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).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
and some food (for thought) 👁️
a newsletter about functional food to nourish, create and evolve.
(p.s. we don’t talk about fight club 🪄 )
xo! Paola
Thank you for this recipe! I had to make a couple small changes so I didn’t have to run to the grocery but thanks to the unbelievably generous amount of work you have done and all the helpful tips I was able to make informed choices and these cookies came out fabulous!!! I find your willingness to work so hard and share it with everyone for free astounding and inspiring and I am so grateful!!!! Everything you do is gorgeous ❤️❤️❤️
Paola,
Have you and can you try BochaSweet or a combo for this recipe. BochaSweet has been an amazing addition to my low carb pantry. I’m surprised it’s not more popular.
I made cookie dough fat bombs which were disgusting but I didn’t want to throw them out so I found another one of your recipes and even though I had to add some ingredients out of order and I was on a wing and a prayer these came out fantastic!!! Lol I can’t wait to make these with the exact ingredients and in the correct order however I’m proof that if you have a good recipe it doesn’t matter they still taste delicious. How an I going to stop eating them???!!!
Oh lol Emily! Happy you were able to save the ingredients 😉
I’ve made this recipe a few times and like it a lot. But one time I made them and they were more like a shortbread cookie (which is what I like) but can’t figure out what I did differently than the other times. I do follow the recipe and yet… Any tips?
I don’t see butter or eggs in the ingredients, but the directions call for both. How much of each is needed?
Nevermind! 😅
LOL!
On point! Used 20g coconut flour and skipped the konjac and xantham. Used allulose for sweetener (7 tbsp) and kept the molasses in. Baked for 10 minutes and they taste AMAZING. a touch on the soft side but going in the freezer now.
What would be the alternative for dairy if we cant do butter?
Refined coconut oil is a great substitute for butter.
I made these today. We are dairy free and I used palm shortening and they turned out great. I can’t compare to the recipe as originally written, but since we can’t eat dairy, I was excited that they turned out delicious (at least to us.) 😀
Dairy free and gum free:
Best cookies ever! I have been making keto desserts for almost 2 years and these are hands down the best cookies to date. I didn’t use xantham gum or konjac powder, just did 20g coconut flour instead of 16. And they were still amazing! I didn’t use molasses, just used Swerve brown and it already has molasses in it. I used palm shortening to make these dairy free.
I made these and am so disappointed (not due to your recipe I’m sure). They looked awesome but tasted cool/metallic to me. Even my 8-yr old nephew didn’t like them and he’s never turned down a sweet before. I ended up throwing them out. I’m pretty sure it’s the sweeteners. I’ve spent a fortune on keto friendly sweeteners (Swerve, various stevias, xlatol, Lakanto) and they all taste awful to me. I used Lakanto Gold and Lily’s choc chips sweetened with stevia in this recipe. Any suggestions for sweeteners available in Canada that don’t have a horrible aftertaste to those sensitive to it?
P.S. I’ve made your chimichurri and BBQ sauces and both were great!
I have heard that stuff baked with sugar alternatives often has that funny/yuk taste but it you leave them for a day, that taste sometimes goes away. Worth a try
Def true! I had this happen with a batch of brownies. Thought the author and all the comments about how great they were, were all crazy! Tried it the next day as suggested….they were amazing!
It’s the erythritol; it has a cooling sensation. Try making them with allulose. It’s a rare sugar that is undigestible, so it doesn’t raise insulin. Great for keto and diabetic diets. Works just like sugar in baking, but is a little less sweet. You can compensate by adding a teaspoon monk fruit powder (I use Julian Bakery Organic) to make your baked goods sweeter. You could also use stevia powder or drops if you don’t mind the taste. Some people are very sensitive to stevia, and it goes from sweet to bitter if you use too much. Takes a bit of learning.
Would the swerve brown work well? It’s Erythritol based? That’s what I have and plain Erythritol
I use a combo 1/2 and 1/2 of brown and white granular. Works well for me.
