake - they are light in color when ready, although they do take on a golden hue.
Cool the cookies in the pan for 10 minutes - they will still be soft at this point - then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack and cool them for 10 more minutes before serving.

Sweetener Options and Adjustments

Any granulated sweetener can be used in this recipe. A sweetener that measures 1:1 or that is slightly less sweet than regular sugar will work best. Liquid sweetener will not work. Baking time will depend on what granulated sweetener you use. Using a little bit of stevia in this recipe helps to sweeten without increasing carb count and limits the gastrointestinal effects of low glycemic sweeteners.

Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers

Granulated Allulose - Allulose is slightly less sweet than regular sugar, but it works in this recipe paired with stevia. If you want your cookies a little sweeter, you can add a little more stevia (up to an additional ¼ tsp). I don't recommend adding more allulose as most people cannot tolerate it in large quantities. Allulose browns quicker than erythritol or sugar and produces slightly darker cookies. If using allulose, bake for about 9-11 minutes.
Whole Earth Monk Fruit Erythritol Blend - Any blend of granulated erythritol can be used that measures 1:1 with regular sugar.
Regular Granulated Sugar - Because we use stevia in this recipe, you do not need a lot of granulated sweetener to sweeten the recipe. Using regular sugar will yield low carb shortbread cookies with about 4 grams of net carbs per cookie.

Tips for Perfect Keto Shortbread

Cream the butter and sweetener together. This allows small pockets of air to form in the butter which prevent the sweetener and butter from melting too quickly.
Use loose and level scoops. Use the spoon and level method to measure the dry ingredients.
Add the right amount of salt. The amount of salt you use will depend on the sweetener you are using and your own preferences. I use salted butter + ¼ teaspoon of salt. I like the cookies to taste sweet and slightly salty.
Chill the dough! If rolling the dough and using a cookie cutter, chilling the dough in the fridge so that it is easier to work with (usually 20 minutes is sufficient, but this will depend on the temperature of your house and how softened the butter was).
If you prefer softer cookies, aim to slightly underbake (usually baking for about 9-12 minutes depending on the sweetener used).

Troubleshooting

Why are my cookies hard? Hard cookies are usually a result of over-baking. Shortbread cookies generally are not chewy, but they should be a crumbly, tender, melt-in-your mouth texture. Review the sweetener notes for specific bake times based on the sweetener I have tested in this recipe to avoid over-baking. Also, keep that the thickness of your cookies will change the bake time. Consider your elevation when baking. I also always use an internal oven thermometer to ensure my oven is holding the correct temp.
Why is my dough not holding together? If your dry ingredients were too dense, the dough might have difficulty holding together. Make sure you are using the spoon and level method when measuring these ingredients.
Why is my dough difficult to roll out? If you leave your dough in the fridge for too long, it might be difficult to roll out. Not chilling the dough long enough may make it a little too sticky to work with. Aim for chilling at least 15 minutes but not more than 30 minutes so that the butter doesn't solidify too much.

Variations and Serving Suggestions

This versatile keto shortbread dough also makes a lovely low carb tart base or keto pie crust, which does not require pre-chilling.

Storage Instructions

You can store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The photo below shows how I store them in a glass food storage container. For longer storage, you can freeze these shortbread cookies by placing the cooled cookies in an airtight freezer bag. Simply remove from the freezer and thaw at room temperature for a couple hours before enjoying. You can make the cookie dough and freeze it for freshly baked low carb cookies anytime!

To do so, make the dough and cut the cookies. Place the cookie dough on a parchment paper lined sheet pan and place in the freezer for about 20 minutes, or until partially frozen. Once partially frozen, transfer the cookie dough to an airtight container or a resealable freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month. Alternatively, if you are using the slicing method (instead of cookie cutters), you can freeze the dough as a cylinder for up to 1 week. Simply place the dough wrapped in parchment paper into a resealable freezer bag and remove the air.

I love eating this cookie dough raw since there are no eggs in it. To freeze raw cookie dough to eat, I skip cutting the cookies. I use a 1-ounce cookie scoop to divide the dough and then freeze it on a parchment paper lined sheet baking.

Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto

tags: #keto #shortbread #crust #recipe