Keto Butter Cookies (Only 4 Ingredients)

With only 4 ingredients, these low carb butter cookies are one of the easiest keto cookies you’ll ever make. The almond flour dough is easily mixed and formed by hand, no eggs needed.

These cookies are also very versatile. They can be an everyday dessert, or a shortbread-like cookie that you might serve at brunch or with tea (perhaps with a London Fog Tea Latte). You can dress them up with flavors like lemon or almond extract, sprinkle with cinnamon, or top with blueberry jam to make healthy Christmas thumbprint cookies during the holidays.

Recipe Development

This recipe was designed to be as simple as possible, keeping the ingredients list short (just almond flour, butter, sweetener, and vanilla) and using just enough softened butter to bind everything together. For convenience, salted butter is used so you don’t need to separately add salt.

Everything can be done by hand, which includes mixing ingredients and forming the dough. All you need is a mixing bowl and a sturdy wooden spoon or similar utensil, no special equipment like an electric mixer.

Sweeteners

Pure erythritol is about 70% as sweet as sugar. I typically buy the granulated form of erythritol online, and use my Nutribullet blender to pulverize it into powdered form, which is easily incorporated into dough. I recommend using 1/4 cup for a standard, sweet cookie and 3 tablespoons for a barely sweet version.

You can also use sweeteners that measure the same as sugar, such as swerve or lakanto monkfruit, both of which are erythritol blends. Verify that they are powdered or confectioners (not granulated) and that they are a 1:1 sugar substitution since these brands sell multiple versions. For these sweeteners, use 3 tablespoons for a standard, sweet cookie and 2 tablespoons for a barely sweet version.

Note that erythritol-based sweeteners are sugar alcohols. When calculating net carbs, subtract out the sugar alcohols as you would do for fiber. Since they are non-impact, the nutrition information below does not include them.

Baking Time

The baking time is about 10 minutes, and it will vary depending on your oven and the thickness of your cookies. The cookies are done when they’re golden around the edges, which has taken me anywhere from 8 to 12 minutes when testing with different ovens.

After the baked cookies have cooled completely, do a taste test. If they’re soft or have an odd texture, then they are likely underbaked. These cookies are perfectly baked when they have a crisp, shortbread-like texture.

Flavor Mix-ins

Since these keto cookies are like a blank canvas, readers have shared some creative ideas in the comments section:

• Replacing some of the almond flour with finely ground pecans
• Replacing some of the vanilla extract with almond extract or lemon extract
• Adding toasted sliced almonds, shredded coconut, or sugar-free dark chocolate chips
• Adding fresh juice or zest from lemons
• Adding unsweetened baking chocolate or cocoa powder
• Making thumbprint cookies with strawberry or blueberry jam
• Making snickerdoodles by dusting with cinnamon

If you’ve tried other flavors, leave a comment below to share your idea.

4.92 from 95 votes

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Keto Butter Cookies (Only 4 Ingredients)

With only 4 ingredients, these low carb butter cookies are one of the easiest keto cookies you'll ever make. The almond flour dough is easily mixed and formed by hand, no eggs needed.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 10 cookies

Calories 100 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 cup blanched almond flour (113 g or 4 oz wt.) (cannot be directly substituted with coconut flour)
• 1/4 cup powdered erythritol (36 g or 1.3 oz wt.) or 3 tbsp confectioners swerve (27 g or 1 oz wt.)
• 3 tbsp salted butter (43 g or 1.5 oz wt.), softened to room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, thoroughly stirring until they form a dough. As you stir, it will initially be crumbly, but will then form a cohesive dough. If your butter isn't soft enough, it may be difficult to fully combine by stirring; instead, try mixing the ingredients using your hands.

3. Use the dough to form ten 1-inch balls, placing them on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart from each other.
4. Flatten each dough ball using a fork, then rotate 90 degrees and flatten again, forming a criss-cross pattern. Or form into your desired shape and pattern. Note that these cookies will maintain their shape during baking and will not spread.

5. Bake at 350 F until the cookies are golden around the edges, about 10 minutes depending on the thickness of the cookies.

6. The cookies will be very soft when they come out of the oven. Let them cool completely before removing from the baking sheet. Store leftovers in a covered container at room temperature for up to a few days.

Nutrition Info

Makes 10 Servings

Amount Per Serving (1 cookie):

Calories 100
Total Fat 9g	14%
Saturated Fat 3g	13%
Cholesterol 9mg	3%
Sodium 30mg	1%
Net Carb 1g
Total Carb 2g	1%
Dietary Fiber 1g	5%
Sugars 0.5g
Protein 2g

Vitamin A 2% · Vitamin C 0% · Calcium 2% · Iron 2%

More Keto Desserts With Almond Flour

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Keto Peanut Butter Cookies

Keto Apple Crisp

Keto Pecan Sandies