Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies
Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies are the perfect thing when you’re craving cookies and want an easy recipe that’s low in carbs! And these amazing gluten-free and keto shortbread cookies only take minutes to make!
PIN Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies to make them later!
I know people bake cookies a bit more during the holidays, but truthfully if you try these amazing Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies I bet you’re going to end up making them all year long. These tasty little cookies can literally be made in under 30 minutes, and they’re low-carb, Keto, and gluten-free!
In fact these shortbread cookies only have one net carb per cookie, and plenty of good fat from the almond flour too! The cookies were so easy and tasty that the very day I tested the recipe with Kara, I started typing up the recipe so I could share them with you right away!
Even if you’re someone like me who’s not much into baking, these cookies are so quick and easy to make that you can whip them up in no time whenever you’re wanting something sweet. And we loved them just as much as we did the Almond Flour Brownies I shared recently; hope you enjoy them too!
What ingredients do you need?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- blanched Almond Flour (affiliate link)
- butter (softened)
- Lakanto Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link)
- salt
- vanilla extract
What are Shortbread Cookies?
Shortbread is a classic cookie that traditionally has sugar, butter, flour, and salt and sometimes a touch of vanilla extract. Unlike many other cookies, shortbread does not contain any baking powder or baking soda. This keto almond flour shortbread cookie replaces the flour with almond flour, uses less butter because of the fat in the almond flour, and does use some vanilla.
What almond flour did we use for the Shortbread Cookies?
We tested this recipe with Costco Brand Kirkland Blanched Almond Flour. I think any brand of blanched almond flour will work fine, but I wouldn’t use unblanched almond flour.
Can you use regular Monkfruit for the Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies?
I’m sure some people are going to wonder if you can use Classic Monkfruit Sweetener in these cookies instead of the Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) that’s recommended. I haven’t tested it that way, and I am going to guess that you need the super-fine powdered monkfruit to mix into a recipe like this with so few ingredients and no liquids. But if anyone successfully makes this with classic Monkfruit (or another non-powdered sweetener) please let us know in the comments!
Can you make Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies dairy-free?
I haven’t tried making a dairy-free version of these cookies, but I am betting that Coconut Oil (affiliate link) will work for a dairy-free option. If anyone has good luck with that, let us know in the comments!
How to Make Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Preheat oven to 350F/176C. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Be sure your almond flour is at room temperature and not clumped.
- Add softened butter, Lakanto Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener, salt, and vanilla extract, and mix with a fork.
- Continue mixing until the mixture comes together into a loose dough.
- Use a teaspoon to measure out a heaping teaspoon of dough, then roll with your clean hands into 15 small balls.
- Use the fork to press the cookies down.
- Bake cookies 9-10 minutes, or until they are starting to get firm.
- Leave cookies on the baking mat to cool for 5 minutes.
- Cookies can be stored in a container with a snap-tight lid or frozen.
More Tasty Cookies with Almond Flour:
- Flourless Sugar-Free Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
- Sugar-Free Flourless Cookies with Almond Flour and Flaxseed
- Flourless Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies
- Sugar-Free Gluten-Free Triple Almond Cookies
- Flourless Sugar-Free Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies
Almond flour makes a perfect Keto shortbread cookie that's delicious and easy to make without too many ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 3 T butter, softened
- 3 T Lakanto Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener (see notes)
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/176C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat (affiliate link) like I did.
- Be sure your almond flour is at room temperature and not clumped. (If you store it in the freezer, remove and let it warm up, then use a fork to break apart any lumps.)
- Add softened butter, Lakanto Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener, salt, and vanilla extract, and mix with a fork.
- Continue mixing until the mixture comes together into a loose dough.
- Use a teaspoon to measure out a heaping teaspoon of dough, then roll with your clean hands into 15 small balls.
- Use the fork to press the cookies down (either in straight lines or in a criss-cross pattern, whichever you prefer.)
- Bake cookies 9-10 minutes, or until they are starting to get firm.
- Leave cookies on the baking mat to cool for 5 minutes, or slightly longer. (Ours did get darker on the baking mat so remove them after 5 minutes if you prefer lighter cookies.)
- Cookies can be stored in a container with a snap-tight lid or frozen.
Notes
You can use any brand of powdered sweetener you prefer.
Nutrition Information
Yield
15Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 65Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 6mgSodium 37mgCarbohydrates 2gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 2g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies are a perfect recipe for Keto or for any low-carb eating plan. These cookies are fairly high in fat for the original South Beach Diet, although I certainly wouldn’t judge if you ate a few occasionally.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Desserts and Baking to find more cookie recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
36 Comments on “Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies”
Love & have missed shortbread cookies.
Think I will mix up extra & freeze for quick baking later.
Thank you.
I’m thinking I will make some :thumbprint,
some with nut pieces on top and some sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg and cardamom
And maybe some with mini chocolate chips like “kisses”.
Sounds like a good plan, hope you enjoy!
I must admit I was dubious. I’ve tried many a Almond Flour shortbread cookie and have been disappointed – not this time. These are AbFab!
