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.
Print
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
Keywords: Keto shortbread cookies, Keto lemon cookies, Low carb shortbread
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!
l p says
thanks for the reminder. these cookies are wonderful – no egg, added a touch of lemon juice and a bit more butter as the humidity is quite low here.
★★★★
Sandra Dufoe says
So easy to make and tasted amazing going to use them in our cookie exchange this year should be a hit.
★★★★★
Sam says
Hi!
Can I use regular sugar in this recipe instead?
Thank you!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes!
Robin says
Thank you! Yum! I LOVE 💕 LEMON!
★★★★★
Laura says
I really like your recipes, but finding the correct amounts is a bit tricky for European bakers. The conversion tables and calculators differentiate quite a bit. For example 1 cup almond flour can be anything between 90 and 125 grams (sometimes even more), depending on the calculator you use. It would help tremendously if you could measure the amount yourself and add your own metric amounts to the recipes.
★★★★★
Kathleen says
I made these cookies but added a cup of chopped pecans. It made delicious pecan sandies! I will cut them a little thinner next time. Bravo to Mellissa! I need to feed my sweet tooth sometimes and this really does it.
Lovie says
Need to try these for my Christmas cookies this year. Will be great to have a safe option to eat.
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?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sorry you had a bad experience Karen. I have made these more times then I can count and they always come together and I never have a problem with the butter to flour ratio. Not sure what went wrong for you.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Glad you were able to make them work for you!
Roberta says
If using ghee instead of butter, would the amount requested be the same? About the sweetener, since here it’s almost impossible to have Swerve or Lakanto, bu ther’s no problem to get erythritol, considering that personally I feel satisfied with not-so-sweet cookies and generally use erytrhitol 1:1 converting recipes that use castor sugar, would yuou think that I could simply swap this sweeteenr for the others you propose or should anyway be better to adding some more (and if so, how much would you suggest to get the best result)?
Thank you, looking forward to try this delish (meanwhile pinned it, together with the everything-lemon round up linked above) :-)
Mellissa Sevigny says
Ghee will work just fine and any brand of erythritol should also work just fine!
Jessica says
Oh wow these are so simple and so delicious!
★★★★★
Arin says
Very easy and quick recipe to recreate. I can confirm this recipe works well with granulated monkfruit!
I used this recipe as a topping for my peach cobbler, and it worked great. I baked the crust separately from the peaches and simply placed it on top of the cooked peaches after it had cooled completely.
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Great idea Arin!
Marianne Slattery says
My dough was crumbly after almost two hours in the freezer. Any suggestions for how to form the cylinder and wrapping it up? My technique was an epic failure so I used it for a crust. The dough tastes wonderful!
Thank You
Marlyn says
Loved..loved these. Used vegan butter spread and they came out great. Big hit with my kids who immediately asked me to make a second batch!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for letting us know these worked out in a vegan format Marlyn, glad they were a hit!
JoKing says
These sound so easy and I like the limited amount of ingredients. My biggest issue with most of your recipes however is family with tree nut allergies.
Kim says
Have you tried using oat flour in place of almond flour? I have a tree nut allergy and have been experimenting with it. So far works the same.
Cynthia Bowman says
I wanted to say thank you for this recipe. I have made it numerous times, we have made it original, spice, pecan, walnut and now coconut. Following your directions, it comes out wonderful every time.
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Cynthia! So glad you’re enjoying them and love your variations!
Nanci says
Have you tried making this as a savory recipe…like with rosemary?
Aline Allan says
Hi Mellissa, sorry, but I always have this question using the sweetener in my low carb recipes. I have granular erythritol, should I blend it to become a fine powder for all the recipes (including this one, can’t wait to try it), so it dissolves better? Thank you!
Mellissa Sevigny says
For my recipes unless I specifically call for powdered you can use the granulated, but if you need the powdered then blending it works just fine!
Betty says
It turned out amazing. Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
TIFFANY Watkins says
I’m going to make these cookies for Christmas. If I make them thinner, will they fall apart?
Vanessa says
These looks so good! Do they keep long?
Ruth says
One of my favorite Keto desserts. Have also brought them with me when traveling. They store great in Tupperware.
★★★★★
Rachelle says
Love these cookies! So simple & refreshing. I took them to a family cookout the 1st time I made them & no one could believe they were low carb & sugar free. Double win!
