keto sugar cookies

What's your go-to Christmas cookie? I never really crave a good sugar cookie until the holidays roll around. It's sort of an obligatory cookie to bake at Christmastime, right? Especially when you have littles who like to "help" in the kitchen, like mine insist on doing. These keto sugar cookies are delicious little holiday cutout cookies- plus they are sugar-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free (minus the frosting). But, unless you baked them yourself, you'd never even guess they were of the healthy sort. Spread some keto buttercream on these little beauties or pipe on fun holiday designs, and you've got the perfect keto Christmas cookie!

let's make keto sugar cookies!

So, what's in these keto "sugar" cookies, if not loads of sugar? Here's the list:

• almond flour
• coconut flour
• ghee (or butter, if you're not dairy-free)
• coconut oil
• egg
• cream cheese (I use vegan cream cheese made out of cashews)
• monkfruit sweetener
• vanilla + almond extract
• xanthan gum (a great gluten substitute)

If you're following a keto diet, it can be tough to find recipes that are also dairy-free (that's my goal with most recipes I post, although you'll find that I often use grass-fed butter which can usually be swapped for ghee). I made this keto Christmas cookie recipe to be dairy-free, and while I've baked it with both regular and vegan cream cheese, I honestly think the cashew cream cheese results in a better flavor.

how to make keto buttercream frosting

While these keto sugar cookies taste great served plain, the holidays aren't quite the same without a frosted sugar cookie. Sugar aside, frosting is pretty much keto-friendly. A basic buttercream is nothing but butter and cream cheese (and LOTS of sugar). This keto buttercream frosting is similar, except I swapped the cream cheese for coconut cream and used powdered monkfruit sweetener (make sure to use the powdered blend of monkfruit and erythritol as the granular kind will be gritty) instead of sugar. Whip until fluffy, add vanilla or almond extract (BOTH, definitely), and some all-natural food color if you're feeling fun.

*Note: I don't suggest substituting ghee for the grass-fed butter in this keto buttercream frosting recipe. I haven't tried it and I'm iffy it will give you the same result since ghee has a much different texture and flavor.

how do I decorate my keto sugar cookies?

There are so many sugar-free options and here are a few of my favs:

• Sprinkle shredded, unsweetened coconut on top of the frosted cookies (my favorite)
• Top with a sprinkle of chopped, keto-friendly chocolate chips
• Melt keto-friendly chocolate (I love Lily's brand since their products are sweetened with stevia) and dip the cookies or use a spoon to drizzle it on unfrosted keto sugar cookies
• Chop nuts (like pistachios!) really fine and sprinkle them on a frosted cookie

I hope you love these keto sugar cookies! They're delicious if you're craving a sweet, low-carb and sugar-free treat. Do what we did and crank up some Christmas classics (you know, your basic Mariah holiday jams) while baking these keto sugar cookies. It'll begin to feel a lot like Christmas because cookies (and Mariah) always do the trick.

you might also love...

• This keto pecan pie, a low-carb spin on the classic holiday dessert. The perfect amount of sweet!
• Grain-free pumpkin granola, just your everyday KETO CEREAL. Merry Christmas. 🙂

keto sugar cookies

Recipe by Abby CooperCourse: dessert, snacksCuisine: keto, low-carb, sugar-free, gluten-freeDifficulty: easy

Servings

24

cookies

Prep time

1

hour 

10

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

These keto sugar cookies are easy and delicious, plus gluten-free and sugar-free! Enjoy them plain or spread some keto buttercream frosting on top for a fun, festive keto sugar cookie!

Ingredients

• Keto sugar cookies

• ¼ cup ghee, melted

• ¼ cup coconut oil, melted

• ¾ cup monkfruit sweetener

• 1 egg

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• ¼ teaspoon almond extract

• 2 tablespoons vegan cream cheese (I like Miyoko's which can be found at most grocery stores; also, regular cream cheese works too)

• 2 cups almond flour

• ½ cup coconut flour

• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum

• Keto buttercream frosting

• ½ cup unsalted grass-fed butter, softened

• ⅓ cup coconut cream (the thick cream at the top of a can of coconut milk)

• ¾ cup powdered monkfruit sweetener

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• ¼ teaspoon almond extract (optional)

• all-natural food color (optional)

Directions

• Keto sugar cookies
• Combine the ghee, coconut oil and monkfruit sweetener (granulated) in a medium bowl and mix well.
• Add the egg, vanilla extract, almond extract, and vegan cream cheese (regular cream cheese works too), and using an electric mixer, combine until it's well blended (about 2-3 minutes).
• Add the almond flour, coconut flour and xanthan gum, then mix on low/medium speed until the dough is formed.
• Work the dough into a ball and form a disc shape. Return to the mixing bowl (or wrap in parchment paper/plastic wrap) and refrigerate for at least an hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Sprinkle a little coconut flour on a flat surface and roll out the chilled dough with a rolling pin until it's about ¼-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into desired shapes. Gather dough scraps and repeat process with remaining dough.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly golden and crisp around the edges. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for another 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. The cookies will harden more as they cool.
• Keto buttercream frosting
• In a medium bowl, combine unsalted butter, coconut cream, and powdered monkfruit sweetener. Use an electric mixer to combine well. Taste and add more sweetener, if needed.
• Add vanilla and almond extracts, and food color. Mix on medium speed and add more food color as needed.

Recipe Video

Notes

• You can also roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper.
• The yield will vary depending on the shape/size of the cookie cutter you use.