I cut the vanilla to 1/4 tsp. and added 1/4 tsp. of Almond Extract. I also added some finely diced pecans.
I plan to experiment as I think they’d also be good with some mini chocolate chips 🙂
Have you doubled/tripled the recipe? As it is, it’s great for a treat for a few days but if I wanted to take these to a gathering or have them last a little longer, I’d like to make a bigger batch…
SO glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe. I’m sorry but I haven’t ever doubled or tripled the recipe but I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t work. You would probably have to bake in batches though.
delicious. I followed the recipe exactly. I used allulose for my sweetener. Next time I’ll double the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe and great to know it worked well with allulose too!
These are sooo good. When anyone of my friends (and my husband) tastes them they rave and can’t get enough.
Yay! And so simple too! Thank you for letting me know!
I just wanted to say thank you so much for this wonderful recipe, it helps me so much.
I used maple syrup (instead of monkfruit) and gf flour 2.5 tbsp each, then after making the dough I let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes and then make shapes (i used a flat knife instead of spatula for getting them to the baking pan and cook them. It’s very important let them rest also after baking them if not they will break.
Thank you so much again!
Glad you enjoyed it.
I love this recipe! I sometimes tire of the sweeteners so I’ve made them with Smart Sugar and with coconut sugar. Of course they are no longer completely sugar-free, but have a much lower sugar content. The coconut sugar gives an interesting taste dimension. I also tried plant based butter and find it makes quite a nice cookie.
So glad you are enjoying the recipe! Thanks for sharing all the variations; fun to hear about so many ways it will work.
I double the recipe, I used ghee and 5 tbsp of maple syrup (with 5 tbsp of gf flour) and I put it in the the refrigerator for 1 hour while I was busy with other things. Then I baked then and it turned out delicious 😋 super YUMMY!
Thank You for the recipe … !
So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me know.
Has anyone tried to use this recipe like a thumbprint cookie? I’d love to put a splash of strawberry jam on them but dont dare…
I haven’t done that, but I think it would work. But that is only a guess.
I do want to tell you that just this year (2022) I have been getting a few complaints that the cookies are crumbly, and in one of the blogger groups I am in some people were saying the butter producers are using lower quality ingredients to try to keep the price down, and that is affecting how the butter behaves in baking.
I haven’t had trouble myself, but I recommend buying a well-known brand of butter and not the in-store brand.
Yes I did with sf raspberry jelly. They were great.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Question…why use salt? What does it do? I have a family recipe from Scotland.. when I make them with Almond flour, they aren’t as “short” as the ones i make with flour. I should mention that the recipe calls for wheat flour plus Rice flour (we’ve always used Sweet Rice flour.) Thanks.
I haven’t made them without salt, and it’s only 1/8 teaspoon so I can’t imagine it makes a huge difference.
Do you have to use almond flour, or can I use regular flour. If I can use regular flour, how much do I use?
This recipe is designed for almond flour. If you want to use regular flour I’d just look for a recipe for shortbread cookies.
Has anyone ever tried to sub applesauce for the butter in a recipe like this? Trying to keep my fat in check. I’ve done it with muffins but not sure how it would work with a cookie. Thanks!
I don’t think this recipe will work with applesauce. I think it needs the butter to hold it together. But I am not experienced at making that switch, so if you try it and it works I’d love to know.
I’m so happy to find this recipe. I have not made it yet, but shortbread is my favorite cookie and I’ve yet found a paleo recipe I like. These look so good and I always like an easy recipe with minimum ingredients. Thank you!
Thanks Linda! We loved them; hope you enjoy!
A friend brought these to a church potluck. I loved them! Such a simple little bite of goodness! I made them myself today for the first time. Very easy! Hope mine are as good as hers were! Thank you for your great recipes! I’ve seen several I want to try.
So glad you are enjoying them! I am not a big cookie baker but I loved these and thought they were so easy to make.
I didn’t have monkfruit sweetener so I googled and substituted it with granulated sugar in the ratio of 1:2. So, in place of 3TBS of monkfruit sweetener I used 6 TBS of sugar. I used almond extract in place of vanilla extract. The cookies were phenomenal. Thank you for a great great recipe.
So glad you enjoyed. I have always seen the advice to substitute granulated Monkfruit 1:1 for sugar, so I’m glad they weren’t too sweet for you. Almond extract sounds good in these cookies!
Can you substitute maple syrup or honey for sweetener? And if yes, how much?
I haven’t ever tried that and since this recipe specifically calls for powdered sweetener I’m sorry to say that I don’t think liquid sweetener is going to work.
You might try entering the ingredients into google with the liquid sweetener and see if a recipe shows up. Maybe there is a way to adapt to make it work, but I wouldn’t know how to do that without a lot of experimenting.
So very glad to have found this eggless recipe! I am definitely going to try this out today…thank you again for sharing this, the cookies look delicious and easy to make.
Thanks, hope you enjoy!
These are good. I melted some sugar free chocolate morsels and put a small amount on each cookie. That made it like frosting and great.
So glad you enjoyed! That sounds like a fun variation.