Healthy Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies that are made with almond flour, sugar-free chocolate, butter and natural sweetener. It’s so delicious that you won’t believe these cookies are actually healthier than the traditional shortbread cookie recipes.
Shortbread cookies are one of my favorite kinds of cookies to bake for Christmas. I love them especially because of the texture and how crunchy they are. Mm.. So good! The holiday season always gets me in the baking mood and so far I’ve made my Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies, Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies, and I’ll be working through these 12 Healthy Gluten-free Cookies Recipes (Web Story) this week!
Although traditional shortbread cookie is amazing, today I’m sharing with you my healthy version that I think you’ll be amazed by the flavour and the texture too. To be really honest with you, I think these Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies are as good or if not better than the shortbread cookie made with white flour.
Ingredients to Make These Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies
To make this Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies recipe, you’ll need only 6 ingredients and here they are:
- Almond flour — Almond flour adds a mild sweetness to the cookies. If you want your almond flour to last longer, store it in your fridge.
- Grass-fed Softened Butter — Make sure to plan ahead and bring the butter to room temperature so you can easily mix the ingredients together. I use grass-fed butter and recommend you use the unsalted version as you’re already adding salt into the cookie dough.
- Natural Sweetener — Use any one of your preferences.
- Salt — You just need a pinch to balance out the flavours.
- Vanilla Extract — I recommend you use real vanilla extract and not artificial extract.
- Dark Chocolate Chips — Alternatively, you can use sugar-free chocolate chips.
Since this recipe is made with almond flour (which helps the cookies to be light and tender), you won’t need lots of butter to make them. In fact, you’ll use only 3 tablespoons of softened butter because almond flour already contains lots of healthy fats. Only 3 tablespoons of butter are more than enough to keep the dough crunchy, flaky, and delicious.
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Also, this version of the traditional shortbread cookie tastes yummy even though it contains only 3 tablespoons of sweetener. You won’t need more than that to make these Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies.
Reasons why you should use almond flour to bake these cookies:
- Almond flour is a great source of good plant-base protein.
- It’s also loaded with healthy fats that are great for your brain.
- This type of flour is also gluten-free, grain-free and low-carb.
- It has a delicious nutty flavour!
These cookies are the best and I say that, not only because they are delicious, but because they’re healthier, they only require 6 simple ingredients and are baked in 20 minutes. So, after all these good reasons to make them, I hope you give them a try! Enjoy!
How to make almond flour shortbread cookies
Prepare the equipment
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
Make the cookie dough
- In a large bowl add all the ingredients, but except the chocolate chips, and mix until the dough is smooth.
- Add the chocolate chips and mix well.
- Roll balls of dough with your hands. It’s about 1.5 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Press fork into the tops to create the criss-cross pattern. Probably the dough will crack a little. You just have to re-seal some cracks by simply smoothing them out with your fingers. But know that it’s totally fine to have a few cracks as you can cover it with chocolate later.
Bake the cookies
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until very lightly golden. Allow the cookies to cool completely before handling as they will be delicate.
Make the melted chocolate
- While the cookies are in the oven, place some chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave for about 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir. Return it to the microwave and repeat in 15-seconds intervals until the chocolate is totally melted.
- Dip half of the cookie into the melted chocolate and let the excess runoff.
Recipe tips
- Make sure you are using almond flour and not almond meal as almond meal is not as fine as flour.
- These cookies do not have a lot of spread so you must press down on them before baking.
- Sprinkle the tops of the melted chocolate with some chopped nuts or sprinkles if desired.
- Use a cookie scoop to get perfectly portioned cookies.
- The almond flour shortbread cookies will be soft and crumbly when they come out of the oven so be patient and allow them to cool before dipping.
- Add a pinch of lemon zest for a brighter flavour.
How to store the cookies
In the fridge
- These cookies last up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
In the freezer
- You can freeze the raw cookie dough after you’ve rolled them into balls. Flash freeze them on a lined sheet pan and then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, pull out what you need and bring them to room temperature on a lined sheet pan, press down on them, and bake as directed.
- You can freeze the cookies after they are baked. Let the almond shortbread cookies cool completely before placing them in a freezer-safe airtight container and placing them in the freezer.
More Low-carb Cookies to Try:
- Cranberry Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies: These Cranberry Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies are delicious, low-carb and gluten-free.
- Chocolate Almond Biscotti Cookies: Delicious Low-carb version of the traditional and classic Italian biscotti cookie.
- Sugar-free Nutella Thumbprint Cookies: You can absolutely indulge yourself and feel good about it after eating these delicious cookies.
- Melt in Your Month Shortbread Cookies: They’re are crazy soft, tender and no chewing required 😉
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Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3 tablespoons grass-fed softened butter
- 3 tablespoon natural sweetener any one of your preference
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sugra-free dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. Set aside.
- In a large bowl add all the ingredients, but except the chocolate chips. Using a spatula stir everything well until all is combined and the dough is smooth.
- Add the chocolate chips and mix well.
- Roll balls of dough. It’s about 1.5 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Press fork into the tops to create the criss-cross pattern. Probably the dough will crack a little. You just have to re-seal some cracks by simply smooth it out with your fingers. But know that it’s totally fine to have a few cracks.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until very lightly golden. Allow the cookies to cool completely before handling.
- While the cookies are in the oven, place some chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave for about 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir. Return it to the microwave and repeat, stopping to stir every 15-seconds until the mixture is totally melted.
- Dip half of cookie into the melted chocolate and let the excess run off.
Tips
- Make sure you use almond flour and not almond meal. They will not produce the same results.
- These cookies do not spread much so you can place them closer to each other. That's why you have to press them down before baking.
- If you want perfectly uniformed cookies without weighing the dough, you can use a cookie scoop!
- To store: Store the cookies for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
- To freeze: After cooling, freeze the cookies in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
Carol R. says
The recipe looks great, but I have a question – in the description at the top of the cookie recipe, it says they bake in 9 minutes, but in the actual directions, it says to bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Most flour-based shortbread recipes I’ve used in the past bake at 300 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes. I’m going to try the higher temperature and shorter baking time, but am curious which is correct. Does anyone have comments on the correct length of time to bake the cookies? Thanks.
Olivia says
Sorry, Carol. It was a typo. You should bake these cookies at 350F for about 20 minutes. Thanks for pointing it out.
Michal says
Hi! Can one replace the butter with coconut oil? Thanks
Olivia says
I’m sorry. I am not sure.