★★★★★
A Pribyl says
I just made these and they are excellent. I followed the recipe exactly and used floss to cut the cookies so they would stay round. Thank you for the recipe!
★★★★★
Lea says
Just perfect! Thank you. I put fresh lemon juice instead of zest
★★★★★
Amy says
I used this recipe for my mini keto cheesecake crust they taste amazing and I made a second batch for cookies and they came out perfect just follow the instructions.
★★★★★
Debby says
I make a tart a couple of times a month using this recipe. I just tried making the tart crust using 1C almond flour and 1C finely ground pecans (I know the carb count is a little higher) and it’s magical! I top with white chocolate low carb cream, blueberries, strawberries and a few unsweetened chocolate shavings.
★★★★★
CraftyMrsG says
OH MY LANTA!!!!
I didn’t have lemon zest so I used about 1tbsp of lemon juice, 1/4tsp lemon extract, and 1/4tsp of vanilla butter nut extract and they are divine!!!
My cookie dough was actually fairly wet, but not too wet. It was perfect to scoop out with a tablespoon measuring spoon and I made 24 cookies with mine!
You never fail me!!! I love ALL of your recipes!!
Laura Poole says
Wow these were so good. I added a little lemon extract and lavender to the recipe. Mine were also a little crumbly coming out of the freezer. I just patted them together with my hands and they were perfect.
★★★★★
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?
Marcelle says
Oops…I meant to say I had NO problems with the dough crumbling!
★★★★★
Marcelle says
I just made these and they are to die for! I had absolutely problems with the dough crumbling after 30 minutes in the freezer. They sliced beautifully. The only thing I did different was to add a 1/2 tsp pure lemon extract to punch up the lemon flavor (I’m a lemo-holic!) Thank you SOOO much for this awesome and super easy recipe!
★★★★★
Jodie says
Hi Melissa, I am wanting to make these for a birthday party, but with 100 (not quite) other things to make beforehand as well, I was wondering how long these will keep please? Thanks
Mellissa Sevigny says
These freeze well so feel free to make them ahead of time!
Erika says
This recipe makes the perfect cheesecake crust. I simply patted the dough out into a pie tin and baked it for 15 minutes. Then I let the crust cool completely and then made a no-bake cheesecake filling. After the crust was cooled completely, I poured the cheesecake filling, topped with fresh blueberries, piped a whipped cream border around the whole thing and chilled it in the fridge for a few hours. SO good. My cheesecake is a big hit in my household.
Dorene Amos says
Just prepared your Pecan Shortbread Cookies from your I Breathe I’m Hungry
July/August 2013
It’s Summertime
…and the low-carb livin’s easy.
Deliciously Low Carb & Gluten Free
25 Recipes that Celebrate Summer http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com
Mellissa your recipes have inspired me to make low carb a life-style. I’ve lost 40 pounds so far on my journey. When I look up recipes I often land on one that you are the author of. So glad I purchased your cookbooks.
You are the best!!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Dorene! I love those cookies still – glad you enjoyed them too! And congrats on 40 pounds lost – that’s fantastic!!
G says
Wii,
I would like to know if the cookies get crunchy? I have tried a lot of different recipes of low carb cookies, but they never get the “crunch crunch” when eating.. and i miss this..
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes! They get very crunchy and I love that about them!
G says
Thank you, dear! I’ll absolutely try this! :D
Amy says
Hey! Can I use coconut oil instead of butter? Also can I use liquid stevia instead of granulated? Looking forward!
Mim Hughes says
Amy I use granulated xylitol and for baking I just grind it in my magic bullet to a powder. It incorporates really well into the other ingredients. Coconut oil would set really well in the fridge but you won’t have that signature buttery shortbread taste…worth a crack I reckon!
★★★★★
Mim Hughes says
sorry what I meant was you can grind Stevia the same way as I do my xylitol…
Michelle says
Love love love it! You are amazing making life so much easier! Thank you, I put some ekstra butter and one cup coconut meal and halfed the sweetner, but after I took them out of the oven I sprinkeled some sweetner on top.
★★★★★
adrienne says
thanks so much. I’m allergic to coconut so it’s fantastic to see paleo recipes with alternatives. If you have any other non-coconut paleo recipes I’d be delighted to see them.
