Gluten Free & Keto Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Buttery, crisp and intensely chocolatey! These totally flakey gluten free and keto chocolate shortbread cookies are the real deal... at just 1g net carb a pop!Oh, and if baking with cups rather than grams is your thing, just click on US Cups for an instant conversion.
Servings 15 cookies
Calories 90kcal
Ingredients
- 120 g almond flour
- 30 g cocoa powder or cacao*
- 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder optional
- 84 g unsalted grass-fed butter at room temperature
- 90 g powdered erythritol **
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional add-ins
- 70-140 g dark chocolate such as Lily's, in chunks
- flakey sea salt to garnish
Instructions
- Whisk together in a medium bowl the almond flour, cocoa powder, xanthan gum, kosher salt and espresso powder (optional).
- Cream butter and sweetener in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 8-10 minutes. Be sure to scrape it down with a spatula as needed to avoid streaky butter! Add in vanilla extract and beat until just combined.
- With your mixer on low, add in half of your flour mixture- mixing until just incorporated. Mix in the rest. Fold in chocolate chunks or chips (optional).
- Wrap cookie dough with cling film (saran wrap) and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C and have a baking tray handy.
- Roll out dough between parchment paper, dusting with cocoa as needed, and either simply slice with a knife or do cutouts. The dough is fragile (and extremely buttery!), so it helps to lightly pat the cookie dough with the rolling pin to soften it and make it more malleable; press down any crumbly bits back into the dough until you roll it out to your desired thickness (both thin and thick cookies work well). Place shaped cookies with parchment paper on the prepared baking tray and place in the freezer for 15 minutes prior to baking.
- Bake for 10-16 minutes (I did 15 for 2 1/2" cookies that were 1/4" thick). Baking times will vary widely depending on size of cookies and oven, but think 8-13 minutes for the small ones or 15-18 minutes for the larger ones.
- Allow to cool on pan for 20 minutes, as they'll be very fragile when warm. Transfer to a rack to cool completely and crisp up (can take a few hours with sugar alcohols!). Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
*Note that the cocoa (or cacao) you use will determine the flavor (and hue!) of your cookies. I love Valrhona (Dutch-processed), which gives an intense dark chocolate kick. For a more 'milk chocolate' version you can reduce the cocoa to 2-3 TBSP (and increase the almond flour by the same amount).
**I find that using powdered erythritol in cookies with delicate texture helps to prevent crunchy minty crystals post-bake. Simply run it in your (very dry!) blender or bullet until powdered.
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).
Please note that nutrition facts were estimated for 15 cookies, but you can yield a lot more (even 2 dozen if they're nice 'n thin).
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 90kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 117mg | Potassium: 30mg | Fiber: 1g | Vitamin A: 140IU | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 0.6mg