Chewy, lightly crisp and customizable to your taste buds! These gluten free and keto chocolate chip cookies are utterly amazing at just 1.5g net carbs a pop (i.e. the ideal low carb dessert!).
Note: the recipe was first published on December 2nd, 2017 and has since been updated with more deets ‘n tricks.
Gluten Free & Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
Bakery Style: Crisp & Chewy!
I must start off by saying that these keto chocolate chip cookies are top 5 of my favorite desserts… of all time! And if you consider the amount of baking that goes into a food blog, that’s saying a lot.
The taste is ridiculously good and the texture legit ‘cookie style‘! I’m talking soft centers and lightly crisp edges, with just the right amount of chew.
And at 1.5g net carbs, let’s just say I’m fairly in love with the macros!
Plus, you can also whip up a batch, freeze the shaped dough for up to 3 months, and bake straight from the freezer on a rainy day. 🌧
How To Make Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
But what exactly do I mean by the perfect keto cookies? After all, cookies vary a lot. Some are crunchy all over, others are cake-y, melt-in-your-mouth, crumbly, chewy, round, flat, spreadable… i.e. you’ve got options!
And let’s be honest, it seems that even though deceptively simple… it’s kinda hard to get keto cookies right (particularly the crisp ones!).
Standard cookie rules are aggravated in sugar free cookies due to the vast difference in ingredients from brand to brand.
So throughout the post you’ll find a few rules to help you get the cookies you want. Be it crispier, chewier, cakier… you name it!
But let’s get started with some hard-fast tips that apply to all cookies, be them keto or not!
- Cream the butter until light and fluffy. This is a big thing in cookies guys (i.e. the golden rule!) , and there’s no workaround! For best texture you want to cream your butter and the sweetener with your mixer for roughly 10 minutes, scrapping the bowl 2-3 times to ensure no uneven streaks remain.
- Dairy free? Not gonna like, this is a tricky one (particularly for the crisp cookies!). Shortening (i.e. lard!) is probably the closest sub to butter out there… but you’ll have to cut the amount of butter by 20% as it’s a pure fat. Also do keep in mind that you don’t get that butter taste (which is why even recipes with lard still throw in some butter).
- Cakier vs Crispier. You can play around with the texture without altering the recipe itself. For instance, if you want them crispier be sure to pre-flatten your cookies quite a bit prior to baking, use parchment paper and even have the cookie dough more at room temp than ultra chilled.
- And for cakier cookies you’ll want to do the opposite (ultra chilled, no pre-flattening). Note: convection ovens also lead to cakier cookies overall and sweeteners also play an important role (see section below!).
Whatever you decide. just don’t forget a light sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top, it’ll cut through the chocolate and sweetness beautifully.
Oh, and did I mention you can whip up a double chocolate version of these guys too?!
The Flours
I like a mixture of super fine almond flour (love Anthony’s) and coconut flour (again Anthony’s best taste and texture by a mile!) and (a very small touch) of konjac powder (i.e. glucomannan) for best crumb and bite. Add a touch of xanthan gum, and we’re golden.
What is konjac powder (i.e. glucomannan)? Short answer, it’s a great substitute to cornstarch for both thickening up sauces and gravy. And it also lends a nice chew and crunch to keto cookies, which you simply don’t get from either almond or coconut flour.
p.s konjac is stuff your miracle noodles (shirataki) are made out of!
Can I sub out the konjac? Yes, you can do arrowroot (closest) or even just more coconut flour. The taste was just as good with all three.
The Sweetener
Perhaps surprisingly, getting the sweetener right for these keto chocolate chip cookies is even more important than the flours. And this recipe works best with erythritol sweeteners, without a doubt.
Not only are they roughly 1-to-1 in sweetness to sugar (and the volume is important here), but they lend a very similar crunch and chew. No other sweetener did that.
My current favorite for these keto chocolate chip cookies? Lakanto’s golden (tastes and smells sooo good!).
So for crisp cookies use an erythritol sweetener for sure, as it’s the only one that will crisp up properly. And for even extra crispness you can place your tray in the upper part of your oven and increase the temperature by 10 degrees (the extra heat will spread them faster = crispier cookies!). Do note that erythritol can take up to a couple hours to crisp up completely.
