Low carb cookies are my favorite. I know there are lots of delicious low carb pie, cake, ice cream, etc. recipes out there, but keto cookies will always have my heart. 🙋🍪💖
I think my love of cookies stems mostly from my commitment issues. They are small and I can try a bunch of them – rather than committing to one piece of cake or pie, or one flavor of ice cream.
I know most people love chocolate chip and other american classics, but some of my hand’s down favorite cookies are Italian. Pignoli cookies, anisette cookies, rainbow cookies, those green and pink leaves with chocolate sandwiched in the middle! YUMMO.
I have a hard time resisting a tray of Italian cookies, and since we moved to NY I’m literally surrounded by amazing shops and delis full of delicious Italian pastries and cookies. Even the regular grocery store bakeries have gleaming cases of colorful jewel-like cookies that are hard to resist!
#cookiestruggles
So I’m making it my mission to convert some of my favorite Italian cookies (and pastries) into keto friendly cookie recipes – starting with these low carb almond crescent cookies. You’re welcome.
At our local deli they dip the ends of these into chocolate, but since I’ve already got several chocolate dipped and swirled low carb cookies on deck this week, I decided not to with this batch. You should feel free to dip them in chocolate if you want though – nobody made me the boss of your cookies! 🍫👍🏻
The almond crescent cookies that are my favorite here in NY are crispy on the outside and have a slightly chewy, softer interior. The almond flavor is strong, which I love, and they crust the outside with the sliced almonds before baking.
They are quite simply perfect. ✨💞💯
Getting that same texture and chewiness in a sugar free cookie is hard to accomplish, but I have to say that I got really really close with this keto cookie recipe. Mr. Hungry was super impressed and said they tasted just like the real thing.
He’s Italian AND a hard nut to crack with low carb desserts, so it was really high praise coming from him. 🙌
Perfect with coffee or as an after dinner treat, these sturdy low carb cookies also travel well and make lovely gifts – if you can stand to share.
As far as making them goes, they are a little more work than some of the other low carb cookie recipes I’m posting this week, but well worth the extra effort! Simply divide your dough into 12 balls – then roll them into 3 inch logs, press into the sliced almonds, and bend and pinch into a crescent shape and bake.
You may be tempted to bake these cookies longer than the recipe calls for, because the tops will seem really soft when they come out – DON’T DO IT. As they cool they will firm up perfectly and the inside will stay tender and chewy.
If you overbake these cookies they will get super hard – still delicious but you’ll lose out on the awesome texture! You’re going to have to trust me on this one. 💁
IBIH cookie week isn’t over yet! In addition to these low carb almond crescent cookies, I’ve posted the low carb Raspberry Linzer Cookie Bars and Thin Mint Macaroons so far – with my favorite low carb cookie recipe of the week still to get posted tomorrow, so stay tuned!!!!
Low Carb Almond Crescent Cookies – Gluten Free
Nobody will believe that these amazing keto almond crescent cookies are low carb, egg free, and gluten free! I won’t tell if you don’t! Shhhh….
- Yield: 12 cookies
- Category: Low Carb Cookie Recipe
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1 stick salted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
- pinch of kosher salt
- 2/3 cup granulated erythritol sweetener (IBIH recommends)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 cups superfine almond flour (IBIH recommends)
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Beat the butter, salt, and sweetener until fluffy. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and blend well.
- Add the almond flour and beat until just blended to a stiff dough.
- Divide the dough into 12 balls.
- Roll each ball into a 3 inch log.
- Spread the sliced almonds onto a clean surface and crush slightly into smaller pieces with the heel of your hand.
- Roll the logs in the almond pieces and then bend the two ends in and pinch slightly to create a crescent shape. (see photo above)
- Place the almond crescents on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree (F) oven for 15 minutes. Remove and cool before serving.
Notes
To see a list of my favorite low carb products and brands that I recommend for sweeteners, flours, etc. you can check out the IBIH Pantry Ingredients Page!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: per cookie
- Calories: 185
- Fat: 11
- Carbohydrates: 2.5g net
- Protein: 5
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Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. My husband’s diabetic challenges have deeply affected our family. It is particularly heartbreaking for me because he loves to eat and I love to cook for him. I am now gradually moving us towards keto diets to significantly reduce carbs in our food but still eat what we love. I just made these cookies and he absolutely loved them! I didnt have superfine almond flour so I used the regular one, probably why the cookies started lounging in the baking sheet instead of holding their shape :). I didn’t have extracts so I used nutmeg for flavoring and it gave a beautiful citrusy touch that complimented the cookies quite nicely. I have saved your website so I can try out more of your recipes :)
★★★★★
Just made them, amazing so much like the real thing! My husband loved them!
