These keto butterscotch cookies are tender and chewy, and full of rich flavor. Add a little sea salt on top for a one-of-a-kind keto cookie experience!
This post is sponsored by Swerve Sweetener.
When I started my low carb lifestyle over a decade ago, I assumed that certain things would forever be off limits to me. I didn’t dare hope that I would be able to make keto butterscotch cookies someday.
No one was making a good brown sugar substitute back then, and there was no such thing as sugar-free butterscotch chips. And now here we are and we have both available to us. Oh happy day!
So do yourself a favor and stock up on both. Because these cookies are utterly delectable. I’ve made several batches already and I just can’t get enough.
Why these cookies rock!
Swerve Brown does something magical to cookies, making them puffier as they bake and chewier as they cool. I noticed this same quality in my Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies.
It really is a phenomenal product that has changed the keto baking game for me. It has more real brown sugar flavor than any other sub I’ve tried. And it packs like the real thing too.
These keto butterscotch cookies have all the flavor of the real thing, and a great chewy texture too. They’re easy to make, and take only about 35 minutes of your time.
And each serving of 2 cookies has only 3.8g net carbs!
Ingredients
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- Almond flour: I always recommend using good blanched almond flour for the best consistency in cookies.
- Swerve Brown: Butterscotch is based on brown sugar, so a brown sugar replacement is vital to this recipe. I have tried a number of them and Swerve Brown is by far the most like real brown sugar.
- Collagen: Collagen protein powder (aka collagen peptides) helps give the cookies a chewy consistency similar to real butterscotch cookies. If you must, you can skip the collagen and add another ¼ cup of almond flour. The salted caramel collagen from Perfect Keto is delicious in this recipe!
- Coconut flour: The addition of a few tablespoons of coconut flour helps to firm up the cookies a bit more. It also helps lower the carb count. But if you object to coconut, you can add ⅓ cup more almond flour.
- Butter: You can’t make butterscotch cookies without the butter! Salted butter works really well in butterscotch recipes.
- Baking soda: Don’t use baking powder! Baking soda gives the cookies better color, and they don’t rise as much so they don’t become cake-y.
- Egg
- Caramel extract: Caramel flavoring helps intensify the butterscotch, but vanilla extract works too.
- Keto butterscotch chips: Lily’s makes sugar-free butterscotch chips and I highly recommend them if you can get them. If not, you can use regular keto chocolate chips.
- Sea Salt: A little flaky sea salt on top takes these cookies brings out flavor and looks great too. I highly recommend it but if you want to leave it off, then add ¼ teaspoon salt to the cookie dough.
Step by Step Directions
1. Whisk the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, collagen, coconut flour, and baking soda. Swerve Brown tends to clump and hold together so I break it up with my fingers before whisking.
2. Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the egg, butter, and extract until the dough comes together. Make sure the butter isn’t hot when you add it in, so that it doesn’t cook the egg.
3. Add the butterscotch chips: Fold in half of the chips, reserving the rest for the tops of the cookies.
4. Roll into balls: Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. You should get 24 cookies Use the palm of your hand to press down to about ¾ inch thick. Bake 15 to 18 minutes.
5. Top with more butterscotch chips: Right when they come out of the oven, press a few more butterscotch chips into the top of each cookie. These chips tend to melt a lot during baking so adding some at the very ends helps for visual appeal.
6. Sprinkle sea salt: This step is optional but it adds flavor and looks great too. Just a few flakes of sea salt for each cookie is all you need.
Expert Tips and FAQ
You can make the cookies as big or as little as you like. I made 24 cookies and 2 cookies is a serving. But you could easily make 16 or 12 for a bigger cookie. They will just take a little longer to bake.
If you can’t get Swerve Brown, try using granular Swerve or another erythritol and add 2 teaspoons of molasses. It will add less than 1 gram of carbs per serving.
And if you can’t get butterscotch chips, dark chocolate chips would be great too!
Regular brown sugar is out of the question on a keto diet. However, several brands make brown sugar substitutes that are keto-friendly. By far the best of these is Swerve Brown.
There are many possible sugar substitutes to use on a keto diet, but they all work a little differently. You need to understand how they will affect the outcome of your keto cookies and baked goods. Read my tutorial on keto sweeteners for more information.
Almond flour and regular wheat flour have very different properties. Wheat flour is finer and more powdery than almond flour. Almond flour also contains more moisture and fat than wheat flour. So they really can’t be swapped for each other cup for cup. Read up on Baking with Almond Flour here.
More delicious Swerve Brown recipes
- Baked Keto Oatmeal
- Sugar-Free Keto Caramel Sauce
- Easy Keto Mongolian Beef
- Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Cookies
Keto Butterscotch Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups almond flour
- ¾ cup Swerve Brown lightly packed
- ¼ cup collagen protein powder
- 2 tablespoon coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup salted butter melted
- ½ teaspoon caramel extract or vanilla extract
- ½ cup sugar-free butterscotch chips divided
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line a large baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, collagen, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the egg, butter, and extract until the dough comes together. Stir in half of the butterscotch chips, reserving the rest for the tops of the cookies.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. You should get 24 cookies Use the palm of your hand to press down to about ¾ inch thick.
