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 1x
- Category: Low Carb Cookie Recipe
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1 stick salted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
- pinch of kosher salt
- 1/2 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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I’ve made these at least 20 times now. This is by far my favorite cookie recipe. The cookies freeze very well too! Like a previous comment, I too dip them half way in chocolate and they are fantastic, easy and beautiful. Thank you so much for such a wonderful recipe. Shalom 💜
★★★★★
Any idea if I could use another ground nut on the outside? Maybe crushed walnuts or pecans?
Yes!
I made these and they came out great! Instead of 1/2 Cup granulated erythritol, I used 1/3 Cup confection erythritol + 1 Tbsp granulated erythritol. I dipped the ends in chocolate. Other than that, I followed the recipe.Really good.
I think the people whose cookies flattened, I suspect that their oven was not heated properly before the cookies went in. Low oven temp, butter melts, but the oven is not hot enough to bake the cookie, so it spreads.
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That’s a great theory, you might be on to something!
On the money! Almond horns ARE super sticky sweet and these were spot on. Can’t wait to try one that doesn’t burn my tongue, haha. You nailed it, thanks!
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The only sugar substitute I have is ugar free almond flavored syrup.. is there any way I could use this for these instead?
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 :)
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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!
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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.
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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… :-)
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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.
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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
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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
★★★★★