And for soft and cakey cookies, adding some xylitol to the mix (think 3 parts erythritol: 2 parts xylitol) can really help a bunch. Other than that just don’t pre-flatten the cookie dough as much, you can bake on parchment or a baking mat, and be sure to place your rack in the middle oven. And, for extra extra cakey-ness you can even decrease the amount of butter by 10-20g.
Note: convection ovens also lead to cakier cookies overall!
Just keep in mind that cookies made with xylitol or allulose will stay soft and cakey (and need to be placed in the freezer once cool to speed up the setting process!).
How sweet?! In case you haven’t noticed, keto palates in regards to sweetness are all over the place (I feel mine fluctuates constantly still!). So I’m giving you guys a range of 110-140g (7-9TBS) of sweetener… which is already less than the average 200g in your usual cookies!
I also like to add a (optional!) teaspoon of blackstrap molasses for that extra brown sugar kick. 1 teaspoon (7g) adds 5g net carbs to the entire batch (just 0.3g net a cookie!). But carbs aside, blackstrap molasses is a nutritional powerhouse rich in vital vitamins and minerals, such as iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6, and selenium. But feel free to leave it out, just expect paler cookies!
And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys! 🐕
The Keto Chocolate Chips (or Chunks!)
Call me weird, but I don’t like chocolate chips in my chocolate chip cookies. What I like, is an actual chocolate bar broken up into bits. You see, chocolate chips were designed to not melt completely, and I’m all about those chocolate bits melting throughout the cookies. And the darker the chocolate, the more it will melt through!
So I suggest simply breaking up a chocolate bar into bits. Don’t chop it up with a knife, or you’ll end up with powder and flakes which will make your cookies cloudy.
But in the end, just use whatever your taste buds desire (and Lily’s does make awesome sugar free chocolate chips too!).
Looking for more keto cookies?! Don’t miss out on our legit snickerdoodles, (actually crisp!) oreos, and incredible toasted-almond shortbread (or double chocolate!).
(1.5g net carb!) Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oh, and if baking with cups rather than grams is your thing, just click on US Cups for an instant conversion.
Ingredients
- 120 g almond flour
- 16 g coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon konjac powder (i.e. glucomannan) arrowroot powder or more coconut flour*
- 1/2-1 teaspoon kosher salt **use the larger amount for a 'salted' version!
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 150 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 110-144 g golden erythritol to taste (I use 7 TBS)
- 1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses totally optional!***
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 85-120 g Lily's Sweets dark chocolate bar or chocolate chips!
- 70 g pecans roughly chopped
- flaky sea salt to garnish
Instructions
- Please see video for reference, tips and tricks! It's for the double chocolate version, but same difference (just has added cocoa and adjusted ratios!).
- Add almond flour, coconut flour, konjac powder (or arrowroot/more coconut flour), salt, baking soda and xanthan gum to a medium bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined and set aside.
- Cream butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until softened, 1-2 minutes. Add in sweetener and molasses (optional), and continue to cream until light and fluffy (about 8 minutes).
- Add in vanilla extract and egg, mixing until just incorporated. The mixture will appear slightly 'broken' (i.e. not thoroughly smooth). With your mixer on low, add in half of your flour mixture- mixing until just incorporated. Mix in the rest.
- Fold in chocolate and pecan bits. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper (if you use a silpat baking mat they won't spread much, if at all).
- Divide cookie dough into 18 rounds for 3 1/2-inch cookies (or 12 for jumbo style!), and flatten them slightly. The cookies will spread somewhat during baking, but you still need to pre-shape them (i.e. the more you pre-flatten them the more they'll spread = crispier cookies, so if you like them cakier just don't flatten them too much!).
- Place cookie dough on the prepared baking tray. Bake for 9-10 minutes for smaller cookies and 12-13 minutes for the jumbo, turning the tray around 180° half way through.
- Garnish with flaky sea salt and allow the cookies to cool completely on the trays (sugar alcohols can take a few hours to crisp up, so don't despair!). Store in an airtight container for three to four days and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Note that the shaped dough can be frozen for up to 3 months, and they can be baked straight from the freezer (adding 2-3 minutes more to the baking time).
