Low-Carb Shortbread Cookies
Low-Carb Shortbread Cookies
Low carb • Sugar-free butter rounds, pale gold and sandy — 20 minutes, sixteen cookies
These are low-carb shortbread cookies, not wheat bakery shortbread. Soft butter, almond flour, and allulose cream into a pale dough, then bake into round cookies with a sandy crumb, like the bowl and the mixer in the photo. Twenty minutes. No wheat flour, no sugar.
Sixteen cookies. Cream the butter first. Pull them while they are still pale.
Why you’ll love these cookies
- 2g protein per cookie — a small butter bite
- 1g net carbs — almond flour plus allulose, not sugar flour
- About 20 minutes, one sheet
- Pale gold rounds, sandy crumb, like the photo
- No boxed mix, no sugar
- They keep in a tin without going stale fast
Health notes
- Protein: Low. These are shortbread, not protein cookies.
- Lower carb than bakery shortbread: Almond flour and allulose. Close to keto-zero at 1g net.
- Sixteen cookies: Macros are per cookie, not the bowl.
- Wheat flour or sugar will jump the carbs. Stay with almond flour and allulose.
Key element — cream the butter, do not overbake
Shortbread is butter first. Beat soft butter and allulose until pale, like the mixer bowl in the photo, then fold in almond flour. Do not add extra liquid. Bake until the bottoms just turn gold and the tops stay pale. Dark cookies taste toasted, not shortbread.
Ingredients
Cookies (16)
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup powdered allulose
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp coconut flour, optional, if the dough is sticky
Swaps
- Salted butter: Skip the added salt.
- Lemon: Add 1 tsp lemon zest with the vanilla.
- Wheat flour or sugar: Skip them. That is how carbs jump.
- Coconut oil: Use only if the butter is out. The crumb will be less classic.
Instructions
| 1 | Heat. Heat oven to 325 F (165 C). Line a sheet with parchment. |
| 2 | Cream. Beat softened butter and allulose 2 minutes until pale and smooth, like the bowl in the photo. |
| 3 | Fold. Stir in vanilla, salt, and almond flour. Add coconut flour only if the dough sticks to your hands. |
| 4 | Shape. Roll 16 balls, about 1 Tbsp each. Flatten into rounds 1/2 inch thick. Fork the tops if you want the classic marks. |
| 5 | Bake. Bake 11 to 14 minutes until the bottoms are just gold and the tops stay pale, like the photo. Cool 10 minutes on the sheet. One cookie is one serving. |
Pro tips
- Soft butter, not melted. Melted butter spreads.
- Cream until pale. That is the shortbread texture.
- Allulose, not sugar. That is how 1g net stays 1g net.
- Bake pale. Brown shortbread tastes toasted.
- Cool on the sheet. They firm as they sit.
Nutrition
| Nutrient | Per cookie (1 of 16) |
|---|---|
| Calories | 105 |
| Protein | 2g |
| Net carbohydrates | 1g |
| Total carbohydrates | 2g |
| Fiber | 1g |
| Total fat | 10g |
| Sodium | 40mg |
Estimates with almond flour, butter, and allulose. Wheat flour or sugar will raise carbs. These are lower-carb shortbread cookies, close to keto-zero.
Variations
Vanilla bean
Use 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste instead of extract.
Rosemary
Add 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary to the dough.
Chocolate dip
Dip cooled edges in melted sugar-free chocolate. Count the chocolate extra.
Cutouts
Chill the dough 15 minutes, roll 1/4 inch, and cut rounds. Same bake time.
Storage
| Method | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Eat now | Best | After they cool and firm on the sheet |
| Room temp | Up to 5 days | Closed tin |
| Freezer | Up to 1 month | Wrap. Thaw on the counter 15 minutes |
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