These were so crazy good. Instead of almonds, I just rolled the tops of mine in a little bit of low carb granola and sprinkled with truvia Brown sugar. We could not stop eating them. Not only was the flavor perfect, the texture was very satisfying! Thank you!
★★★★★
I followed the recipe exactly as written and my cookies spread out and as they did, they over baked and are hard and dark brown. A great tea cookie I guess, but 15 minutes was too long for my oven. I did a second batch at 10 minutes and those turned out better. I’d suggest revising your recipe to say cooking until golden on the edges, about 10 – 15 minutes.
★★★
Absolutely delicious and turned out exactly as pictured. Reminded me of the macaroons my mum makes, only without the sickening sweetness – I only used 1/3 cup of sweetener, mainly Erythritol with a little Splenda and powdered Stevia to balance it out. Was very good and put half the batch in the freezer for later… :-)
★★★★★
I made these today, I would definitely make them again, but cut the sweetener to 1/3 cup. They baked up perfectly, but were to sweet for me. Thanks for the recipe.
My mum makes almond crescent cookies like this every Christmas. She doesn’t roll them in almonds but instead dips one end in melted chocolate once they are cool. I’ll have to try these the same way!
Also I’ve made orange peel sugar cookies for Christmas every year and lots of people said these would be good so I’m really hopeful for your recipe!
First disappointment with recipes from this site. Cookies totally flattened, were not at all done after 15 minutes, had to throw the mess out. Didn’t care for the flavor. My search for a delicious low carb cookie continues.
★★★
Love these cookies! So glad I found this recipe. I love Greek foods and especially the crescent almond cookies so this is definitely going on my favorites list. I made a mistake and only used 1/2 the almond flour (was called away during mixing and forgot I hadn’t finished) so they were much too sweet, but I can tell they will be very good with the right amount of almond flour next time. I still used them, but I mixed them up with cream cheese and almonds for a not-so-sweet treat and I also used them as a streusel topping for low carb blueberry muffins. Yummy! I think these might make a very nice crust for a low carb cheese cake too.
★★★★★
Best keto dessert recipe I’ve ever made! Like a few others have said, I made them smaller and just rolled into balls. I ended up with 20 cookies. I also chilled the dough a little after rolling them out. They turned out soft and chewy. If you left out the almond extract they’d taste like sugar cookies
★★★★★
This is the 5th time I’ve made these! they are just so wonderful! to help some of yall out there this is what i used, bobs red mill almond flour, blue bonnet butter, splenda, almond extract and vanilla extract. they came out perfect! i love this recipe and think i will make it many more times! thank you so much :) <3
★★★★★
I received these cookies from a co-worker as a birthday present and they are so good! My work team was aware of my ketogenic journey and prepared these instead of a traditional cake. I’ve found the perfect treat to go with tea! I will be making these regularly.
★★★★★
I made this recipe with a couple changes. I just made them as drop cookies without the almonds on the top (I didn’t have any) and half of the almond extract it called for. They came out really good! They were actually a little sweet for me. I baked them at 325 degrees on convection for 12 minutes. They spread just a little to make the perfect cookie shape. I used a 1 inch scoop and made 29 cookies.
★★★★
I just made these and had to tell you they are the best low carb cookies I have ever made. Thanks so much for the recipe.
By the way, I used Bob’s Red Mill sure fine almond flour and it came out perfectly. Though after reading some of the reviews here, I was afraid they would lose their shape so after rolling, shaping and putting them on the cookie sheet, I put them into my freezer, cookie sheet and all, for about 30 minutes then right into the oven for 15 minutes.
Perfect cookies, thanks so much for the recipe
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for weighing in and I like the freezer idea for those that have had issues with them spreading!
Delicious! Just made these cookies but substituted glucose for the sweetener and since the mixture seemed very dry, I added an egg white.
It made 20 cookies! I flattened the balls of dough and pressed them into rounds with a fork- like making peanut butter cookies.
will definitely make these again!
★★★★★
Delicious and look just like the regular almond cresents. My new “go to” sweet!
★★★★★
Mine didn’t turn out like yours…they sort of flattened out while baking, like a toll house would. What did I do wrong?
★★★★★
These turned out great!! I reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup as my taste buds are much more sensitive to sweet things than they used to be. I did need to add more almond flour to make a stiff dough, but no biggie. It was raining here all day so it’s possible the added humidity caused a softer dough. They are very pretty and I won’t tell my guests they are low carb 😉 Thank you and Merry Christmas!!