I made these cookies. AWESOME.
ps – I used maple syrup rather than splenda, they came out great.
★★★★★
Nira says
for the maple syrup did you use the same amount it called for Splenda?
Jeannie says
These were lovely. Didn’t need to chill them first because they held together beautifully. I didn’t fully melt the butter just microwaved it until it was soft.
Leanna Miller says
These are absolutely delicious! I tried the recipe as-is the first time and tasted too buttery for me. The second time I made a few tweaks after reading the comments and they were even better… total hit with all of my non-keto friends!
I added:
1 tbsp of Almond Butter or Peanut Butter
1 tsp of Vanilla Extract
3-5 squirts of Lemon Juice (or 1/4-1/2 of a lemon)
1 egg if it isn’t sticking together
★★★★★
Vicky Davis says
This may be my favorite low carb dessert ever. It was so easy to make and the the blueberries just pop in your mouth. Yummy! This is going to be my go to dessert going forward.
★★★★★
Jo says
These are the BEST low carb cookie recipe I have tried so far (and I have been through kilos of almond meal looking for a crispy biscuit/cookie that doesn’t taste ‘compromised’). I used pure xylitol because there is no aftertaste, they are better if you can leave them for a day as they crisp up so well. Non LC friends had no idea. Thank you and I can and do recommend this recipe!
★★★★★
Orla says
Thanks for this recipe – I have started a banting blog in Ireland and am searching for Christmas treats – I’ll be trying these out this afternoon – hope they freeze well!
Mel says
I made this mixture last night and baked them when I got home from work today. Oooooh they’re so good! I used stevia, so there was a slight aftertaste while warm, but once they’d cooled you couldn’t tell. Delicious!
★★★★★
Nicole Breitung says
These are fantastic!!! I love cooking with almond flour. The fact that they are low carb and gluten free is a major plus for me. Please share more almond flour recipes! :)
Katia says
Hi,
I live in the UK and I d not understand what ‘Tbl butter’ is??? Is it a portion? Thanks
Mel says
Tablespoon.
Melanie says
I just made these and they were amazing! I swapped the lemon for 1tbsp Vanilla and they came out perfect. Now I have the perfect low carb shortbread to have with a cup of tea!
Virginia johnson says
Is it completely necessary to use granulated Stevie? I only have the liquid
Rich says
Awesome !! Making it now but using stevia instead. Do you still recommend Splenda??
Really enjoying your site!
Mellissa Sevigny says
I mostly use Swerve or Ideal now – I’ve developed a reaction to Stevia (and I always hated the flavor) and Splenda just doesn’t behave like real sugar in recipes like xylitol and erythritol do. Hope you liked the cookies!
Sylvia Masih says
What brand of almond flour do you use?
Mellissa Sevigny says
The finer the grind, the better! I’ve used nuts.com, honey ville, and wellbee all with great results!
Jo says
I think this was a mistake! I can’t eat just one! Lol! I already eat half of the cookies
Mellissa Sevigny says
Perhaps your almond flour was rancid David? Also what kind of sweetener did you use? They shouldn’t have been bitter so I’m curious. Sorry to hear that you didn’t like them, thanks for the honest feedback!
David Rogers says
I used an unopened bag of Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour and Stevia as the sweetener.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Stevia can turn bitter in baked goods so that’s a possibility – also Bob’s Red Mill isn’t great for baking because it’s so course, I’m not surprised the texture was off. I should probably specify in the post to use a finer grind of flour for better results. Thanks for letting me know~
Karen says
I used Bobs Almond flour and Stevia and did not notice a bitter flavor, What type of Almond Flour do you suggest if not Bob’s. I also replaced the Lemon zest with pure Almond Extract and a bit of Vanilla, I also did cut the Stevia a bit so I would not get an over powering sweetness, and Stevia has a tendency to be to sweet
Mim Hughes says
Research into Stevia has shown that for some people it simply tastes bitter – it is apparently a biological/taste receptor issue. Stevia tastes very bitter to me, I can’t use it at all in anything. My daughter on the other hand can’t understand this as for her it just tastes sweet….just another perspective.
