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Coconut Flour Shortbread Cookies (Keto, Gluten-free)

4.75 from 40 votes
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These easy, 5-ingredient Coconut Flour Shortbread Cookies are soft, buttery melt-in-your-mouth coconut cookies delicious for your Christmas cookie platter.

Bonus, these are gluten-free keto coconut flour cookies, 100% sweetened with natural low-carb sweeteners, and come with only 1.8 grams of net carbs each.

It’s funny how we tend to pause a diet during the holidays, but I am here to help you get through Christmas and keep it keto this year.

Actually, if there’s something I learned the past years on a keto diet, it is that you can make delicious Keto Christmas cookies that all your family love and won’t guess are sugar-free cookies!

So let me share with you this new creation, a soft, melt-in-your-mouth coconut shortbread cookie.

What Are Coconut Flour Shortbread Cookies

A coconut flour shortbread tastes like a regular soft shortbread cookie with a strong coconut flavor from coconut flavor. It’s a healthy low-carb keto cookie recipe that is also naturally:

  • Grain-free
  • Nut-free
  • Low-carb
  • Gluten-free

In fact, coconut flour is a gluten-free flour that makes wonderful healthy cookies with fewer carbs and more nutrients like fiber and proteins.

Coconut Flour Shortbread Cookies Keto Sugar Free Gluten Free Low carb Christmas Cookie recipe sweetashoney

How To Make Coconut Flour Shortbread Cookies

It’s so easy to make a soft coconut shortbread using coconut flour. The success of baking with coconut flour is adding more moist ingredients like eggs, butter, or milk.

In fact, coconut flour is four times more liquid absorbent than other keto flours, so you must add significantly more moisture to the batter, or it ends up with dry coconut flour cookies.

Ingredients

  • Large Eggs – make sure you use large eggs, not small or medium eggs, to avoid dry cookies. Eggs are low-carb products.
  • Softened Butter – if you have a dairy allergy, use dairy-free butter, like vegan blocks. However, I don’t recommend using coconut oil for this recipe. The cookies come out harder and not as moist. Butter is keto-friendly.
  • Powdered Sweetener – I am using powdered erythritol, but any keto powder sweetener works well, or regular powder sugar if not keto. Learn how to pick the best keto sweeteners.
  • Coconut Flour – make sure you measure the coconut flour precisely. Fill the cup, shake, sweep the top. Don’t overly pack the flour in the cup because, again, this makes cookies dry. Learn why coconut flour can’t be swapped.
  • Vanilla Extract

Beating The Butter And Sweetener

First, using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer or a hand beater, beat softened butter and powder sweetener together until light and creamy.

This takes about 1 minute on high speed – speed 7-8 of a stand mixer.

Stirring In The Remaining Liquid

Now, stir in vanilla extract and eggs and beat again on the low-speed setting to incorporate.

Finally, beat in coconut flour until the dough is yellow, soft, butter slightly wet but still hold well in your hand if squeezed.

Set aside 2 minutes and meanwhile prepare the baking sheets.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil the paper with coconut oil or olive oil set aside.

Shaping The Cookies

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

Now the dough is ready to be shaped into little shortbread cookies,

Scoop out one tablespoon of coconut flour cookie dough, roll it between your hands to form a ball. The dough should be wet, hold together, and not fragile or crumbly.

If crumbly or too dry, it means you used less liquid – smaller eggs, less butter. To adjust a dry cookie dough, add one extra tablespoon of almond milk.

Place all the cookie dough balls onto the prepared cookie sheet leaving half thumb space between each cookie ball.

How to make Coconut Flour Shortbread Cookies

Baking the Cookies

Lightly flatten each ball with your hands gently. The cookies don’t expand in the oven, so the shape you give them now is the shape they will have after baking.

Mark the top of each cookie with the back of a fork to create a lovely shortbread print.

Bake in the center rack of your oven for 10 minutes, until just golden brown on top. Don’t overbake the cookies, or they come out dry.

Cool down on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes, then cool down on a wire rack.

Coconut Flour Shortbread Cookies Keto Sugar Free Gluten Free Low carb Christmas Cookie recipe sweetashoney

Decoration

This is totally optional, but I like to dip half of the shortbread cookies into melted dark chocolate. First, cool the cookies completely for 30 minutes or until they reach room temperature.

My recipe for cookie chocolate shell is super simple:

Place 1/2 cup of sugar-free chocolate chips and one teaspoon of coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl.

