Keto Shortbread Brownies

Keto Shortbread Brownies … a combo I dreamed about one night in bed.

I began to wonder if anyone had ever tried to combine the two..

Turns out, a few people have, and the combo of brownies and shortbread can be pretty tasty together!

To make this dream-worthy dessert. I decided to combine two of my already delicious recipes, including the cookie base from these chocolate caramel shortbread cookies and the brownie base from these cheesecake brownies. While both are great on their own, they're even better together!

These turned out delicious. A soft and fudgey keto brownie on top of a delicious slightly crisper low carb shortbread.

The perfect afternoon snack with a cup of coffee!

Keto Shortbread Brownie Ingredients:

• Almond Flour – I use the Kirkland Costco brand of almond flour (I buy it in bulk on Amazon or at Costco itself occasionally) for this recipe. As I’ve noted in many of my past recipes, the brand of almond flour can affect the final outcome of the recipe because absorbency can vary depending on how the flour has been processed.
• Cocoa Powder – I use the Rodelle brand again from Costco. I find it to taste better than other brands!
• Xanthan gum This is used to create a batter more similar to that of white flour. It helps give the brownies a chewier texture.
• Cornstarch – This is completely optional. Cornstarch makes your brownies a bit more soft and silky. It does have 7g of carbs in a tablespoon but when spread throughout a recipe like this one it adds less than 1g of carbs to each brownie and will not affect your state of ketosis if you track the brownies in your daily carb allowance. If you leave it out, be sure to replace it with 2 extra tablespoons of almond flour OR you can also replace it with 1 tbsp arrowroot starch which is very similar to cornstarch but lower carb. PLEASE DON'T LEAVE AN ANGRY COMMENT ABOUT CORNSTARCH, LOL. If you do not like this ingredient feel free to leave it out, these are still great with either of the substitutes as well.
• Powdered Monkfruit Erythritol Sweetener  –   I use the SoNourished brand for both granular and powdered sweetener and love it! The powdered is the best option for no-bake goods and desserts where you want a very smooth final product. I used the powdered in this recipe as sometimes the granular can remain a tad “crunchy” in slightly undercooked/fudgier brownie recipes such as this one.
• I use Krisda chocolate-chips in this recipe as they are just 2 NET carbs per tbsp.. but you can also use dark chocolate or lily’s chocolate-chips.

Tools I used to make Keto Shortbread Brownies

– Low Carb Substitution Guide – This is totally optional but if you like my recipes, I now have a $5 guide available with all of the substitutions I use to create every recipe on my site. You can use this to convert old traditional recipes and create new keto recipes! You can purchase it here and/or read more if you are interested. 🙂 I appreciate your support so much guys!

– Nutritional Food Scale – AKA my best friend. This little buddy has been with me for over 4 years and never fails. Perfect measurements and only needs the batteries replaced maybe once a year!

Tips For Making Keto Shortbread Brownies

• I used an odd size of pan that's between 9 x 13 and 9 x 9 but I'd recommend using an 9 x 13 pan for this recipe. 
• These squares can be a little crumbly if you aren't careful, so be sure to let them cool fully, don't over-bake them and use a sharp knife to gently cut squares. 
• These two recipes are delicious together but feel free to make the cookies or brownies separate as well!

Ingredients:

Serves: 24

Shortbread Base

• 3/4 cup coconut flour, 84g
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp almond flour, 134g
• 1/4 tsp salt (1/2 tsp if using unsalted butter)
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (optional, helps dough stick together)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp butter softened (210g)
• 1/2 cup monkfruit/erythritol sweetener, 96g (or another sweetener to taste)
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Brownie Layer

• 1/2 cup almond flour, 56g
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 24g
• 1 tbsp cornstarch, 7g (optional, replace with 1 tbsp arrowroot starch or 2 tbsp almond flour if not using)
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp salted butter, softened, 90g
• 2/3 cup powdered monkfruit erythritol sweetener, 130g
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cup stevia sweetened chocolate-chips, 12oz or 336g
• 1/2 tbsp coconut oil or butter
• 1/4 cup stevia sweetened chocolate-chips, separate, optional, 60g

Directions:

For the Shortbread: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350*F.
2. Combine all dry ingredients except sweetener in a medium bowl.
3. In another bowl add your butter, sweetener, and extracts.
4. Using a fork or hand mixer, beat well until light and fluffy (I recommend partially stirring in the sweetener before beating if using powdered) 
5. Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients, mix until a thick dough is formed (you may need to use your hands to get it fully mixed).
6. Line a 9×13 inch dish with parchment paper, spray or brush the paper with a little butter or oil then use your hands to press your shortbread into the bottom the pan to create an even layer. Poke holes in the dough with a fork.
7. Bake for 8min then remove from the oven and set aside (we are just partially baking it so don't leave it in any longer). 

For The Brownies

1. Meanwhile, put together your brownie base by mixing together your almond flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, xanthan gum and salt in a medium bowl. Set this aside.
2. In another bowl, beat together your eggs, butter, vanilla and sweetener until smooth. Set aside.
3. In a large microwavable bowl, melt your chocolate-chips and coconut oil in 30s increments, stirring each time until smooth.
4. Pour your butter and egg mixture into the chocolate-chips and stir until well-incorporated and smooth.
5. Next stir in your dry ingredients and mix until a thick batter forms. Fold in your additional chocolate-chips if using.
6. Gently spread your brownie layer on top of the shortbread layer as evenly as possible then bake place everything bake in the pre-heated oven for 25-30min. You want a toothpick to come out relatively clean but be sure not to over-bake your brownies as they will still bake a bit as they cool in the pan. **(These took 35min in my oven but my oven typically bakes on the slower side so just keep that in mind).
7. Let the brownies cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15-20min before moving them to a fridge to cool for another hour or 2. Once fully cooled, you can cut them into squares and then store them in an airtight container on the counter or freeze them in a container between layers of parchment paper and take them out when you feel like a snack! Enjoy your Keto Shortbread Brownies! 

Nutrition for 1/24th of Keto Shortbread Brownies INCLUDING additional chocolate-chips: 224 calories | 19.8g fat | 4g NET carbs | 4.2g protein | 8g fibre

Nutrition for 1/24th of Keto Shortbread Brownies WITHOUT additional chocolate-chips: 216 calories | 19.1g fat | 3.3g NET carbs | 4.1g protein

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