Amazing! I love these. We’ve been keto for about 8 years and these are the best I’ve tasted. My changes: More vanilla–>because why not? Sub’d out 1/2 the almond flour for a 50/50 mix of oat fiber and whey protein isolate (no carbs). I wasn’t sure how much to flatten them so they came out a little higher than yours. Next time I will flatten more and try less whey and more oat fiber. ***BTW*** you mention how the dough looks like it’s broken when you mix in the egg. If you let the egg warm to room temp it’ll blend in creamy and won’t look broken. It’s the cold egg hardening up the butter that makes it look that way. Also!! Thanks for the tip on the chocolate chips! I made a special trip to Walmart to get them, I couldn’t believe they had them. I can’t wait to try your other recipes!
Thanks for all your great recipes. I can’t eat any coconut products but dairy is fine. Do you have any options to substitute for the coconut flour while maintaining the texture you have achieved?
Its my pleasure Giselle! Tbh I haven’t tried, but I do know a reader used oat fiber in the past and reported back that it worked great. Oat fiber is also a good one to sub in our crazy Keto Dough (just be sure to see reviews on amazon, as not all brands are the same) xo!
I just took a batch out of the oven like half an hour ago made with oat fiber instead of coconut flour, and they were *perfect*.
I thought I’d try it since the coconut hit was disturbing my chocolate chip cookie-flavor bliss. The texture and taste were spot on. They were a bit soft because of using allulose, but I’m going to experiment with bake times and then go half allulose, half erythritol next time and see how that behaves.
I’ve found the bang trick from this recipe to be helpful:
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018945-giant-crinkled-chocolate-chip-cookies
I just pre-flattened and let them come to room-ish temperature. Then banged them down at 6m and 9m (to get rid of any rise in the middle).
Agreed Kelvin! Thanks for sharing here, check back this week as I was testing it for a new cookie recipe coming out 😉
Hands down the best low carb cookie! I actually read the tips and got the delicious crispy, soft cookie. Thank you from the bottom of this T1D heart:)
My dough is in the fridge and I can’t wait to try these! I’m wondering though, I used an extra large egg. Will they work? Your recipe didn’t specify an egg size.
A question about the amount of golden erythritol…the recipe says 110-144 grams and that you use 7 tablespoons. When you look at the nutritional information for that specific sweetener, the math says it’s only 84 grams that you’re using. Is that correct?
This recipe is SO tasty, but my cookies were so soft (even as they spread out) that they crumbled apart when I picked them off the tray! I used allulose as the sweetener; do you think that has something to do with it? I also did not use glucomannan. Any advice is appreciated because they tasted amazing and I want to make them again (but for them to stay in one piece) 😊
These cookies were excellent! My non keto hubby has been nibbling on them, so I have to hide them! Mine are half size, but I will get a larger scoop. I am wondering what scoop you use.
Also, have you considered using LorAnn emulsions for flavoring? Babies use them because they don’t bake out—like extracts.
I might try using the Princess cakes and cookies emulsion for this one, and the banana one for your banana bread.
Are there any adjustments for high altitude? (9200 ft)
They might just spread more (like mine, I baked these in Mexico City!) xo!!
I just put these in the oven. What cookie scoop size did you use? Because I got 39 cookies with my Oneida scoop. I would like to use a larger scoop to make even cookies.
I just pulled these cookies out of the oven and noticed I forgot to add the egg 🤦🏼♀️ I guess that was a total failure 🤷🏼♀️
Oh no! Maybe you ended up with shortbread though 😉
They are actually delicious! I left them cool down and put them in a plastic freezer bag and placed them in the freezer. Just grabbed one and they are so good! Even with forgetting the egg i give them 5 ☆☆☆☆☆ best keto cookies ever!