★★★★★
Just made this recipe (actually twice now) and it is def going on my “to make” for Christmas cookies!! They are divine! Second time around I cut the sweetener a little bit. I’m guessing my taste buds have changed quite a lot since cutting sugar out my diet!! Yay!!! Recipe calls for 3/4 cup and I made it with half a cup Perfect amount of sweetness with 1/2 cup! I also ground up, in my coffee grinder, the granulated Swerve sweetene and instread of making 12 cookies I made 24. Perfect size plus less carbs that way! Oh and one more thing, I cut the almond extract to 1/2 tsp instead of 1 tsp. Hope y’all try them! They are so worth it!!
These look delicious! I’m definitely going to have to pick up some more almond flour and try these out before the year is over. I love almond anything. Yum!
★★★★★
These were wonderful! Did not have granulated erythritol so had to use powdered instead, but it worked just fine! Thanks for this recipe.
★★★★★
Eating a semi-warm cookie as I type..couldn’t wait until it was completely cool. Followed instructions for the most part. I reduced the Splenda just a tad (tends to reduce the fake-sugar-taste to me), and I skipped rolling the dough in almond slices (because I didn’t have them, and seem to have an allergy toward the actual nut).
Came out perfect!
I don’t know which one I like better – this, or the one with cardamom. I think I’m leaning toward this due to it’s dense texture… more more cookie like.
Will definitely be making a lot more of these!!!
★★★★★
What if i dont have salted butter? Will it work the same?
Yes, you can just add a pinch of salt to the recipe.
I made these for a party this weekend and they were so delicious that even the people not on low carb diets gobbled them up! The only change I made was to substitute Splenda for half of the Swerve. I find that doing so cuts down on the “cooling” sensation and preserves sweetness in most recipes. Great recipe! Thank you so much. I’ve been on a keto diet since January, 2014 and have lost and kept off about 60 lbs. Being able to eat a delicious low-carb dessert once in a while is a lifesaving pleasure.
★★★★★
Love the texture and taste – these are perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. I reduced the sweetener (Swerve) to 2/3 cup, and might drop it to 1/2 cup next time as I thought they were plenty sweet. My only problem was getting those darn almonds to stick! Rolling the dough in them didn’t work well; I ended up kind of jamming them into the dough once they were on the pan. I adore almond flavoring so these were right up my alley. I’d like to try some variations – maybe lemon poppyseed or orange-almond? Thanks for the great recipe!
★★★★
I was so excited to try these, I’m always on the hunt for low-carb dessert recipes because my boyfriend is a type 1 diabetic, but these did not turn out as expected. :( I read some of the comments and made sure to use almond flour, not almond meal, but the cookies had a sickening amount of sweetness, and I used less sweetener than recommended (1/2 cup of swerve). I had my sister try one and she couldn’t even finish it.. I haven’t had too much experience using swerve/erythritol so perhaps I’m just sensitive to it? :(
I feel the same way! I think I’ve just been doing the low carb thing long enoughthat I”m overly sensitive to sweet. I feel that most low carb dessert recipes use way too much sweetener. I almost always reduce it – especially since Swerve is so expensive, I like to use the smallest amount possible!
★★★★
I made this recipe as directed and it was delicious! Actually there was one change I made (not by choice I ran out of almond extract) so I just used extra vanilla extract and they came out awesome. Thanks so much for this recipe. As a matter of fact I made these for my low carb diet but they were so good my family ate them too, so I made another batch and and even rolled them in a mixture of the almonds and unsweetened flaked coconut and they were scrumptious! Quick question I am out of almond flour but have a lot of coconut flour, how do you think it would taste if I used Coconut flour in place of the Almond flour?
★★★★★
Coconut flour is not a 1/1 exchange for any flour. It sucks up liquid like crazy. Basically you’d have to rewrite the whole recipe I think.
Yikes. Not happy how these turned out. They started smoking in the oven so bad I had to take the cookie sheet outside to prevent my smoke alarm from going off. They didn’t make it the full 15 minutes. I used bob’s red mill almond flour and stevia. Sad I wasted so much money on almond flour for this.
Bob’s Red Mill is not almond flour, it’s almond meal. Stevia does not bake well. I recommend following the recipe as written, with the ingredients recommended for best results.
Might be helpful to note in the recipe to specifically NOT use those items then. Just an idea. A recommendation, in my opinion, means that you could use other things that are similar. Oh well.
While I understand your frustration, I couldn’t possibly foresee or list all of the options that aren’t recommended. Even with the ingredients you used, I don’t see how you would have started smoking at 350 degrees in under 15 minutes. Did you use liquid stevia or granular?