David why don’t you give xylitol a go? Its made from birch trees, looks, tastes an acts like sugar in baking. No bitter taste and a host of good effects on humans. No side effects. And you can grind your almond flour more finely in a food processor or magic bullet/small blender
Sarah says
These were very good! I was hoping to make them a bit more lemony so I added the zest of an entire lemon and the juice of half the lemon. I figured that would be ok since some people mentioned having to add an egg as the dough was too crumbly. Well, I don’t know how anyone could have had a problem with the dough being too crumbly unless they didn’t follow the recipe. With the lemon juice, my dough was way too moist so I had to add some extra almond flour (totally not the fault of the recipe obviously as the lemon juice was my addition). Anyway, they sliced great and after baking I rolled them in powdered sugar in the hopes of replicating a family Christmas cookie recipe. I also used regular cane sugar for the sweetener. Thanks for the recipe!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Glad you liked these Sarah, and thanks for letting us know that they work just as well with regular sugar!
Shroug says
I made these last week and I loved them, my favourite low carb gluten free cookie that I have ever tried ,I was wondering if I could add pistachios
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes, you can customize the flavors any way you like! I’ve done maple walnut and butter pecan with great results!
Anne says
Ah, sorry! 1/2 cup not1/4. Typo! Also, bobs red mill now has an almond flour, not meal, which is much finer and bakes nicely. Just fyi!
Anne says
Thank you SO MUCH! My mom and I are determined to stay grain free through the holidays (I have celiacs and she realized she doesn’t tolerate wheat well, and we both do well on a keto/high fat low carb diet.) She was bemoaning the loss of Walker’s shortbread cookies, which she used to love. I’ve been trying out grain free sugar free cookie recipes all week and this one is incredible! I actually skipped the lemon since I wanted a real old fashioned shortbread, and they are perfection! I’m not sure how many will make it home to give to my Mom :)
I used powdered erythritol, and upped that to almost 1/4 cup since it is not as sweet as sugar, and added an extra tablespoonof butter, and the cookies are perfectly crumbly and delicious!
Susan says
You say to form the dough into a cylinder – how big around and how long?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Depends on how large you want your cookies Susan, but about 2 inches in diameter works and you’ll probably end up with a cylinder about 10 inches long at that width. Enjoy!
Susan says
Thanks so much for your answer! Can’t wait to try these
Yvonne Parks says
Help! I tried making these cookies twice tonight… And both times they came out so grainy. Not like a short bread texture at all. The second time I tried running the almond meal through my food processor. That batch is still in the oven, but the deal was very grainy and non-shortbread-y. (i’m new to working with almond flour… so am I missing something? Have I done something wrong?)
Ps…I’m using Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour/Meal
Mellissa Sevigny says
The Bob’s Red Mill is very course, you’d be much better off with Honeyville, Wellbee or even Nuts.com version for baked goods!
Monica Liu says
Hi! Can I use granulated brown sugar instead of the granulated sweetener? Thanks!
Mellissa Sevigny says
I don’t think brown sugar would give you the texture or flavor that you’d be looking for Monica. It would overwhelm the lemon I think, but you could try it!
Iris says
OMGoodness……just made these, they are outstanding for a low carb cookie! I used truvia for the sweetner and 1/2 t of butter vanilla nut flavoring and 1/2 of vanilla. Did not need an egg….soooo good!
Sharlene says
I made them exactly like described except I didn’t use the lemon. I don’t like lemon so I used a tsp of vanilla extract. They were so good my husband ate half of them. I will be making more! Anyone ever try using half almond flour and half coconut flour?
Andrea says
Oh wow! I just made the dough for these (didn’t have lemon zest so I used a bit of lemon juice) …I tasted the dough and it was INCREDIBLE!!! now I have to wait for the dough to chill!! Ahhh! I can’t wait to taste the cookies once they’re baked! Thank you!!!
Blanche says
you just saved my low carb life. Thank you.
Elissa says
These are sooo good! I made a batch, put aside 7 for one week’s worth, and froze the rest. Yesterday I had some carbs left for the day so I decided to eat a second one for dessert but didn’t want to dig into the 7 I put aside for the week. So, I ate a frozen one…omg….even better! So good that I put the ones I set aside for this week in the freezer too! Thanks for another great recipe!
