A holiday classic gets a healthy makeover! These Keto Butter Cookies are buttery and crisp, and piped in festive swirls. Dip them in chocolate or leave them plain, it’s up to you.
Remember those Danish butter cookies making the rounds every holiday season? You know the ones – they came in a pretty blue metal tin and the cookies were all nestled in fluted paper cups.
Every house had them, back in my childhood. It was standard holiday issue, usually gifted by some aunt, grandmother, or coworker. They were tasty but the tin usually lasted so long, they grew stale before you could eat them all.
Well, you no longer need to mourn those holiday memories, because Keto Butter Cookies have arrived! And they are just as buttery, tender, and sweet as the real thing.
They look so festive on a cookie tray, along with other favorites like Keto Sugar Cookies and perhaps a few Chewy Keto Ginger Cookies. How can you resist?
Why you will love these cookies
I can’t tell you how fun it was to tackle this classic cookie recipe. I actually had to tackle it a few times, as the first few batches simply didn’t live up to the butter cookies of my memory.
It’s a tricky thing to get right, a soft dough that you can pipe into pretty swirls, whilst also being firm enough to not completely dissolve during baking. All the more tricky with keto ingredients!
But it was worth it to me to persevere. I found that if I let them sit in a warm oven, they got firmed up without browning too much. They stayed super buttery, but with a delightful crispness. Just like the real deal.
Reader Reviews
“These cookies are so delicious. Crisp on outside and melt in our mouth inside. Perfect. I will be making more of these. I was going to make these to take to work. Unfortunately, I don’t think they will last that long. So so good. Thank you so much.” — Charlie
“Just made a batch of these and they are delicious! Will be making more for the family Christmas gathering (I’m on dessert detail). Keeper! Thanks Carolyn for this one and all the many other wonderous recipes you share.Delicious and so simple to make. They look and taste great. Definitely recommend this recipe.” — Valerie
“Another perfect recipe! I will be able to make my family our traditional cookies once again – it’s been 7 years!!” — Jocelyne
Ingredient Notes
- Almond flour: Use finely ground almond flour so your cookies will have the best texture without being grainy. If you need to be nut-free, try using sunflower seed flour.
- Sweetener: You need an erythritol based sweetener for these cookies to firm up properly.
- Butter: If you use salted butter, you can omit the additional salt in the recipe. Be sure to use softened butter for better consistency.
- Sugar-free dark chocolate: Both Lily’s and ChocZero work well for the chocolate coating.
- Cocoa butter: I add a little cocoa butter to the melted chocolate for a smoother melt. You can also use ½ tablespoon to 1 tablespoon coconut oil, but they will be much more melty at room temperature.
- Sugar-free sprinkles: If you want to decorate your cookies with a little something extra, you can use store bought or homemade sugar free sprinkles. You could also use finely chopped nuts.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, vanilla extract, and salt.
Step by step directions
1. Combine the dry ingredients: In a food processor, combine the almond flour, sweetener, and salt. Pulse to combine.
2. Add the wet ingredients: Cut the softened butter into chunks and add to the processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg and vanilla and process until the dough clumps together.
3. Pipe the cookie dough: Fit a piping bag with a large open star tip such as the Ateco #826 or 828, and fill with dough. Holding the bag straight up and down, pipe the dough into tight circles, about 2 inches in diameter, onto two baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
4. Bake the cookies: Bake at 325ºF for about 18 to 20 minutes, until they are just golden brown around the edges. Remove and turn off the oven. Let the oven cool for about 15 minutes, then put the cookies back in to dry out and firm up, another 15 to 20 minutes or so. Remove and let cool completely.
5. Dip in chocolate: In a heatproof bowl set over a bowl of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and cocoa butter. Dip half of each cookie into the chocolate and set on a waxed paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar-free sprinkles, if desired.
Tips for Success
Using a food processor makes the dough more cohesive and very well combined. I first tried just beating things together in my stand mixer but it didn’t produce as fine a dough and the resulting cookies had a slightly gritty texture.
Make sure that butter is well softened. This is an important factor too, as it helps create a softer dough that squeezes through the piping tip. The ideal temperature for softened butter is 70F. If your house is a bit chilly, give the butter a slight zap in the microwave (10 seconds).
Use a larger open star piping tip. The tip you use for piping these cookies is very important, as the prongs need to be open enough to allow the dough to squeeze through. I used the Ateco 824, but the Wilton 1M tips can work as well.
It takes a bit to get the hang of piping these cookies. But the good news is that if you mess up, you can just add the dough back into the bag to be re-piped.
Double baking helps crisp them up. Danish butter cookies should be quite crisp but you also want them a pale golden color. To avoid over-browning, I took mine out at about the 20 minute mark, but then I returned them to the warm oven for a bit to help them crisp up. Worked like a charm!