Quick question…
The recipe says 110-144 grams golden erythritol, which is supposed to equate to 7-9 tablespoons. However, when I measure out 7 T. of Lakanto golden, it comes out to only 84 grams, not 110.
My measurement matches with what’s printed on the bag (1 tsp. = 4 grams).
So, should I go with the 110 grams, or 84?
Thank you!
So… had to have some dough (my favorite part about cookies) while I wait for the dough to chill… and OMG. so good!! This is the closest thing I have tasted to my old recipe! Thank you thank you thank you!!!
Hello Paola!
I made these and they were lovely but i couldn’t get past the cooling effect of the swerve. I’m wondering if you’ve found that the Lakanto golden has less of that aftertaste? I really loved everything else about these cookies. I’m low carb more than keto so I may experiment with half coconut sugar/half swerve or try the Lakanto golden. Thank you!
Hi! So excited to make these for a family gathering this week. Would it be ok to make up the dough tonight but actually bake them in the morning? (Leave it in the fridge overnight? )
Yeah definitely! You can refrigerate the cookie dough for 3-4 days and freeze for about 2 months 😉 xo!
Oh perfect!! Thanks for such a quick response! Making them now 🙂
Any subs for the almond flour? (Tree nut allergy)
Have you tried sunflower seed flour? xo!
I was really excited about these cookies, but when I made them this morning I ran into serious problems. Paola, I hope you can help! I substituted homemade coconut butter for the butter, since I saw that your paleo & keto cookie pie recipe says you can do that. The butter I made was plenty soft (though not completely smooth), but I could see there would be problems as soon as I added the golden lakanto and vanilla. The mixture was very crumbly, and it remained so as I continue to beat it. I went ahead with the egg and the flours as directed. In the end, I had a very crumbly dough. I could squeeze it like pastry to form a shape, but it just crumbled apart. I chilled it, and I baked a sample; it just browned in place. I tried adding coconut oil and then adding another egg, but the result was still not really anything like your cookie. Any advice on using coconut buttter in place of butter?
Hi Paula! Yeah I can see how that happened, the thing is that this recipe only works with butter unfortunately. The cookie pie is a different story… but I promise I’m working on a DF cookie 😉 xo!
Am I just selectively blind?
WHAT TEMP THE OVEN???
Definitely selectively blind… 😂 line 7 (Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C)
Hello, Paola! Bought your cookbook, love your blog!
Regarding konjac as a sub for arrowroot, do you find that it subs as well in other baked goods besides cookies? We’re doing pretty strict keto right now, and arrowroot is just way too carby to use. It’d be great if konjac can pretty much replace it.
Thanks!
Hi Andra! Thanks so much for your support! Konjac works great as a thickener too (even more potent than arrowroot from what I’ve seen). What other uses are you thinking?
Tbh I’m still experimenting with it, and I’ve read that it can make baked goods more tender (but there is also VERY actual info out there so I’ll have to to trial and error). xo!
In the sandwich bread recipe, for example. There’s a substantial sub of arrowroot for part of the almond flour. Have you tried that with konjac instead? Bread is so much tetchier about its chemistry than cookies, of course, and gluten free bread even moreso. What proportion of konjac to arrowroot would be appropriate? Would it really be 1:1 there? Using 1/4-1/2 cup of konjac, wouldn’t that turn immediately into constipation loaf? ;D
OK gotcha! In all honesty I don’t think I would ever try to sub 1/4-1/2 cup of konjac as it’s an ingredient that (as you say) can cause blockages in larger amounts! 😂
I’m beginning to experiment with lupin flour and it looks VERY promising. It’s a legume though, so it will work for some and not others. But I’m already seeing that it will fill a bunch of the holes that are missing in the behaviors of the other flours (I’m VERY excited!)
Experimentation is so much fun! Here’s to culinary off-roading!
Exactly! Here here!
Just to follow up on this thread, I’ve continued to experiment with konjac flour, and I’m basically using it 1:1 now instead of arrowroot where called for. It works *great* and doesn’t add a heap of carbs. No digestive issues at all. I suspect all the hand-wringing about konjac’s fiber content has been over hyped. If you’re eating it with a spoon, you might run into trouble, but so far as I can tell, it’s utterly benign used in cooking and baking. 👍
Best wishes on your recovery! Hope you’re up and about and back to kitchen mayhem in no time!