Mellissa Sevigny says
These are still on of my very favorite cookies Elissa! I have also flavored them with maple and walnuts, and I’ve done a pecans sandies style too. You can flavor this base with almost anything and it will be great – even a savory version! Glad you liked them! :)
Susan says
I would love to make these but am unsure as to your measurements – could they be given in the UK imperial or grams please. Thanks
Mellissa Sevigny says
I’m sorry, but no. Here is a link to a metrics converter you can use – hope you like the cookies! http://www.metric-conversions.org/
Wendy says
Oh my goodness. Okay, so I didn’t have any lemon extract and made them without, but WOW. Shortbread texture, eating them warm because I couldn’t wait to try them. OH MY WORD. How can these be low carb and so delicious, these are AMAZING!
Flo says
I made these for the first time last night and they were absolutely wonderful. Mine turned out a little softer and less crusty because the granulated splenda I have on hand isn’t the “bakes like sugar”. The end result was something akin to a lofthouse sugar cookie in texture.
Today I made a second batch with a couple of small changes since I was out of lemons to zest. I added 2 Tbsp of dark cocoa powder and 1/4tsp of vanilla. They turned out like soft delicious oreos. I’m sure with baking splenda they’d be delicious milk dunking, ice cream crumbling replicas.
If anyone is having issues getting the dough wrapped tightly enough for cookies that won’t crumble when you slice or bake them I recommend googling “saran wrap frosting” A few quick twirls and you have a tightly wrapped and even cylinder ready for easy slicing.
Thanks, Melissa. Keep on doing what you do. You’re great at it.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Flo, I appreciate the feedback! Can’t wait to try your oreo version, thanks for sharing!!!!!!!
Aimee says
Has anyone tried these with lavender? I love lavender shortbread cookies!
Melanie E. says
Made these last night and they were delicious! I didn’t have lemon, so I instead used 1/4 tsp of vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract. Delicious! I had read the comments about the dough crumbling after chilling, so I took extra care in how I shaped it in the plastic wrap! I thought I had it pressed well, but when I tried rolling it over to round it out, it did split in two. So I just kept working at it until it all stayed together when I rolled it over! No egg, and it worked for me! These were a huge hit. It had that great buttery almond flavor, and a texture that I don’t think people would guess was gluten-free. YUM!
Melanie E. says
I might try these out tonight–certainly love the very minimal list of ingredients! Yay! The serving size should be 1 cookie or 1/16 of a tart, though, right? (Or should it be 2 cookies and 1/8 of a tart?)
Nicole says
I stumbled upon this blog about a month ago and couldn’t be happier! I made these cookies last night and everyone at my job LOVES them (so do I!) I am looking forward to making a pie with this recipe! I have PCOS and my body does not process carbs properly and it is very difficult for me to lose weight without watching my carb count. I started lowering my carb count to 20g or less a day about 3 months ago and have since lost 36 pounds (with exercise added in). Your recipes have made me super excited about eating healthy! I don’t feel like I am on a diet. I am just eating right now! I purchased all 3 cookbooks so far and can’t wait to try them.
Thank you so much for all your amazing recipes! Please keep them coming :)
Jennifer Stock says
These were wonderful! I have been making cookies every night for months now trying to come up with a low carb almond flour cookie with Truvia that doesn’t turn out like a cute little pancake, in terms of texture. I was about to start adding in starches to get the crunchy dense-ness that I associate with a cookie and then poof! I find your recipe. It’s perfect! I kept my first batch refrigerated and they got much harder by the next day. Thank you so much–I am very grateful for your talent and generosity.
Now I can move on to something different! You don’t have a fool-proof brownie recipe by any chance, do you? :)
Steph says
These turned out PERFECTLY. I didn’t need to add an egg or anything, I just followed the recipe. Maybe next time I’ll add a bit more zest, just for extra yummy lemon! I also left the dough in the freezer for 45 minutes, just to make sure it held together. Which it did fantastically. Thank you! :D
Very difficult not to eat them all at once!!
Christine Castaneda says
Made these again tonight. SOOOO YUMMY!
Stephanie Wagner says
Can I just say making these cookies comes at the perfect time with all of the Girl Scout cookies coming out now. I’ll also have to hunt down some low carb recipes for Samoas, Thin Mints and Tagalongs!
Mellissa Sevigny says
I think Carolyn at All Day I Dream About Food has some copycat girlscout cookies on her site – if not a Pinterest search should turn some up!