As always, your sweetener matters. The only way to achieve a truly crisp cookie is with erythritol based sweeteners such as Swerve. Other sweeteners like BochaSweet, allulose, etc, make for cake-y soft cookies. Not necessarily a bad thing but not the perfect Danish Butter Cookie consistency.
Frequently Asked Questions
Keto shortbread cookies are made like classic shortbread, which means they don’t contain any egg. These keto butter cookies have an egg to help make the dough pliable and soft, so that it can be piped into shapes.
You can easily store these cookies in freezer. Once baked and cooled, place them in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper. They will keep for up to 2 months.
This keto Danish butter cookie recipe has 4.2g of carbs and 2.1g of fiber per serving. That comes to 2.1g net carbs per cookie.
Want more keto holiday cookie recipes?
Check out my updated holiday cookies and bars ebook. All of my most popular cookies, plus a few exclusive recipes! Only $5.99.
Keto Danish Butter Cookies
Equipment
- Piping bags
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ⅔ cup Powdered Swerve Sweetener or other powdered erythritol
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ounces sugar-free dark chocolate chopped
- ½ ounce cocoa butter
- sugar-free sprinkles, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F and line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- In a food processor, combine the almond flour, sweetener, and salt. Pulse to combine.
- Cut the softened butter into chunks and add to the processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg and vanilla and process until the dough clumps together in one big ball.
- Fit a piping bag with a large open star tip such as the Ateco #824, and fill with dough. Holding the bag straight up and down, pipe the dough into tight circles, about 2 inches in diameter. Tip: It takes a bit to get the hang of this but if you mess up, just take that cookie dough and add it back into the bag to be re-piped.
- Bake the cookies for about 18 to 20 minutes, until they are just golden brown around the edges. Remove and turn off the oven. Let the oven cool for about 15 minutes, then put the cookies back in to dry out and firm up, another 15 to 20 minutes or so. Remove and let cool completely.
- In a heatproof bowl set over a bowl of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and cocoa butter. Dip half of each cookie into the chocolate and set on a waxed paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar-free sprinkles, if desired.
Erin says
What a great looking cookie! Can’t wait to whip these up for Xmas! I too, love using Bob’s Red Mill almond flour. It’s a good one!
Sam says
The butter was softened, not melted. But I’m thinking it was due to using the granulated Swerve rather than the powdered. Swerve.
Carolyn says
I don’t know if the granular would be the issue, although the cookies may not have as fine a texture with it. Still could be the almond flour. Here’s what I suggest… add 1 tbsp of coconut flour to the mixture to help absorb any butter that wants to escape.
Sam says
Oh darn it…I’m so sorry!! Please delete my prior comment if you want to. While I did use Swerve, it was not the powdered version. That’s my mistake and failure. I’ve been trying to figure out what went wrong, and now I know. So my negative comment review is unfounded. I apologize.
Sam says
Followed this recipe as written. Twice! I tried this recipe twice! When I squeezed the dough through the bag, the butter basically dripped out and was separated from the rest of the dough.The dough itself was translucent and did not taste anything at all like Danish butter cookies. Something is way off with this recipe. What a waste of ingredients. I don’t think the brand of almond flour would cause such a flop, but I used Blue Diamond blanched almond flour.
Carolyn says
Sorry they didn’t work for you but nothing is “off” with the recipe. The ingredients absolutely DO matter. I don’t use anything but Bob’s and this recipe has worked out for me a number of times. If your butter was “dripping”, then something was very wrong, but not with the recipe itself (I tested it a number of times and several readers have made it successfully already). I don’t publish recipes that don’t work.
If you blended softened properly in a food processor with the other ingredients, it would not “drip” or separate out. Also I wonder what sweetener you used?
Sam says
Thanks for your response. I used Swerve, as recommended. I really wanted these to work. I have used so many of your recipes without fail, but this one not so much.
Sam says
Oh darn it…I’m so sorry!! Please delete my prior comment if you want to. While I did use Swerve, it was not the powdered version. That’s my mistake and failure. I’ve been trying to figure out what went wrong, and now I know. So my negative comment review is unfounded. I apologize.
Carolyn says
I’d really like to figure out what else went wrong, though. The whole “butter dripping” thing… No matter WHAT ingredients you used when you blended it all up together, I can’t see why that would happen. Was it melted?
Kathy Bensmiller says
I’ve had the same thing happen on my second try with this recipe. The first time they spread out too much and I didn’t watch them close enough so I ended up with burnt cookies. So I thought, I’ll try again… everything exactly the same but this time the butter separated out and is dripping and oily? I have no idea why, and why only the second time… I did use the kirkland almond flour but I used the powdered swerve both times. I’ve added a couple tablespoons of coconut flour at the end hoping to get more body to the cookies and reverse the oily mess but no luck
Carolyn says
So one reader made a connection here that may be the issue. Her food processor is smaller and not quite heavy duty and it works really hard when she’s blending the dough. Because of the hard work, the motor heats up too much and melts the butter, making it oily. I am guessing that’s what happened here for you too.
