Keto Gingerbread Cookies are a classic low carb and sugar-free holiday treat. Crisp and delicious with a gingery bite, they’re perfect for decorating and sharing with friends and family.
These keto gingerbread cookies have become a family favorite in my house, ever since I first created them back in 2013.
Like most children, my kids adore decorating cookies and we make these fun almond flour gingerbread men almost every year. They really get us into the holiday spirit.
And we love to give them as gifts, along with some of my other holiday treats, like keto sugar cookies and peppermint biscotti. No one can tell that they have less than 3g net carbs per serving.
Make sure you check out my full list of Keto Christmas Cookies for more holiday inspiration!
Why this recipe is so awesome
Gingerbread cookies should be both crisp and tender, which isn’t an easy texture to achieve with keto ingredients. But these cookies live up to the promise! They have the tiniest bit of chewiness to them as well.
Gingerbread cookies need that classic brown sugar flavor, but when I first created this recipe there was no such thing as good brown sugar replacement. So I opted for adding a little molasses or Yacon syrup. These days, however, I make my keto gingerbread men with Swerve Brown sweetener.
I like to take them out just a bit on the early side, to keep them just a little chewier. If you prefer extra crispy gingerbread cookies, simply bake these a little longer and they will crisp up nicely.
Readers love these keto gingerbread cookies!
“Just made these and they turned out so well – even my fussy six year old loved them!” — Talya
“These are sooooo good! I’m a cookie monster on a low-carb WOE and this is the first cookie I’ve found that doesn’t have a weird sweetener taste. I use powdered erythritol with some powdered stevia mixed in. I didn’t even decorate them and they’re delicious. Thank you so much.” — Susan
“My grandddaughter and I just used these recipes for the keto gingerbread cookies and royal icing to make a gingerbread house. It was a success. We really enjoyed every step of the process. Thanks a million, Miss Carolyn!” — Shari
Ingredients you need
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- Almond flour: For keto gingerbread cookies that have good texture and aren’t grainy, make sure you use finely ground almond flour. If you need to be nut-free, try using sunflower seed flour.
- Sweetener: I prefer to use Brown Swerve in this recipe but you can use any erythritol based sweetener. If you want that brown sugar flavor, make sure you add a little molasses or Yacon syrup. I do not recommend allulose or BochaSweet as they will come out much too soft.
- Coconut flour: Since coconut flour is a little drier, it helps firm up the dough for rolling out and cutting. You could try using some oat fiber, if you can’t use coconut flour.
- Butter or coconut oil: Both of these make delicious keto gingerbread cookies. If you need to be dairy-free, choose the coconut oil.
- Molasses: If you can’t find Swerve Brown, add 2 teaspoons of molasses for color and flavor. It will only add about 0.5g of carbs per serving.
- Spices: Gingerbread cookies should have plenty of ginger, along with a little bit of cinnamon and cloves.
- Powdered Sweetener: You want a powdered erythritol, such as Swerve Confectioners, for keto royal icing to firm up properly. Allulose and BochaSweet tend to make it far to soft and watery, so it won’t harden on the cookies.
- Egg white powder: This is just powdered egg whites, and it helps the icing harden into place. You can use egg white protein powder as well. If you purchase meringue powder, make sure it doesn’t have any added sugar. You can skip it if you really need to but it’s a helpful ingredient.
- Kitchen staples: Baking powder, vanilla extract, and eggs.
Step-by-step directions
1. Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and cloves. Stir in the eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla extract until the dough comes together.
2. Roll the dough evenly: Divide the dough in half and turn out first half onto a large piece of parchment paper. Top with another piece of parchment and roll out out about 1/4 inch thick.
3. Cut out: Use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes and gently loosen and lift with an offset spatula. Place onto the prepared baking sheets. Gather up scraps and re-roll until too little is left to roll out. Repeat with the second half of dough.
4. Bake: Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool 5 minutes on pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. You can also keep them in longer if you want very crisp cookies.