Stephanie Wagner says
That is so funny you just now said that! I JUST finished pinning all three of her recipes! haha! Baking day for me!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yay! Me too! I’m busy baking 5 different cupcake recipes for the Spring issue of the ezine today! Be sure to box some of your cookies up and send them over here to me – I LOVE all of Carolyn’s cookie recipes! :)
heather says
I’m not sure what I did wrong but these didn’t turn out for me. :(
Jill says
I made these tonight with a few changes. I had no lemon so used 2 teaspoons lime juice. Based on some of the other posts, I added 1 egg and since coconut goes so well with lime, I added 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut. They were delicious!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Jill – I haven’t tried the egg but I’m wondering if it makes them easier to work with? Will have to experiment! Thanks!
jill says
T they were actually very easy to work with and I had no problem with them crumbling. I brought some to work today and they were a big hit!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Glad they were a hit Jill, I’m definitely going to try an egg in my next batch!
maria loukakos says
Great recipe.. Worked well and biscuites held together beautifully. Thank you
Shel says
Late to the party, just wanted to say these were a fabulous Christmas cookie, too. I grabbed the wrong fruit off the tree and our first batch was orange flavored. I sweetened with the recommended amount of erythritol and added some liquid sucralose.. After 30 minutes in the freezer, the dough was firm, but would crack or break. By holding a finger on the front edge of the dough, I was able to easily slice into nice looking cookies. We all know how tasty these are warm, but they just get better and more short-bready if given the opportunity. Some of them made it almost 24 hours and they were the best!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for letting me know Shel! I like the orange idea – maybe dipped in chocolate afterwards since I love orange and chocolate together! I’ll get to work on that one soon – thanks for the inspiration! So glad you enjoyed them and thanks for taking the time to comment!
Josephine says
Hi Mellissa. I just discovered your blog the other night when browsing around collecting low carb meal inspiration – and wow! I really think your recipes are creative and very inviting. I am definitely gonna cook up a few of them! So cool with a new source of food inspiration!
All the best from Josephine (from Atastylovestory.com)
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Josephine and welcome to IBIH!!
Rachel says
I just made these tonight. Instead of messing with the chilling and cutting, to get cookies, I sprayed a mini muffin pan (16 holes anyway) and scooped the dough evenly into each cup and pressed firm. I ended up with 16 fabulous cookies that held together perfectly!
Donna says
Thanks for your input Rachel. I made these cookies in a silicone mold, but divided this recipe into 24 heart shaped cookies instead of making 16. I did the chill and cut method the first time, but prefer your method better.
Roz says
Rachel, thanks so much for your tip! I used a 24 mini muffin silicone mold and it worked great. I wouldn’t have thought of it, and the wrapping & chilling seemed too much for me.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Great idea!
mnk says
Oh my! I just discovered your blog, and said to my husband “how come we’ve never seen this before!” Your blog is a Godsend! Thanks so much for the amazing recipes.
Thelma Connolly says
I tried the Lemon Almond Shortbread cookies & they are simply AWESOME!!!! I live on low cal/low carb diet and they are Fab!!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
I know right??? I love these so much that I don’t make them too often or I just can’t stop eating them!!!!
Mari says
Loved the recipe….the cookies were devoured in 2 days. Next time, I’ll add more lemon zest. I also tried this recipe with peanut butter (2 large TBS), instead of the lemon zest. It turned out okay, but let the peanut butter cookies cool in the fridge for 2 hours. If you eat them while they are warm, they taste bitter/burned.
Mellissa Sevigny says
It took you 2 whole days to eat them all? Mine usually only last about 2 hours! ;)
Karrel Buck says
They are tasty but after 12 hours in fridge they fell apart immediately. Disapointed
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sorry Karrel – not sure why they fell apart on you – do you mean you couldn’t get them to hold together to cut into slices before baking – or that you made them and stored them in the fridge and they got soft and fell apart? If it was beforehand, it’s possible that they weren’t wrapped tight enough while cooling, and if you mean after, if they weren’t sealed they may have absorbed moisture in the fridge and gotten soggy. Of course I’m guessing, it’s hard to figure out without more details. Sorry that you were disappointed! :(
Chrys says
Thank you so, SO, much for this recipe! I have been looking for a cookie-type snack for a while now and this looks great! Trying it today :-) I tell anyone that will listen about your site, you’re a culinary genius :-)
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Chrys! :)
Laura K says
These were delicious! I made these yesterday for a friend and I to enjoy while we had a crafting day together. We almost ate the entire batch! I will probably make again this week and may try with lime or orange zest. Thank you for the recipe.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Laura! Glad you guys enjoyed these! I have a hard time no eating the whole batch when I make them too! :)
Miah says
These were amazing! Made them for Easter and they disappeared fast. Making another batch already!! Guilt free treats are the best!