Kathleen says
Do you think I could use a cookie press for these? Thanks!
Carolyn says
Yes but you may want to actually check out my proper Spritz cookies
Kathleen says
Thank you for replying – I will!
ChapelHillBetsy says
I only have Lakanto Monkfruit Powdered Sweetener. Would that work or do I need to get something else?
Carolyn says
You can use that but it is 2x as sweet so you will need to cut back.
Kaitlin Luksa says
My cookies spread quite a lot, they barely kept their shape. I followed the recipe exactly (using the metric measurements). They taste really good, but I’m disappointed they don’t look as pretty as your photos! Any tips? I thought maybe I should refrigerate the dough before piping or perhaps after piping but before baking?
Carolyn says
It shouldn’t need it. What brand of almond flour did you use?
Kaitlin Luksa says
The Kirkland brand, from Costco.
Carolyn says
So I think that’s the issue, actually. Next time, add 1 to 2 tbsp coconut flour to thicken the dough a bit.
Jen Burkhart says
I used the Kirkland brand, and mine turned out great! I used a cookie press also.
Melinda says
Any idea if this cookie dough would work in a cookie press? I have zero experience with piping cookies and am afraid I will mess them up terribly if I try piping.
Carolyn says
yes but I have a proper Spritz cookie recipe that holds the press shape better. Try these: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/chocolate-orange-spritz-cookies-low-carb-and-gluten-free/
Melinda says
Thanks so much! I have all your books, btw, your recipes never fail!
Ken says
Can I substitute in coconut flour with the almond flour? I don’t have enough almond flour to make these today and already started pulling the ingredients together.
Carolyn says
No sorry. This recipe is almond flour based and coconut flour won’t let them become crisp. They wouldn’t be the same at all.
Lavina says
Hi Carolyn,
I am a huge fan of yours from Singapore. These cookies are calling out to me! Would xylitol work if I use it for these cookies?
Warmest regards!
Carolyn says
It’s going to make them a lot softer and more cake-y, although the flavour will be good.
Pam says
Congratulations on the publication of your new book. You are amazing! I love the danish butter cookie recipe. Can you tell me if the Cocoa Butter can be stored in freezer until ready to use?
Carolyn says
It’s very shelf stable so it does fine in a pantry for a long time but yes, I imagine it could be frozen.
Patricia says
What is coco butter can I use something else
Carolyn says
You can try a little coconut oil. No more than 1/2 tbsp
Patricia says
Thank you Carolyn I just ordered your book♥️
Carolyn says
Thanks so much!
Angie says
What size of piping bag do you use with the suggested top?
Carolyn says
I didn’t know there were sizes, I just use the regular piping bags from Wilton.
Joan says
I can’t wait to try these! Would this dough work in a Spritz cookie press gadget? I don’t have a piping tool or tip.
Amy says
I was going to ask this same question.
Carolyn says
Yes but I think you might like my regular spritz cookies better. They crisp up more.
Kaila Potts says
Looks delicious! Can you leave out the fancy piping and just shape regular cookies?
Carolyn says
Sure, but I would try to shape them quite flat so they crisp up.
Jen says
I used a cookie press and they came out divine!! So fancy looking!!
Tracy says
Thank you!! I’m so excited to make these.
Katie says
What attachment do you use for the food processor? I have never made any dough in mine.
Carolyn says
Just the regular S-shaped blade.
carol walter says
Can I use butter or a substitute instead of cocoa butter?
Carolyn says
For melting the chocolate? Yes, try coconut oil. Butter tends to thicken the chocolate and then it’s much harder to dip.
Janis Briesemeister says
Yummy!!! Recommendation on sugar free sprinkles?
Carolyn says
Yep check this Etsy shop out… https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSprinkleCompany?
Erica B says
Janis, if you don’t mind a small project, Carolyn’s sprinkle recipe works excellently!
https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/keto-sugar-free-sprinkles/
1 cup of powdered sweetener + a little mindless work while watching television = oodles of sprinkles. (The Sprinkle Company makes a lot of pretty products, but wow, the prices! It’s a case of opportunity cost, as always…money vs time.)
Erica B says
I should probably clarify that the above-mentioned mindless work is breaking the piped lines into sprinkles. ???? You’d think it would take forever, but it was actually a fun and fairly quick task.
Carolyn says
It is totally mindless! But now I need to remember to do it in front of the TV or maybe while listening to a podcast or some music. I was bored to death by piping those fussy little lines. LOL!
cindy baugh says
can’t wait for the cheese straw recipe!
I’m definitely trying these cookies. But I think I will use almond extract to make them like Spritz cookies. Thanks for such good recipes.
Stephanie Deal says
Me too — yum!
Kim Pitts says
Oh Carolyn….these look and sound delicious!!