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).
This is an absolute favourite. I make them regularly for Hubby & I. Even the grandkids love them. Molasses is a must or extra brown sugar substitute if you have none.
Just like the real deal, but even tastier due to the almond and coconut flours. I followed the recipe as written except didn’t have konjac powder (plenty of shirataki noodles in my fridge and pantry, though) so used arrowroot. I used Russell Stover sugar free semi-sweet chips which I discovered in my local supermarket. So nice to have a low carb cookie for my diabetic husband. Low carb doesn’t mean low calorie, so just a nibble for me. As soon as I removed the pan from the oven, I slid the parchment paper onto a rack and let the cookies cool for a couple of hours before removing from the paper–crispy around the edges and chewy in the middle. Hubs declared them perfect
If I were to add some lupin flour would I take out the coconut or should I do a lupin/almond/coconut mixture?
I’m honestly not the biggest fan of incorporating lupin into this cookie recipe Chris. I’m still not sure what happens exactly, but the flavor becomes inedible. xo!
Thank you for this yummy recipe! The cookies become solid once cooled as you say. It is so nice to bite into this tasty treat!
If I only can buy them somewhere. I am an adherent of gluten free food and collect recipes like that. It’s so sad, to find tasty and gluten free bread and cookies. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Dear Paola-
SO delighted to have found your blog. Over the holidays, I made two pies with your pie crust recipe and last night I made these truly delicious chocolate chip cookies. These are the best GF low carb dessert recipes I’ve found on the web. Thank you!!
Awww shucks kristen! How wonderful to hear you’re enjoying the recipes so much 🙂
Hi Paola! I was wondering if I could sub out the konjac powder for some grass fed beef gelatin? I recently bought some for another recipe and have plenty on hand. What are your thoughts?
These were REALLY SOFT. I couldn’t get the slightest crisp no matter how long I cooked them. Protein is what crisps in a regular cookie and these really have non. I’ll be trying a different recipe maybe trying To add whey protein
Hi Amber! Please take the time to read the section on sweeteners, as it explains that if you use allulose or xylitol your cookies will come out soft (and erythritol can take even a couple hours to crisp up). Its not about the whey protein, its about the sweetener 😉 xo!
I made these are they are perfect!
This is why it’s important not to just jump to the recipe. Just read the blog
Low carb seems to be the best doer for my husband and I. Nevertheless he was begging me to make him something sweet tonight. I convinced him to let me try this recipe. We both admit that aside from a slight crumblier texture – it might have been solved by letting them sit longer though – they tasted just like flour based chocolate chip cookies! This is a wonderful recipe. Bravo!
Oh I didn’t have molasses and had the white Lakanto erythritol but I wanted that rich Brown sugar flavor so I tried a teaspoon of pure maple syrup and it was great!
I tried to stick very close to the recipe. While the taste was good, the cookies were not crispy/crunchy even after leaving them overnight. They continued to be soft and cakey. 🙁
Oh my goodness these are simply divine. I had a play around and substituted the xanthum gum for psyllium husk as my husband has a bad reaction to the gum and they were just as good. Thank you Paola you are my food god! Am loving both the books, hope everyone has bought them x
WOW! Fabulous as all of your recipes are. I made a batch last night and when I came down this morning discovered that when my adult children came home late last night (we are all covid living together) they had eaten half of the batch! Two QUESTIONS: I like softer chewy cookies. If I use allulose do I have to keep them in the freezer all of the time (like fat bombs) or can I let them stay at room temperature. What is the time and temperature for a convection oven?? Thanks for all you do I constantly recommend your site to keto newbies. Love your new pasta it has brought me back to pesto!!!
Hi i am curious with the shelf life and storage. How long will it last in an airtight container at room temp? Is it better to refrigerate?
I’m so excited to have found this recipe! I’ve been trying to find a good low carb version of the classic chocolate chip cookie that still resembles the sweet, buttery, chocolatey flavors and the right textures to mimic a “real” cookie. This recipe is it! Thank you SO much for sharing. This is definitely my new go-to and a new staple in my sweets recipe box! 🍪
These are so good. I have them in my freezer all the time. Only 1.5 net carb. Can you believe it. Mine are probably 2 because i add 1/3 cup of unsweetened coconut to them and only use 80 grams chipits. And i add the 70 grams of chopped pecans or walnuts. I don’t care for too much sweet so i use 45 grams sukrin golden and 45 grams white xylitol. I have to watch my dairy so i started using coconut oil for the fat. They turn out fine. I have added your coconut ice cream between them and oh so good. What a nice treat for summer.
Thanks for your recipes. I love them.
Due to allergies i have to make a few changes but usually it all works out fine.
Hi… The recipe notes were so helpful cause I’d been wondering why my cookies wouldn’t crisp up. I’ve also been trying to find a good website or app for nutritional facts label, what do you use?