No I know, I’m just saying (having read a lot of recipes as well as write some) that it would be helpful when you put 2 cups almond flour to put in parentheses (be sure NOT to use an almond meal)
3/4 of a cup of granular alternative sweetener (note: Stevia does not bake well)
And yes I used granular stevia since you said granular alternative sweetener.
I wasn’t trying to be rude, I’m just saying that it’s easy to make the mistakes I made when Bob’s Red Mill’s package says Almond Flour/Meal and proceeds to say it bakes just like regular flour, and stevia is a granular alternative sweetener, and it’s what I happened to have on hand, and I don’t do a whole lot of sugar free or gluten free baking to know all these little nuances.
Like I said, I wasn’t trying to be rude, I was offering a suggestion that may make your recipe more user friendly since I can imagine that other people may have ingredients on hand as I did and wouldn’t just automatically know that those specific ingredients do not work for this recipe.
that’s really weird because i used bobs red mill almond flour and splenda and they turned out fantastic. did you use wax paper instead of parchment paper? because wax paper will catch fire pretty quick…
★★★★★
Omg, these are AWESOME!!! I made them with Kerrygold butter and they did spread a bit, but I was pleasantly surprised because they ended up being bigger cookies than I’d expected. After all, who doesn’t want a bigger cookie? ;)
My mom is Italian and her crescent cookies are my absolute favorite. These are maybe even a little bit better! (but please don’t tell her.)
★★★★★
PS. How do I store these?? I don’t want their delicious texture to get lost from improper storage.
i put them in a plastic container with a lid and they stored nicely. still nice and soft :D)
★★★★★
These look great! I have a question, can I use Stevia as a sweetener? I have zero experience using any sweeteners, but now I’m going to be baking for a diabetic friend so I can’t use sugar. And Stevia is (to my knowledge) the only one I can easily get a hold of in my local store… I appreciate any advice!
You can use Stevia but it may change the texture of the cookies – I can’t really say for sure how they will come out in that case!
These look so delicious, just love almond flavor, I will have to make them with coconut sugar as I am sadly not able to eat any of the erythritol or splenda etc, do you think this will work? thanks
if i use regular cane sugar and palm shortening, how much would i substitute
Same amounts I would think.
OMG. I THINK I FOUND THE HOLY GRAIL!!! I am just like you. Can’t resist Italian cookies. Thank you for converting this recipe. Please try to convert the pignoli and anisette cookie ones. I am going into my pantry right now to get the stuff out to make these.
I think the combination of ingredients produce a chemical reaction which makes these cocaine cookies! Soooo freaking addictive! Mine spread out too though :( a lot! Will try to use less butter next time. Will that help?
★★★★★
I know right??! Someone mentioned that they used colder butter and it didn’t spread out – that might help!
Wondering if it would still work if I don’t use the pumpkin. I don’t want to buy a can just for 1 tablespoon.
I’m confused by your question Dana, there is no pumpkin in this recipe???
I followed the recipe to the letter and they turned out perfect! Drizzled dark chocolate over the top for a perfect keto treat.
★★★★★
I made these for Easter and they turned out very well. Mine did not spread, but the dough was very stiff.
I didn’t have almond extract, only had sweetener packets (didn’t realize we were out but at that point I needed cookies. You know how it is) and ran short of almond so put in a few coconut flakes. Still amazing! Since then have had choco dipped (yum), normal recipe, and more. Only once did my cookies spread like past mentioned, and was when my butter was way over microwaved and hot. Since then I usually chill dough until quite stiff and always holds shape beautifully especially as little round dollops
★★★★★
Just a comment.
I have not tried making these yummy looking cookies … yet, but I plan to in the very near future. I was reading one of the comments about the cookies spreading out and not retaining their shape. I made some GF almond cookies a while back, with very similar ingredients and the same thing happened. My cookies which I made with almond meal ( not flour ), all spread out and refused to maintain shape. I ended up using them as a crumb-type topping on tilapia, pork chops and even chicken ( so I wouldn’the waste the ingredients ), it was delicious. I found that the amount of butter was too much coupled with the almond meal, the recipe would not bind together. Next time, I lowered the butter amount, used almond flour, and had success. Hope this helps.
I just made these cookies!!! great recipe! my husband did not like the aftertaste from the sweetener I used but the TEXTURE is amazing!! will make again and will dip the ends in dark chocolate.
★★★★★
I made this recipe last night, and I have to say, I think it needs an adjustment or two.
