Keto Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Keto Chocolate Shortbread Cookies are just as good as your traditional short bread cookies!

They are light with a just a bit of a snap as you break them.

Shortbread cookies have always been a favourite of mine for a couple reasons..

For one, they are seriously easy to make.

You don't even have to break any eggs for this recipe!

It's just mixing your dry ingredients, creaming the butter and in our case, sweetener together, then mixing all of that to form a dough.

This low carb chocolate shortbread dough is very easy to work with and won't stick to things!

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You simply roll it out, slice it into pieces and your good to go!

Another reason I love shortbread cookies is how buttery they are.

Since there are no eggs softening these cookies and leavening them, they end up having that beautiful snap when you break them in half unlike most other soft and chewy keto cookie recipes.

The base of these cookies is a combination of almond flour and coconut flour.

I've tried using one or the other for these keto cookies but the combination of the two flours always resulted in the best texture and flavour.

We also add cocoa powder to this recipe to make these a chocolate shortbread rather than traditional keto shortbread (which, I also already wrote a recipe for HERE).

To sweeten these low carb cookies I like to use a powdered monkfruit/erythritol blend that you can find on Amazon or a combination of the two sweeteners, swerve and truvia. Either option works well and I've listed the amounts to use for both!

These cookies also contain arrowroot starch and xanthan gum.

Arrowroot starch is helpful for providing that “melt-in-your-mouth” texture that shortbread cookies always have.

Xanthan gum on the other-hand, helps the cookie dough stick together and helps the cookie texture be more like that of traditional cookies. It does this by adding a gluten-like structure to the dough.

In terms of extracts, I love adding both vanilla and almond extract to these keto shortbread cookies.

The vanilla is traditional and the almond extract just adds this fantastic flavour that always reminds me of my Mom's classic melt-away Christmas shortbread cookies. I haven't been able to make shortbread without it ever since!

Lastly, we add just a tiny amount of baking powder to these shortbread cookies to give them just the slightest lift so they become just a tad lighter, as most keto cookies tend to be a little denser/heavier than their traditional white flour counterparts.

Overall, these cookies are a great low carb Christmas recipe to share with your friends and family or simply a cookie recipe you can make for a quick afternoon snack with a cup of hot coffee or tea.

Either way, I hope you enjoy them! Don't forget to tag me on instagram: @sammysamgirl if you make them!

Tools I used To Make Keto Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

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!
Parchment paper – great for rolling out the cookies with no sticking, also perfect to line the trays with for absolutely no sticking and a perfect golden shortbread cookie every time.
Rolling Pin
Pizza Cutter – Very useful for cutting the dough evenly into rectangles
Baking Sheets
Nonstick Coconut Oil Spray

Ingredients In The Keto Chocolate Shortbread Cookies Recipe

Almond & Coconut Flour I use the Kirkland Costco brand of almond flour (I buy it in bulk on Amazon or at Costco itself occasionally) and this brand of coconut flour for this recipe. As I’ve noted in many of my past recipes, the brand of almond and coconut flour can affect the final outcome of the recipe because absorbency can vary depending on how the flour has been processed.
Cocoa Powder – I love the Rodelle brand. You can find it at Costco. I just find it has really great chocolate flavour compared to other cocoa powder brands I've tried!
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/very soft muffin or bread recipes such as this one.
Xanthan gum This is used to create a batter more similar to that of white flour. It improves the overall texture of the cookies.

Tips For Making Low Carb Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Don't have arrowroot starch? You can also use cornstarch as a substitute or leave it out altogether. Your cookies may just have less of that “melt-in-your-mouth” quality that's common in shortbread.
If you choose to use cornstarch instead of arrowroot starch there is not a big change in the total net carbs. Cornstarch just adds an extra 0.27g of carbs per cookie.
Try dipping half of the cookies in melted dark chocolate once they've cooled for a fun twist.
When lifting your shortbread cookies from the area you are rolling and cutting them out to the tray where you want to bake them, use a thin spatula or butter knife to help lift them so they don't crack at all in the center.
Don't like chocolate? Try my original shortbread cookie recipe. You can find it HERE.
Don't have xanthan gum? You can still make these cookies! They just may be slightly more crumbly.

How To Store Keto Low Carb Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.
OR freeze and store in an airtight container or ziplock between layers of parchment/wax paper and remove whenever you want a quick snack!