Claire D says
I have done Low Carb dieting many times over the last 20 years, but was never successful with cookies or cakes. You photos look amazing and your recipes sound yummy. So this morning I made a batch of the lemon almond cookies. I let them set in the refrigerator for about 6 hours while I did my Saturday chores. Once I got home I baked the cookies, let them cool and made my low carb dinner (which was pretty tasty). And then the test, having a good dessert or cookie low carb style. I ate one of the cookies and thought pretty good. I ate a second one about 10 minutes later as I just wanted to see if they really tasted good (just a test you know?). The second one was better than the first. Okay, I have now had 4 (my limit for the day, as after all I am dieting). I have to say these cookies are wonderful – lemon and almond flavoring, what a combo! I am so excited I found your food blog. I am excited you have recipes that are low carb AND GF – what a find. Great blog!!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Claire! I had the same problem with these cookies – so hard not to eat the whole batch! ;)
kristen says
I switched up this recipe a little bit and linked to you on my blog :) Your work is awesome – thank you!
Jenny says
I love almond shortbread cookies. The recipe I use calls for 1 egg and I’ve never tried them without it. Maybe I’ll give this one a shot, it looks so yummy. I love the lemon flavor ones but recently I made a batch with cocoa powder and they came out like a crumbly brownie (with the egg the center is a slight bit moist, on the verge of gooey), very delish!
Cheryl says
Sometimes I find that almond flour has quite an powerful taste and takes over in the flavour department. Did you, or anyone who has tried this yet, find that?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hi Cheryl,
I don’t find the almond flour to be very strong in flavor but maybe I’m just used to it. It could also be a freshness issue – nut flours will go rancid which gives them a very unpleasant and bitter flavor. To avoid this you can store it in the freezer to extend the shelf life. In these cookies, the lemon flavor is very prominent so it might be a good one for you to try!
Chris Malloy says
These were great. I didn’t measure the sweetener so they turned out a bit sweet, but my non-keto coworkers loved them. They were very moist and held together well. This will be my new go to when I have a craving for shortbread!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for the feedback Chris, so glad they worked out for you! I can’t wait to experiment with some other flavors too!
Chris Malloy says
Actually I forgot to mention I did not use the lemon flavour. I added a little vanilla, almond extract and a tiny bit of ground cloves. It worked out really well.
Dancingtigga says
Hi Melissa Just made these – having had poor experiences with artificial sweeteners, I used Demerara sugar – 40g of the stuff – the result was pretty good and worth the extra 3g carb per biscuit….might even get the kids to eat this one. Love your food – always a joy!
Owie says
Just when I thought there was nothing left to try with almond flour….. You are an inspiration Mellissa!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
I just adore the sandy texture of shortbread cookies and paired with the delicate flavor of lemon and almonds it’s all the better!
AmyLW says
I just made these. Two thumbs and two big toes up..
Hayley says
Do shortbread cookies traditionally omit eggs? I ask because I love lemon, and tried your recipe as soon as I read the post, but all the way through I had problems with them not holding together. Even after an entire night in the freezer, the dough was breaking apart in huge pieces. If I try them again, I think I am going to add an egg to hold everything together.
Amy Gowans says
Did you try these with an egg?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Never needed to Amy!
madeleine henderson says
shortbread doesn’t have egg in it. Add more butter :)
★★★★★
Tommy says
I put a little more bitter in to bind them and this helped me
Judy @Savoring Today says
The look and shape of these cookies remind me of Pecan Sandies, but I love lemon, so I’m more inclined to try them. I enjoy working with almond flour, but I haven’t tried making cookies yet, guess it’s time! :)
Michelle Marrujo says
I was just thinking that! I love pecan Sandies but now I have celiac and can’t have them!
Jayne says
I LOVE anything with lemon and these fit the bill, thanks!