First, the amount of Swerve, 3/4 c, I found to be inedible, the sweetness was sickening. So next time I make them I will start with 1/3 c and move up to 1/2 c.
The second problem was the baking time. 15 min caused the cookies to be gritty with undissolved Swerve, and along with the high concentration of sweetness, was unbearable.
I tried to save the batch by putting them back in the oven for 20 more minutes, because they were already cooled off. Put temp down to 325. It took care of the gritty uncooked centers and I didn’t think they were too hard at all. They are still oversweet, but more edible than in their previous state.
Next time I will bake them for 20-25 min at 325 as I did not like the moist middle talked about in the recipe.
I’m sorry that it didn’t work for you Laura, and I wish I knew why because I’ve made these multiple times as written and always with rave reviews! That being said I hope you’re able to dial in to whatever it is that will make them a success in your kitchen too! Thanks for the feedback!
Mine was also very gritty and very sweet, felt like I was eating butter and sugar. I will try next time your techniques and see if it works,
These are fantastic! Love the cookie consistency! Great flavor!
★★★★★
I just made these, and they’re amazing! My hubby and son agreed that they couldn’t tell they were low cab. I used Splenda to sweeten. So good I’m having a hard time staying away!
★★★★★
I’m curious how much splenda to use for this cookie recipe. Thank you so much.
I used 3/4 cup of the baking-style Splenda.
Did you use regular Splenda ? I only have the granulated sugar packets and was wondering how to use them. I see that I will need 3/4 cup of it and that means I would need 6 ounces which seems like a lot of sugar. Is this accurate? Will love to try these tomorrow.
Any granulated sweetener will work!
I made these and they are delicious – just disappinted because they ended up as flat round biscuits. Did not retain their shape. I also used erythritol as sweetner. Any suggestions for next time?
I use swerve which is erythritol so that shouldn’t be a problem – if your almond flour isn’t really finely ground then the butter won’t distribute right and you could get a lot of spread. Otherwise not sure because mine puffed slightly but didn’t spread at all!
Thanx but my dough seemed perfect. Not watery at all I used honeyville flour.
Amazing! Reminds me of my favorite pignoli cookies that I find so hard to resist at the Italian bakery on the corner. Mine spread a lot too, but they still taste delicious.
★★★★★
Texture is right on. Mine did spread a lot. I even put them in the refrigerator while I waited for the oven to pre heat. The almond was waaay to strong. Will try less next time. Otherwise awesome. Any tips on how to get them to retain their shape??? Thanx! I love your recipes😍
Maybe dough was too watery? Mine was very thick, moldable. Maybe add more almond flour to thicken?
Melissa…made these this weekend. My wife tried one and asked what ingredients I used … which usually is a VERY bad sign. She absolutely loved them and swore they were as good or better than the store bought versions. I over baked my second batch and she actually preferred the crunchiness of those. Sprinkled powdered Swerve on a few but not necessary, better without. Gonna have to break down and buy you’re ebook collection. Your recipes really work well for me and are simple for a guy like me to prepare. I loved your banana dessert cups from a year ago too. Tried that recipe this fall substituting pumpkin purée with powdered Swerve to sweeten. Excellent result also! Happy holidays from Michigan!
★★★★★
Thanks Frank! Thought I responded to your comment weeks ago, not sure why it didn’t show up! Enjoy the books! ☺️
I just made low carb almond cookies and they came out terrible, second time around. They are not soft and chewey, they are crumbling and have texture of wet sand. Can you help me to figure out what did u do wrong. I followed the recipe. Thanks
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I made these cookies and….they just spread out into cats tongue shape!! Still yummy but certainly not the nice crescent shape I put into the oven! Any idea why? I used erythritol and a splash of Splenda.
I also used erythritol Jane so not sure what happened! What kind of almond flour were you using??
Excellent, nice alternative recipe!
Hi, Mellissa!
These sound GREAT to me, too. I’ve been saving up for a bag of almond flour (and SHAME on them for charging so much for what is, after all, the LEFTOVERS from processing!) and expect to have it in time for Christmas baking.
Meantime, just in case you haven’t already found this out for yourself, those “gleaming cases of colorful jewel-like cookies that are hard to resist!” are N-E-V-E-R worth the nutritional havoc they wreak.
Kinda like those candied nuts from the street vendors that, as I once read, “never taste as good as they smell.”
If you REALLY wanna break the metabolic bank, you should get referred to an authentic OLD-STYLE Italian bakery by someone old enough to be your grandparent!
These cookies must taste amazing! Definitely need to try them..one day :D
I just made them as my christmas cookie they are fantastic!
★★★★★