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!
Jean says
I followed your instructions to a T and it turned out perfectly! I split the recipe and made both cookies and tarts. Your lemon curd recipe paired perfectly with the tarts!!
Thanks Mellissa!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
I’m sorry you had a bad experience, but the recipe doesn’t call for stevia, which likely accounts for your aftertaste. If you used poor quality almond flour that isn’t blanched or superfine – or contained rancid nuts, then that would account for the crumbling and also a bad flavor.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Nobody said to freeze it for an hour. Of course they crumbled. Frozen butter won’t slice correctly and will break apart – and so would a butter based cookie dough when frozen.
Mellissa Sevigny says
You threw off the ratio and there is no way the almond flour could hold together as a cookie with double the butter so it disintegrated and you ended up with crispy almond flour. For the record I don’t appreciate when people leave a crappy star rating on my recipes when they don’t follow them and get a bad result. If you want the recipe to turn out, follow it exactly next time.
Peggy Montgomery says
You go girl! I made the lemon, had no zest so used true lemon, about 1 1/4 tsp. Came out great.
and then made chocolate by taking out a little flour and putting in cocoa and a sprinkle of instant coffee. They are great with coffee and dipping the chocolate ones in almond butter. Our a speed cream cheese on lemon ones. Yummy!
Margot Wallace says
I made a double batch of these for a meeting tonight and and added the juice of 1.5 lemons! oh my gracious God! Amazing! Thank you for a well developed recipe that will become a family favorite! I can’t wait to see what you are cooking up next! ❤️
Melanie says
David, Is it necessary for you to post in all caps with multiple exclamation points and highly negative wording? If the recipe didn’t work for you, you can just as easily politely and calmly post that it didn’t work for you and why instead of screaming about it in all caps in a post. The wonderful lady who creates and posts these recipes is kind enough to share them with all of us here And it’s very ungracious of you to react in this way when a recipe doesn’t work for you.
Maaza says
Thank you! I loved them! I also added a pinch of salt and organic lemon extract to amp up the lemon flavor! ?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Was it superfine almond flour? If it was a very course grind they will be crumbly.
Mindy says
My daughter is allergic to almonds, so would it be possible to use coconut flour instead?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sorry but it won’t work the same – you’re better off searching Google or Pinterest for coconut flour based recipes!
Lish says
I made it with coconut flour. Had to adjust the amounts of flour and butter but they came out great!
dawn says
I have children allergic to almonds, so could you please pass on your coconut flour recipe that you substituted and the butter adjustments
. I appreciate it!!
Helen West says
Hi I’m in the UK I just made these using the exact ingredients but used Erythritol instead of splenda. They’ve had 25 mins and gone darker than yours and are still soft and crumbly. What am I doing wrong? I have a fan assisted oven should I reduce the heat next time?