Microwave by 30-second bursts, stirring and repeating until the chocolate is fully melted.

Dip half of each keto shortbread cookie into the melted chocolate.

Cool the low-carb shortbread cookies down on a plate covered with lightly oiled parchment paper. You can pop the plate in the fridge to set the chocolate shell faster.

Coconut Flour Shortbread Cookies Keto Sugar Free Gluten Free Low carb Christmas Cookie recipe sweetashoney

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Storage Instructions

These keto-friendly nut-free cookies store very well in the fridge in zip lock bags or airtight cookie jars for up to 1 week.

You can also freeze these gluten-free shortbread cookies for later and thaw them at room temperature the day before.

Coconut Flour Shortbread Cookies Keto Sugar Free Gluten Free Low carb Christmas Cookie recipe sweetashoney

Frequently Asked Questions

What Can I Do If My Cookies Are Dry?

Coconut flour is a high-fiber flour; it absorbs a lot of liquid, and if your cookies are dry, it means you didn’t add the correct ratio of liquid to dry ingredients.

It can be that your eggs are too small, or you didn’t measure the butter well or added too much coconut flour (perhaps your flour is denser than mine).

Can I Make The Cookies Egg-free?

No, this recipe won’t work with egg replacers or flax eggs. Their texture will be very crumbly, and the cookies will fall apart. Try my almond flour shortbread cookies for an egg-free keto cookie recipe.

Does It Taste Like Coconut?

Absolutely, coconut flour comes from raw coconut flesh. It does taste a lot like coconut.

Made these low-carb shortbread cookies with coconut flour? Share a comment or review below to connect with me.

Did You Like This Recipe?

Leave a comment below or head to our Facebook page for tips, our Instagram page for inspiration, our Pinterest for saving recipes, and Flipboard to get all the new ones!

Coconut Flour Shortbread Cookies

1.8gNet Carbs
These easy 5-ingredient Coconut Flour Shortbread Cookies are soft, buttery melt-in-your-mouth coconut cookies delicious for your Christmas cookie platter.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 12 minutes
Total: 22 minutes
Yield: 8 cookies
Serving Size: 1 plain cookie
4.75 from 40 votes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand beater, beat softened butter and powder sweetener for 1 minute on high speed. The mixture should be creamy and soft.
  • Add the vanilla extract and eggs and beat on low-medium speed until fully incorporated – about 30 seconds.
  • Stir in coconut flour and beat again until the batter is soft, buttery, slightly wet, but not liquid. Set aside for 2 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil the paper and your hands with coconut oil. Set aside.
  • Scoop one tablespoon of cookie dough and roll it into a small ball between your hands. The dough should hold well in your hand when squeezed, but it shouldn't be sticky to your fingers, crumbly, or too wet.
  • Place each cookie dough ball on the prepared cookie sheet leaving half a thumb of space between each ball.
  • Slightly flatten each cookie dough ball with your hand, then use the back of a fork to mark the top – optional, but it looks lovely!
  • Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the top is just golden brown. Don't overbake, or the cookies will be dry.
  • Cool down on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes. The cookies are quite soft, and that's what you want to make soft melt in your mouth shortbread.
  • Gently transfer to a wire rack to fully cool down – about 30 minutes.

Decoration

  • To decorate with chocolate (optional), melt 1/2 cup sugar-free chocolate chips with one teaspoon coconut oil and dip half the cookies in the melted chocolate.
  • Place the dipped cookies onto a plate covered with lightly oiled parchment paper.
  • Pop the plate in the fridge for 15 minutes to set the chocolate shell quickly.

Storage

  • Store the cookie for up to 1 week in the fridge or at room temperature for 2-3 days in a sealed cookie jar.

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Nutrition1 plain cookie
Yield: 8 cookies

Nutrition

Serving: 1 plain cookieCalories: 118.9 kcal (6%)Carbohydrates: 4.4 g (1%)Fiber: 2.6 g (11%)Net Carbs: 1.8 gProtein: 2.7 g (5%)Fat: 9.9 g (15%)Saturated Fat: 6.3 g (39%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5 gMonounsaturated Fat: 2.4 gTrans Fat: 0.3 gCholesterol: 66.8 mg (22%)Sodium: 101.2 mg (4%)Potassium: 20.3 mg (1%)Sugar: 0.6 g (1%)Vitamin A: 303.9 IU (6%)Vitamin B12: 0.1 µg (2%)Vitamin D: 0.4 µg (3%)Calcium: 9.3 mg (1%)Iron: 0.4 mg (2%)Magnesium: 1.7 mgZinc: 0.2 mg (1%)
Carine Claudepierre

About The Author

Carine Claudepierre

Hi, I'm Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, published author of a cookbook, and founder of Sweet As Honey.

