For those craving a sweet, tangy, and guilt-free treat, look no further than these Keto Lemon Cookies. These cookies are not only easy to make but also perfectly balance sweetness and lemony zest, making them ideal for spring, summer, or any time you need a burst of sunshine. Whether you're following a keto, low-carb, gluten-free, or even paleo/vegan diet, this recipe can be easily adapted to suit your needs.
Why You'll Love These Low Carb Lemon Cookies
These cookies are a favorite for several reasons:
- Easy to Make: The cookie requires only a handful of simple ingredients.
- Soft and Flavorful: The center is soft and bursting with bright lemon flavors.
- Macro-Friendly: Each cookie contains approximately 132 calories and only 1 net carb.
- Diet-Friendly: They're gluten-free, grain-free, diabetic and ketogenic friendly, and low in carbs.
- Adaptable: You can easily make them paleo or vegan with a few simple swaps.
If you're obsessed with lemon desserts but trying to keep your sugar intake low, these soft and chewy keto lemon cookies are sure to curb that sweet tooth craving.
Ingredients You'll Need
The best part about these low-carb lemon cookies is that they require only a few ingredients, many of which you probably already have in your pantry:
- Almond Flour: Be sure to use superfine blanched almond flour and not almond meal. Almond flour is the main nut flour providing most of the bulk. Measure properly using the spoon and level method.
- Unsalted Butter: Grass-fed butter like Kerrygold is preferred, but you can also use ghee for paleo lemon cookies, refined coconut oil, or vegan butter if you want to make these vegan lemon cookies.
- Powdered Monk Fruit Sweetener: This low-glycemic, sugar-free sweetener resembles the taste and texture of confectioners’ sugar but is keto-friendly, diabetic-friendly, and paleo-friendly. If you don’t have powdered monk fruit sweetener, you can swap with another powdered low carb sweetener like SWERVE, erythritol, or stevia. And if you are not low carb, any powdered sugar would work as well.
- Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest: These give the cookies that bold and refreshing citrus flavor.
- Vanilla Extract: This brings out the flavors from all the other ingredients.
Step-by-Step Guide to Making Keto Lemon Cookies
These keto lemon shortbread cookies start off like most classic lemon cookies. The cookies don’t spread much so you won’t even have to chill the dough.
Read also: The Ultimate Keto Lemon Chicken Guide
- Cream Butter and Sweetener: To start, beat the butter using an electric mixer. Next, add the lemon juice and lemon zest (about half a lemon) to infuse the batter with lemon flavor. If you like your lemon desserts to be extra-lemony, feel free to add a touch of lemon extract.
- Add the Remaining Ingredients: Next, add the vanilla, powdered monk fruit sweetener, and blanched almond flour and mix until the dough comes together.
- Roll into Balls: Roll cookie dough into 9 balls, approximately 1.5 tablespoons of dough each, or use a small cookie scoop.
- Bake: Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F degrees for approximately 8-10 minutes or until golden on the edges. Carefully transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Glaze (Optional): Enjoy as is or top with the easy two-ingredient glaze and garnish with sliced almonds, sesame seeds, or poppyseeds.
How to Make a Sugar-Free Lemon Glaze
It’s really simple to make low carb lemon glazed cookies. All you’re going to need for this 2-ingredient vegan glaze is:
- Unsweetened almond milk (or any milk of your choice)
- Powdered monk fruit sweetener
Whisk until smooth and drizzle over the keto lemon sugar cookies and allow glaze to dry before stacking.
Variations to Try
- Lemon Poppyseed Cookies: A popular choice, especially during the spring. Make low carb lemon poppyseed cookies by adding 1/2 tablespoon poppyseeds to the batter before rolling the dough into balls.
- Paleo Lemon Cookies: Simply swap out the butter for ghee or refined coconut oil, or vegan butter for vegan lemon cookies.
- Lemon Crinkle Cookies: Roll the cookies in granulated sweetener before baking.
Tips for the Best Keto Lemon Cookies
- Be sure to use superfine blanched almond flour and NOT almond meal to ensure the cookies are soft and not gritty.
- Use the spoon and level method when measuring flour and the sweetener.
- Use powdered or confectioners’ sweetener of your choice. Monk fruit sweetener is often preferred for its taste.
- If your dough seems a little bit sticky, try adding 1-2 teaspoons of almond flour or chill the dough (covered) in the fridge for 20 minutes to avoid having the cookies spread too much.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper so the cookies do not stick.
- Gently flatten the dough with a fork or the back of a spoon as the cookies do not spread out much.
- Top your gluten-free lemon cookies with the 2-ingredient glaze (you can even add lemon or vanilla extract) to make these grain-free lemon cookies even more irresistible.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
- Freezing: To freeze, place the cookies on a baking sheeting in a single layer and freeze for 20 minutes. Store in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
- Storing: These cookies aren’t overly moist, so they last well on the counter in an airtight container for 3 or 4 days. If they will be around longer than that, you can refrigerate them for up to a week.
Other Keto Cookie Recipes to Explore
If you enjoy these keto lemon cookies, you might also like:
- Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Low Carb Breakfast Cookies
- Sugar-Free Snowball Cookies
Recipe Variations and Expert Tips
- Sweetener Options: You need a granular sweetener for the cookies to beat into the butter and give them the right consistency, but it doesn’t have to be erythritol-based. You can use BochaSweet or allulose, or a mix of sweeteners. Just keep in mind that allulose will make the cookies brown faster, so keep your eye on them. The frosting requires a powdered sweetener for structure. Again, it doesn’t have to be erythritol-based, but allulose may make the frosting softer, so don’t add the cream until you see how it turns out.
- Adding Lemon Flavor: Lemon extract is inexpensive and available at most grocery stores. It works best in the cookies as using fresh lemon juice introduces a lot of extra moisture. In the frosting, lemon juice works well to give the right flavor and consistency.
- Food Coloring: You don’t have to color your frosting, but a light yellow makes the cookies look even more lemony and inviting. There are many good vegetable-based food dyes, but use a light touch when adding it in.
Nutritional Information
Here's a quick look at the nutritional information for these Keto Lemon Cookies (per cookie):
- Calories: 132 kcal
- Fat: 12g
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
Note: Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy using the WPRM recipe calculator. It is best to make your own calculations to ensure accuracy.
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