5. Prepare the royal icing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sweetener and egg white powder. Add 2 tablespoons of water and stir until smooth. Add more water a little at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
6. Decorate: Pipe the icing onto the cooled cookies and let set 30 minutes or longer.
Decorating your cookies
Sugar-free royal icing is easy to make and so perfect for decorating any kind keto cookies.
I followed traditional recipes quite closely, and used egg white powder to produce a soft icing for piping that dries very firm and hard. How much water you need varies depending on the consistency you want to achieve.
You could also have some fun with sugar-free sprinkles, as several brands like Good Dee’s and The Sprinkle Company make them now. You can also easily make your own homemade sugar free sprinkles, in any shape or color you want.
Expert tips
How many cookies you get depends on the size of your cookie cutters. I like 3 inch cutters and find that I can get about fifty. It is meant for sharing around the holidays, but you can easily cut this recipe in half if you need fewer cookies.
The great part about keto dough is that you can re-roll the scraps as much as you need without worrying about over-working the gluten. So go ahead and get as many cookies as you possibly can out of this!
If you prefer crispy keto gingerbread cookies, simply bake them a little longer. They should be quite firm to the touch when you remove them from the oven. But keep your eye on them so that they don’t over-brown.
Frequently Asked Questions
This keto gingerbread cookie recipe has 5.3g of carbs and 2.6g of fiber per serving. That comes to 2.7g net carbs per serving of 2 cookies.
This is a great recipe for making ahead and freezing. I recommend freezing the baked cookies undecorated, stacked carefully in airtight containers. Then simply thaw, decorate, and serve. Because they are baked hard and dry, they can last on the counter for up to a week.
Molasses is a byproduct of sugar production and naturally contains a lot of sugar. It has 15g of carbohydrates per 1 tablespoon serving, so it’s not truly keto friendly. However, you can use a little molasses to mimic brown sugar flavors in keto recipes. If you can’t get Swerve Brown, try adding 2 teaspoons of molasses to these keto gingerbread cookies. It will add less than 0.5g per of carbs per serving.
More delicious keto gingerbread recipes
Keto Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 4 cups (448 g) almond flour
- 1 cup (182 g) brown sugar substitute, See recipe notes for alternative
- 1/4 cup (30 g) coconut flour
- 2 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) ground cloves
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup (54.5 g) coconut oil, (or butter) melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Royal Icing:
- 1 cup (182 g) powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tbsp egg white powder
- 2 to 4 tbsp (59.15 g) water, room temperature, (more to thin out as necessary)
Instructions
Gingerbread Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 275ºF and line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and cloves. Stir in the eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla extract until the dough comes together.
- Divide the dough in half and turn out first half onto a large piece of parchment paper. Top with another piece of parchment and roll out about 1/4 inch thick.
- Use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes and gently loosen and lift with an offset spatula. Place onto the prepared baking sheets. Gather up scraps and reroll until too little is left to roll out. Repeat with the second half of dough.
- Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool 5 minutes on pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Sugar-Free Royal Icing
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sweetener and egg white powder. Add 2 tablespoons of water and stir until smooth. Add more water a little at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
- Pipe icing onto cooled cookies and let set 30 minutes or longer.
Notes
Nutrition
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Carolyn,
I have used Yafo syrup for sometime now in a lot of your recipes. I am wondering if you’ve ever run into a problem of the syrup hardening in the container? This has happened to me on two different occasions. I store it in cupboard, maybe it needs refrigeration? Any idea why this happens?
Love your recipes!
I had one brand that did that. I wish I could remember which one! Blue Lily, maybe? I find that the ones in glass jars don’t do it.
Can I sub Swerve Brown for all or part of the regular Swerve and eliminate the Yacon syrup?
YES! If it had existed back in the day, that’s what I would have used.
Carolyn,
In reference to Jen’s previous question. So if I want to eliminate Yacon syrup entirely. I can use 2 tbsp of Sweeve brown as equivalent to the. 2 tbsp Yacon syrup? Is that the right ratio?