Just to clarify, if we use salted butter will that be sufficient saltiness or should we still add some salt? I agree that a bit of salt brings out flavors when baking – I just don’t want to go overboard with it. I only use salted butter so I’d have to go buy unsalted if it’s required. Thanks!
I would generally skip the salt Sandra (salted butter can vary a lot as you know)! They will still end up with a hint of salt though (they’re my favorite this way btw!)- sort of like the famous ‘salted chocolate chunk shortbread cookies’ by Alison roman xo!
Ok, I went through every single page of comments to see if I could use a food processor instead of a stand mixer because I don’t have one. I have a hand mixer but I don’t see myself standing there for 10 minutes holding it. Do you think a food processor would work? I am still in search of the perfect cookie and this might be it.
Hi! Can I use powdered stevia? Will ut affect the outcome much? Thank you!
These are the best keto chocolate chip cookies I have made. Thanks for another great recipe!
We made this recipe tonight with the lesser amount of salt (1/2 tsp) & they came out extremely salty. We do not have monk fruit so we used swerve confectioners sugar instead & Lily’s chocolate chips, NO black strap molasses either. Does anyone have any idea what is causing such a salty taste?
We really wanted to love this recipe and are not sure what we did incorrect.
Please help if you can! 💜
Danielle can you check that you didn’t use salted butter for the cookies? THat’s the only thing that I can think of… because 1/2 tsp wouldn’t give you salty cookies xo!
Hi Paola,
We used the unsalted KeeryGold butter. My mom decided to make a 3rd batch with NO SALT this time & now they are delicious! Must be trial & error I guess! Thank you for your help love!
I had thought I commented back, but we used unsalted butter. We have also made these a couple times since omitting ALL salt. SO much better! Thank you!
Oh good to hear! But just note that even a little bit of salt brings out flavors (desserts need to be seasoned too!) xo!
I’m curious the kind of almond flour or coconut flour the brand that you are using? Because I know sometimes I wonder what else could be causing the salty taste when I’ve not added salt. Just curious of your brands and if you have checked to ensure they don’t have any other additives. The baking soda that you use can also add to the salty taste. This is the first recipe I’ve seen in KETO that uses it. Most only use baking powder or arrowroot powder. Don’t you need an acid to activate the baking soda? I’m a beginner baker and don’t have any answers or if I find one it usually means more questions! Lol! I made them today and I’m still waiting for them to cool completely before eating!! Smell awesome…I added cocoa nibs as well as some Lily’s choc chips and I didn’t add the molasses either because my hubby is diabetic and I need it to be completely sugar free.
Are you using table salt instead of kosher salt? They measure differently
what kind of salt are you using? If you are using table salt,it will be saltry, use kosher salt, like in the recipe
I had very salty cookies I didn’t have unsalted butter so I used salted and used 1tsp of salt . Took one bite and decided to try again. Also they were soft after 15 min in oven at 350. They were brown so are they supposed to be soft or crunchy and a little chewy?
These look amazing! I’m wondering if it would be ok using dark molasses instead of blackstrap molasses – and still being keto-friendly? I understand blackstrap is better, but I have some dark molasses in my kitchen… 🙂
Remember that keto is a metabolic state, not a list of foods 😉 I think you should be fine!
Hey just making these as I type. I followed the recipe as exactly written. However I decided to also watch your video and noticed you added cocoa powder to the mix!!! There’s no mention in the entire recipe and now I’m wondering whether my chilling batter is lacking extra dry ingredients. Can you please clarify this.
Wow! I tried this recipe last night. It was the best keto dessert recipe I have ever tried – and I have tried many. My grown son and daughter were here and they couldn’t get enough of them. Because they have disappeared, now I will have to make a new batch if I would like another. I couldn’t believe how good they were. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
You mentioned Lakanto Golden as your favorite. Is that for flavor since it appears you still think that only erythritol will give a truly crispy cookie?!?
Thats right Cooper! I find that it has the least cooling effect out of all the erythritol sweeteners (I’m very sensitive!) xo!