These Keto Shortbread Cookies have a hint of lemon and are made with a shortbread dough that makes beautiful keto shortbread cookies, or the perfect low carb shortbread crust for a summer fruit tart or lemon meringue pie!
These Keto Shortbread cookies are my new easy, “go to” keto cookie recipe – and once you try them you’ll understand why!
I wasn’t always a fan of lemon flavored desserts – in fact, as a kid I wouldn’t even eat them. In my adulthood though, I’ve come to appreciate the brightness that lemon imparts to a dessert, especially in keto recipes – and now I can’t get enough of it.
I would even go so far as to say that when given the choice of lemon over chocolate, 75% of the time the lemon flavored dessert would win out. Crazy, I know – sometimes I can’t believe it either!
So maybe it’s due to all of the pastel colored foodie magazines showing up in my mailbox, and the promise of Spring and warmer weather just around the corner, but I’ve had lemons on the brain for weeks now.
Anyway, during my crazed obsession with all things lemon last week, I also made these awesome keto shortbread cookies with lemon zest, and they did NOT disappoint!
These keto shortbread cookies require just four ingredients and have an addicting but subtle lemon flavor and crusty shortbread texture that I absolutely love!
Be sure to use a sweetener that is advertised to bake like sugar in these keto shortbread cookies (I prefer granulated erythritol like Swerve, or a monk fruit and erythritol blend like Lakanto) and not a liquid sugar free sweetener or they may not hold together properly.
Also important is that you chill this keto shortbread dough before you cut them into cookies, otherwise they will crumble apart and be impossible to work with.
This versatile keto shortbread dough also makes a lovely low carb tart base or keto pie crust, which does not require pre-chilling. You simply press it into your pan and bake it for 15 minutes.
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Keto Shortbread Cookies
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 1 large tart or 16 cookies (about 2 inches in diameter) 1x
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
Keto shortbread cookies – but the dough also makes the perfect low carb shortbread crust for a summer fruit tart or lemon meringue pie!
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cups superfine blanched almond flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sweetener (Swerve & Lakanto are my favorites)
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
Instructions
To make the dough:
- Melt the butter in the microwave or a small saucepan.
- Add the almond flour, sweetener, and lemon zest, stirring until fully combined.
To make cookies:
- Gather dough into a ball (it will be crumbly at first, this is normal)
- Then form into a cylinder shape about 10 inches long and 1.5 inches in diameter ( and wrap tightly with plastic wrap to compress.
- Chill in freezer for 30 minutes or until firm, or in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- With a sharp knife, slice into 1/2 inch thick cookies (if they crumble apart your dough isn’t cold enough) and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until firm and golden brown.
- Allow to cool before removing.
To make a tart or pie crust:
- No need to pre-chill, just press dough into tart or pie tins.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees (F) for 15 mins, or until firm and golden brown.
Notes
Approx nutrition info per 1/8th tart crust: 238 calories, 23g fat, 3g net carbs, 6g protein
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Keto desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 119
- Fat: 11g
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
Can’t get enough keto lemon dessert recipes? Me either! Check out this amazing collection of delicious low carb lemon recipes from some of our favorite bloggers!
Julie says
Hi Mellissa – I love shortbread cookies and this recipe is written is great. I’ve made these and your pecan shortbread recipe several times and they are both great.
I was wondering if you think your lemon shortbread cookie recipe could be adapted to an interesting olive & rosemary shortbread cookie recipe recently posted on the NYT Cooking site: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023679-savory-shortbread-cookies-with-olives-and-rosemary
Except for the flour and regular sugar, it seems the recipe should be able to be adapted to keto. It already includes lemon zest and kalamata olives are relatively low in carbs, I was thinking this might be an interesting compliment to a cheese board for the holidays. If you can offer ny adjustments you would make for the extra liquid from the olives, I would appreciate it. Thank you!
Mary says
Wow! I’m brand new to keto and wanted to make keto cookies so I would stay on track if I had any cravings. These are delicious, have great texture and are so easy to make. I used almond & vanilla extract since I didn’t have any lemon on hand and they came out beautifully. I’m very impressed. I can’t wait to try out your other recipes!
Nancy in Medford OR says
These lemon shortbread cookies are to die for!! I accidentally used a heavy hand with measuring the flour, and couldn’t get them to form a roll, but following your pie crust note, I just dumped the dough into the bottom of a 10″ pie plate, turned it into a pie crust without the sides and then used a pastry roller to compress it more. I cut it into wedges before baking.
So easy!! I make these “cookies” every week. This recipe is so forgiving that I truly don’t understand the snarky remarks (or the lack of imagination that resulted in “epic fails.”)
Thank you, Mellissa, for yet another outstanding treat.
Melissa Lahey says
I make this several times a year and they are always a hit. I add in vanilla extract. Also makes my go to keto pie crust.
Suzanne D says
Easy peasy, I still taste the cool but the lemon makes it go down easy, I will try with chai or pumpkingpie spices next time!
Sandra says
Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
The shortbread cookies turned out perfect & my husband really likes them.
Too bad I can’t add a picture of the cookies I’ve made in the comment. 🤣🤣🤣
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Sandra! Glad they turned out and that they are hubby approved!
Sean says
Hi Melissa,
Could you add a metric option as that’s much easier?
Thanks so much
Donna Dutton says
These sound lovely and I will give them a try but one thing I would like to ask is if you could please include metric measurements for ingredients. It would be so helpful for those of us who are not accustomed to using such measurements as a tablespoon of butter. Love your site – so helpful – and recipes but I always have to convert them myself, sometimes with slightly iffy results. Many thanks Mellissa, and kind regards.
Nic says
Why not use the crumbs as a topping for something else? Instead of being over reactionary.
Anyways, the recipe worked for me.
Sandy says
100% I never waste a thing!
Pim says
Can I replace Almond flour with Coconut flour… If yes how much?