Keto Chocolate Shortbread Cookies Recipe

Serves: ~20 cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup salted butter, softened
10 tbsp powdered monkfruit erythritol sweetener, 122g (For this recipe I actually love using 6 tbsp Swerve and 2 tbsp Truvia as well)
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 1/4 cups almond flour, 140g
1/2 cup cocoa powder, 48g
6 tbsp coconut flour, 42g
1 tbsp arrowroot starch, 8g (or cornstarch is OK if you don't have it)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt (1/4 tsp if using unsalted butter)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 300*F.
In a large bowl, beat together your butter and sweetener until light and fluffy. Add your extracts and beat once more until combined.
In another bowl, whisk together all of your dry ingredients including; almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, arrowroot starch, xanthan gum and salt.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir well until the dough becomes thick and everything is incorporated together.
Form your dough into a circle and then roll out between two sheets of parchment paper to the thickness you want your cookies (they won't change in much in the oven).
Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the edges of the dough to form an even rectangle then cut smaller rectangles from the large one. (I cut my rectangles about 2 1/2 inches in length and 1 1/4 inches in width).
Re-roll any dough scraps and repeat the process until all of the dough is used up. Place the formed rectangles on parchment-lined baking sheets and gently poke holes twice in each shortbread cookie using a fork.
Bake the cookies for 10-13min.
Cool the cookies completely on their baking sheets before attempting to lift them. Enjoy your Keto Chocolate Shortbread Cookies!

Nutrition for 1/20th of recipe (1 cookie): 127 calories | 11g fat | 2.1 NET carbs | 2.2g protein | 2.3g fiber

Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.

OR freeze and store in an airtight container or ziplock between layers of parchment/wax paper and remove whenever you want a quick snack!

Print Recipe

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Keto Chocolate Shortbread Cookies Recipe

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time12 mins

Cooling Time15 mins

Total Time47 mins

Course: Dessert

Keyword: chocolate shortbread, keto chocolate shortbread, keto shortbread, shortbread cookies

Servings: Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Calories: 127kcal

Ingredients

3/4 cup salted butter softened
10 tbsp powdered monkfruit erythritol sweetener 122g (For this recipe I actually love using 6 tbsp Swerve and 2 tbsp Truvia as well)
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 1/4 cups almond flour 140g
1/2 cup cocoa powder 48g
6 tbsp coconut flour 42g
1 tbsp arrowroot starch 8g (or cornstarch is OK if you don't have it)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt 1/4 tsp if using unsalted butter

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 300*F.
In a large bowl, beat together your butter and sweetener until light and fluffy. Add your extracts and beat once more until combined.
In another bowl, whisk together all of your dry ingredients including; almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, arrowroot starch, xanthan gum and salt.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir well until the dough becomes thick and everything is incorporated together.
Form your dough into a circle and then roll out between two sheets of parchment paper to the thickness you want your cookies (they won't change in much in the oven).
Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the edges of the dough to form an even rectangle then cut smaller rectangles from the large one. (I cut my rectangles about 2 1/2 inches in length and 1 1/4 inches in width).
Re-roll any dough scraps and repeat the process until all of the dough is used up. Place the formed rectangles on parchment-lined baking sheets and gently poke holes twice in each shortbread cookie using a fork.
Bake the cookies for 10-13min.
Cool the cookies completely on their baking sheets before attempting to lift them. Enjoy your Keto Chocolate Shortbread Cookies!

Notes

Ingredient Links:

Tips For Making Low Carb Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Don't have arrowroot starch? You can also use cornstarch as a substitute or leave it out altogether. Your cookies may just have less of that "melt-in-your-mouth" quality that's common in shortbread.
If you choose to use cornstarch instead of arrowroot starch there is not a big change in the total net carbs. Cornstarch just adds an extra 0.27g of carbs per cookie.
Try dipping half of the cookies in melted dark chocolate once they've cooled for a fun twist.
When lifting your shortbread cookies from the area you are rolling and cutting them out to the tray where you want to bake them, use a thin spatula or butter knife to help lift them so they don't crack at all in the center.
Don't like chocolate? Try my original shortbread cookie recipe. You can find it HERE.
Don't have xanthan gum? You can still make these cookies! They just may be slightly more crumbly.
Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.
OR freeze and store in an airtight container or ziplock between layers of parchment/wax paper and remove whenever you want a quick snack!