- Bake 15 to 18 minutes, switching the position of the pans halfway through baking. The cookies should be puffed and golden, but still very soft.
- While the cookies are still soft, press the remaining butterscotch chips into the tops and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
- Let cool completely on the pans.
Anya Gimpel says
These are really good. I browned the butter and added a few pecans I had to use up. The base is soft and delicious.
Zelorah says
Based on the reviews I was so excited to try this recipe. I was very disappointed. The texture was gross and I wasn’t really impressed with the flavor either.
Peetie says
I’m making these right now. I’ve read all the instructions, recipe notes, and reviews. Just thought you’d like to know that step 2 is what’s confusing everyone ((not step 5 as you mentioned in one reply) I’m guessing you corrected it on another area of the recipe but didn’t realize it’s in the recipe card too):
“In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, collagen, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt.”
Barbara says
I used butterscotch extract along with vanilla extract 1/2 tsp each. Also I browned the butter. Both steps intensified the butterscotch flavor of which I’m a huge fan. These reminded me of my grandmother’s butterscotch recipe from the early 1900s. Thank you, Carolyn, for making KETO butterscotch cookies!
Susie K says
The instruction in step 2. says to whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, collagen, coconut flour, baking soda, AND SALT.
INGREDIENTS list only states flaky sea salt to sprinkle on top in step 5.
How much salt goes in STEP 2?
Carolyn says
Sorry, just add at the end.
Susan Kenyon says
Will powdered collagen peptides or whey protein powder work in these?
Carolyn says
Collagen protein is the same as collagen peptides. Use that. Whey will change the consistency.
Ginger says
These are the best cookies. Thank you so much for the recipe. I’ve made these three times in the last week. They are so addicting. For the collagen peptides they only had classic Caramel flavor at the store and oh my it added so much flavor. I also used choc zero butterscotch baking chips.
Alyssa says
Made this and oooohh weee it was good. Whole fam couldn’t believe it was sugar free. I was feeling crazy and added 1/2 tsp of molasses as well. 10/10
Carolyn says
Yum!
Monica Verdugo says
Made these last night and they are chewy and mouth wateringly deliciousness! Added a few sugar free chocolate chips to the top and OMG! Love it!
Kirsten Felton says
I don’t know what I did wrong but mine got super dark and spread out very far. However I always used to eat the dark ones first and don’t mind dark cookies so I’m still hopeful.
Carolyn says
Did you use allulose?
Keren says
Wow, these are amazing! Incredible flavor, soft and chewy. The only problem I have is I can’t stop eating them!!! Lol
I used unflavored protein powder because that’s what I had on hand. I also didn’t have flaked salt so I just sprinkled a little regular salt on top. I definitely want to try the flakes next time. I plan on making these again and again! Thank you for making this low carb journey a little easier with all your wonderful recipes ❤️
Carolyn says
I am so glad, I feel the same way about them!
Cheryl says
I made these and they are prize winning. However, I inadvertently use whey protein instead of collagen, the outcome was a pleasant surprise. I thought I ruined the whole batch, but they were excellent. In fact I’m making ice cream today and using some cookies to make ice cream sandwiches. Don’t know if ill make them again the right way, I was impressed with my results????????
Sylvia says
The instructions of mixing all the dry ingredients and the last ingredient is salt, however there is no measurements of salt. I LOVE all your recipes and have all your cookbooks so I GUESSED maybe a 1/4 tsp of salt. Cause most of the recipes add at least a 1/4 tsp. These cookies are wonderful and will definitely make them again.
Cheryl says
The salt goes on top of the baked cookies, not in the dough..
5.While the cookies are still soft, press the remaining butterscotch chips into the tops and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
Tom Hogan says
I have tried SO MANY of your recipes!! Keto sucks without something sweet. My 3 favorites of yours are the Peppermint Marshmallows, the Peanet Butter Fudge, and this one, the Keto Butterscotch Cookies. I ended up using the Lily’s Salted Caramel chips, but will try the Butterscotch when I find ’em 🙂
Margaret says
These are sooo good! I have liked the Lilly’s butterscotch chips for a while (I like to pair them with salted macadamia nuts for a quick trial mix). I was excited to try this recipe and it did not disappoint. In fact, my husband and I ate the whole batch in 2 days! Sometime keto cookies can be grainy and just have a “keto” texture, but these have a really great texture and excellent taste! I love the sweet and salty combo (don’t skip the sea salt). The butterscotch chips in the cookies got caramelized on the bottom of the pan and that was a nice taste and texture surprise. These are super easy to make too. I will be making another batch soon for a birthday party. Thanks for another great recipe!
Abigail says
This is the best keto cookie I’ve had! Will definitely be making this one again
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it!
Anne says
Unfortunately we can’t buy Lily’s chocolate or caramel chips in Australia! So mine will have to be “No caramel butterscotch cookies”!
Christina says
What temperature should I set the oven? I must have missed it. Thank you for the recipe!
Carolyn says
Someone else pointed that out and I added it!
Pattie says
You omitted the oven temperature from the recipe .
Carolyn says
Thank you!
Shawn says
Can regular protein powder be substituted for the collagen peptide protein?
Carolyn says
Please read the blog post as I already addressed this.