I saw a commercially made product with konjac flour in it, looked it up because I didn’t know what it was, and emailed the company to find out why it didn’t come with a warning. I never got a reply other than, thanks for pointing out this issue… Konjac is dangerous stuff, and it should not be used in recipes with an explanation. It can cause blockages in your throat or intestines. It is banned in some countries. You aren’t supposed to use it in any form without drinking a minimum of a full glass of water.
Hi Pamela! You’re correct (to a certain extent!)- but the konjac here (only 1 TBS) has been baked into the cookies, and the dangers that you mention are when eating it directly and in large quantities.
It’s safe to use it in baked goods and to thicken sauces xo!
Been on keto for 8 months and love it. This was the first cookie recipe I’ve tried. They were great- for me, I half the salt in the recipe and left off the flake salt sprinkle (I didn’t have any at home), added sugar free thrive brand chocolate chips, unsweetened coconut flakes and subbed hazelnuts for the pecans. I also did not have any xanthan gum, so I skipped it, and subbed the molasses for splenda brown sugar! They were SOOOOO yummy. Thank you!!!
Also going to make this dough again as a plain “sugar cookie” dough, going to add a pinch of cream of tartar, then roll in cinnamon and Swerve granulated erythritol for a SNICKERDOODLE!!!!
I can’t wait. Thanks for a great base cookie dough recipe! I’m so excited to have cookies for a snack today at work!
I made these last night (I like mine fluffy)…and they didn’t even taste keto. These were some of the best cookies I’ve ever had! I used 4 tbsp of regular Lakanto because I ran out and didn’t have golden. I did have Blackstrap Molasses though! I had to hide these because the entire house was hunting for them after getting a taste!
This is just too awesome to hear Kathy!! 😂
If you are subbing more coconut flour or arrowroot powder for the konjac would the amount be the same(1T)? Also, what type of ice cream did you use in the pics? You should definitely make an ice cream sandwich post!
Your ingredients list describes the Lily’s dark chocolate bar, but your link it takes to the dark chocolate sea salt bar. Which do you recommend? The 70% dark chocolate or the sea salt dark chocolate bar? Btw, everyone is right—you ARE a keto baking GENIUS!
I can’t have dairy, what can I submit for the butter?
These are actually amazing by any standards you must be a genius!
I’m a little confused. I have the golden Lankato, but it says it’s monkfruit, not erythritol. Are they interchangeable?
Hi Jen! Check out the ingredients, it has added monk fruit but it’s mainly erythritol xo!
We’ve been making these at least monthly since the holidays! Excited to try the new tips, but these would be on the menu even if we weren’t doing keto. THAT good!
Hi Paola! Would ghee work in place of the grass-fed butter?
Hi! What would you suggest for someone who is allergic to coconut (just a heads up if to anyone reading this , if you have a severe grass allergy coconut MAY bother you, it is also a monocot!) I know if I use all almond it would be dry and crumbly. I can’t think of something off the top of my head to use instead. Any help is appreciated!
Some people have found that they can sub oat fiber for coconut flour, 2:1 (twice as much oat fiber as coconut flour called for). This also tends to give a more wheat flour-like texture. Remember, oat FIBER, not flour (I’ve only been able to order it online).
Oh I wish I had read your comment before! I would have loved to have used oat fiber in place of coconut. I was tempted but didn’t know what to swap it out for. Next batch!
These look amazing but I am currently cutting dairy due to its impact on my thyroid. Can coconut butter or oil be subbed for the butter?
I Rachdl! In all honesty these guys need butter, but I promise I’m working on a dairy free version! xo and best of luck with your thyroid xo!
Would ghee work here instead? I’ve found butter and ghee to be fairly interchangeable in cooking and baking unless the milk solids are really important for browning or something of the sort,
I have a nutrition question — I logged this exact recipe in My Fitness Pal, using the same products where linked in the recipe) and got a much higher net carb count and very different macros. I triple checked that each product data was correct. I also tried it with all the subs for arrowroot and without my molasses, but the change was negligible. Without the chocolate, the macros for one cookie (1/12 of recipe) are:
Calories 131
Fat (g): 11.4
Protein (g): 3.3
Carbs (total g): 16.9
Fiber (g): 2.3
Net carbs: 14.6
Yikes! Definitely not the 3-5 net carb promised, and I can’t figure it out and definitely can’t fit these macros into my keto diet. Help?