I have an Accredited Certificate in Nutrition and Wellness obtained in 2014 from Well College Global (formerly Cadence Health). I'm passionate about sharing all my easy and tasty recipes that are both delicious and healthy. My expertise in the field comes from my background in chemistry and years of following a keto low-carb diet. But I'm also well versed in vegetarian and vegan cooking since my husband is vegan.

I now eat a more balanced diet where I alternate between keto and a Mediterranean Diet

Cooking and Baking is my true passion. In fact, I only share a small portion of my recipes on Sweet As Honey. Most of them are eaten by my husband and my two kids before I have time to take any pictures!

All my recipes are at least triple tested to make sure they work and I take pride in keeping them as accurate as possible.

Browse all my recipes with my Recipe Index.

I hope that you too find the recipes you love on Sweet As Honey!

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4.75 from 40 votes (32 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




    31 Thoughts On Coconut Flour Shortbread Cookies (Keto, Gluten-free)
  1. I’d like to try this recipe but butter Is dairy and I’m lactose free. Do you know what alternative I can us?

  2. 5 stars
    So easy and love that ingredients are ‘normal’. So often put off recipes by all the obscure ingredients I would have to buy.

  3. 5 stars
    Great recipe! So easy and yummy. I am vegan and used vegan butter in place of regular butter and Bob’s redmill egg replacer (the only egg replacer that I’ve found to actual work well in baking) and had great results!

  4. 5 stars
    I make cookies similar to these + I add carob chips to mine. Whenever I make these cookies I make a huge amount for one women. I love baking with coconut flour too.

    • Hi, I’ll definitely try this recipe this weekend, I’m making them for my bf, and even though he’s craving something sweet, he’s never been a super fan of sugar, so I was wondering, can I reduce the sweetener used to ¼ cup?
      And also, instead of vanilla, can I use orange extract or almond extract to give a little variation?
      Thanks

      • You can use any extract you want to give these a different flavor, but if you were to reduce the quantity of sweetener, the texture would be off.
        The best option to reduce the sweetness is to use pure erythritol (not a stevia/erythritol blend). It’s slightly less sweet than sugar for the same volume.

  5. I haven’t made the recipe yet but I thought all shortbread cookies were supposed to be crispy and flakey. I want to make sure they’re crispy before I try them.

  6. 5 stars
    I look so forward to making these! I love all of your recipes,thank you for them!
    Can flax eggs be substituted? Would that work?

  7. Hi! really looking forward to making these! I was wondering if I could add some cocoa powder to make some chocolate cookies in addition! I’m not sure how much extra sweetener or how much cocoa powder would be needed though

  8. 5 stars
    Deserves a five stars. However please check your coconut flour, it says half a cup? I used about 2 cups to get it to form a dough. I also switched off the oven afterwards and when almost cool popped the biscuits in for a while to crisp. Came out amazing! Thank you!

    • I am glad you love them but I am not sure how you could have use 2 cups of coconut flour for this ratio of liquid! I made this recipe probably 10 times and I can assure that 1/2 cup is what you need, the dough should be soft, wet and not dry or crumbly.

      • 5 stars
        I think the problem with mine and using the larger amount of coconut “flour” could be that I milled desiccated coconut to make coconut flour? Thanks for replying. I will try next with store bought coconut flour. Awesome cookies!!

  9. I love receiving your recipes. They all look so good and don’t require unusual ingredients or impossible skills. Thanks! Going to make these shortbread cookies.

Disclaimer

The recipes, instructions, and articles on this website should not be taken or used as medical advice. You must consult with your doctor before starting on a keto or low-carb diet. The nutritional data provided on Sweetashoney is to be used as indicative only.

The nutrition data is calculated using WP Recipe Maker. Net Carbs is calculated by removing the fiber and some sweeteners from the total Carbohydrates. As an example, a recipe with 10 grams of Carbs per 100 grams that contains 3 grams of erythritol and 5 grams of fiber will have a net carbs content of 2 grams. Some sweeteners are excluded because they are not metabolized.

You should always calculate the nutritional data yourself instead of relying on Sweetashoney's data. Sweetashoney and its recipes and articles are not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose, or treat any disease. Sweetashoney cannot be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or advice found on the Website.