Thanks!
No… just don’t use any Yacon, and simply use Swerve Brown as the sweetener for the whole recipe.
Just made these and they turned out so well – even my fussy fix year old loved them!
Can I sub Lakanto Powdered Monkfruit sweetner for the Swerve sweetner?
Thanks!
That should work.
These are wonderful. I made a few adjustments and they still came out great. I subbed 1/2 cup xylitol plus one dropper of stevia for the one cup swerve. I also did not add the yacon syrup. My gingerbread cookie cutter got did not release these so I just used hearts and I did not use any frosting or icing. Not very sweet ( by choice) as I am keto and all sweets are usually too sweet for me. Thanks again. These are incredible.
Glad you liked them!
I have read the recipe over several times, and I don’t see molasses listed in the ingredients, but it is in the instructions. Am I just missing it? Also, is the Yakon syrup a 1 to 1 liquid sweetener so that I could sub Agave-5 in equal amounts?
Sorry for the confusion. The Yacon takes place of the original molasses so you can just use that.
Just the right amount of crunch and chew! Next time I’m going to reduce the other spices and add more ginger. This recipe is a keeper!
So glad you like them!
Is there any other flour to sub for the almond? Would love to try this but my daughter can’t tolerate almonds. I’ve heard flax meal but is that cup for cup?
Flax meal would be AWFUL. You can try sunflower seed flour.
Can these be frozen after they are made? Can’t wait to make these with my (diabetic) 5 year old! 🙂
Thanks for yet another great recipe, Carolyn! This recipe is practically perfect in every way. 🙂 A unanimous hit!
Hi Carolyn:
Loving your recipes as always!!! Do you think I might be able to substitute oat fiber for the coconut flour due to allergies?
Thanks!
Probably but I would use a touch more because coconut flour is more absorbent.
You are SO awesome!!! Keto Gingerbread Cookies!!! Can you say Hero!!! LOL Now my gingerbread cookie fix can be filled. lol
YUM!!!
These look yummy! I’m baking ahead for Christmas. Any issues freezing them after they are baked? Thanks!
No, they freeze and thaw perfectly!
These are so perfect for Christmas! Love that I can do my holiday baking a little healthier <3
These cookies turned out beautiful!!!
These are the cutest and such a fun Keto dessert for the holidays. We adore this recipe!
These gingerbread men are so cute! My kids would love decorating them for Christmas!
After a huge FAIL with a Pecan Pie recipe (not yours!) I am just a little hesitant to try another new recipe. However, I really, REALLY want gingerbread cookies this year, and your recipe looks pretty good. Two questions: I have never used Yacon syrup before and have no easy access to finding it anytime soon. Is there something I can substitute? Also, I’m about done using any erythritol-based sweeteners since they cause awful stomach distress and cramping for me, even in small amounts now. I’ve recently purchased BochaSweet and would like to give that a try. It’s pretty expensive, so I don’t want to waste it if it isn’t going to work. What do you think? Are you familiar with BochaSweet? Thank you!
It’s always good to read the reviews on a recipe and this one has been around for a while with VERY few complaints. So there you go! Yes, molasses can be subbed for Yacon. It’s interesting that you have trouble with Erythritol and GI issues as most people do not. I use Bocha Sweet but I warn you that it makes keto baked goods softer. To be honest, I usually use it half and half with Swerve and usually only in caramel sauce and ice cream to keep it softer. But if you want softer, chewier gingerbread men, it may work in these!
Can molasses be substituted for Yacon Syrup? Also, is there a good sub for Swerve?
It is SO expensive!
Thanks for your great recipes, Carolyn!
Yes, molasses is fine. And you can try using plain erythritol although it’s not as sweet as Swerve.
Carolyn, to keep it sugar free can I use Yakon syrup instead of the molasses? I would also like to use butter instead of the coconut oil…would that work? Thank you 🙂
Yes, both should work.