My guess is that you’re counting the sugar alcohol from the sweetener as regular carbs right? Keep in mind that its common practice to subtract it as you do fiber 😉
omg! These cookies are BOMB. I had one just out of the oven and thought they were pretty good. Just had one after they cooled and OMG!!! SO DELICIOUS. A little crumbly but who cares? Flavor is amazing.
That’s awesome to hear Kristy! Keep in mind that sugar alcohols keeps cookies crumbly until a few hours after they have set once again (xylitol can take up to a day!) 😉 xo!
So sad that these did not turn out for me. Cakey and airy, no crisp, definitely not that flat spread out crisp look yours has. I bought the arrowroot and the other expensive ingredient (that I’m forgetting the name and don’t want to scroll back up for). Idiot me didn’t see the cup converter and did on my own, so maybe that was it or the oven heat was not hot enough as I read above. So any other ideas world be appreciated, crisp cookies would be a great thing to have…
I made these tonight and subbed the arrowroot for coconut flour. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. They were incredibly crumbly, tasted way too buttery, and were not at all sweet (I used stevia because that’s what I have). I have had major issues with keto baking. Everything turns out this way, unfortunately. Any suggestions?
Hi Kat! I’m sorry these didn’t work out for you, but they aren’t meant to be made with stevia- you need a sugar alcohol (preferably erythritol here). They were too buttery etc because the ratios were changed when you subbed xo!
Hello! Thank you for your recipes, they are AWESOME! I have made these cookies about 5 times already and they make a perfect dessert! The first 4 times I made them without the arrowroot and the blackstrap molasses and they tasted great but they looked different than yours, more “cake like”. The last batch I made, I did it exactly as you suggest, with all ingredients without replacing or leaving anything out. They turned out great but they did not sink (neither did the previous ones). I pre-shape them and flatten them and they do expand but they stay rounded, not flat. Any suggestions? I bake them in a regular oven.
I absolutely adore these cookies and just made my 4th batch! Thank you so much for offering the ingredients in metric as well — I weigh everything when I bake and they always turn out to perfection. One thing that might solve the spreadability issue that others have had (I also use a silpat) is the type of butter used. I made most of the batches with Vital Farms butter and one batch with Kerry Gold butter. The latter resulted in cookies that spread out much more than the Vital Farms brand, most likely due to their fat content. My favourite way to enjoy these is to bake up a batch, let them cool and then throw them in a bag and toss in the freezer. I pull one out to have with my afternoon tea as a treat and love them slightly frozen! It also helps with portion control (I’m a cookie monster!!)!! 😀 Thank you again!
Cookies were delicious! They came out perfectly. I didn’t have any arrowroot powder but that didn’t seem to affect them. Had to flatten them out a little more half way through cooking as they didn’t look like they were spreading. Will definitely be making these again, also husband and toddler loved them! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe, I can’t wait to try the rest of your creations.
Do you use both molasses and the Swerve?
Yes Eileen! Keep in mind that the molasses is only a teaspoon, so its not to actually sweeten the cookies (Swerve does that). xo
I made these with homemade sugar-free chocolate chips and left out the arrowroot powder and molasses because I didn’t have any. I baked on a silicone mat for 13 minutes and they turned out perfect! They are delicate but hold together very nicely. They completely satisfied my hankering for a traditional chocolate chip cookie! I highly recommend this recipe and will definitely be making it again!
Hi there! I tried this recipe and while they were MUCH MUCH better than any other cookie recipe I’ve tried that’s keto friendly, they didn’t turn out like a cookie at all.
I didn’t use arrowroot, so I subbed the extra coconut flour as instructed. They ended up being cookie shaped and cookie-esque-flavored mini cakes. I divided into 12, shaped and flattened. They didn’t ‘sink’ at all and therefore have the cake-like feel, taste and consistency. I don’t understand!!! ;(
Any suggestions?
Hi Erica! Did you pre-flatten them before baking? Are you by any chance using a convection oven? You might want to try upping your heat a bit next time to help them spread. Also what sweetener did you use? That affects the cookies MUCH more than the flours