These tender Keto Twix Cookies are filled with creamy sugar-free caramel and topped with rich chocolate. Just like the candy bars you used to love, but healthier!
I like big cookies and I cannot lie! Yes, I am trotting out a Sir Mix-A-Lot reference for these Keto Twix Cookies. And they totally deserve it! Just look at them, in all their delicious glory. If that isn’t worthy of a 90s rap reference, nothing is.
In all seriousness, these delicious cookies are a real treat. Made with a keto shortbread cookie crust, filled with a gooey keto caramel sauce, and topped with chocolate, they really do taste like a Twix bar.
I can’t tell you how much my family enjoyed these. I originally planned to give some away to my neighbors. But I couldn’t bear to, in the end. They satisfied all our dessert cravings, and then some.
Why this recipe is so fabulous
I actually created this recipe back in 2016, and called them Twix thumbprint cookies. I made them smaller back then, and a serving included two cookies. But with the popularity of Crumbl-style cookies, I decided to give them a little makeover.
I’ve never had a Crumbl cookie, nor do I plan to ever try one. But I’ve already created a number of low carb knockoffs, including Keto Pecan Pie Cookies, Keto Coffee Cake Cookies, and Cosmic Keto Brownie Cookies. It’s ever so satisfying to take a popular cookie chain recipe and make it something that the carb-conscious can enjoy.
This time, I made the shortbread base a little larger, filling it to the brim with caramel. And I covered the whole thing in a luscious chocolate ganache. They really do fulfill your candy bar dreams.
And with 3.2g net carbs per cookie, you can feel free to indulge!
Reader Reviews
“Oh my gosh — these are absolutely wonderful cookies and really quite easy to make. I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out perfectly!! I am amazed at how delicious these are and even my non-low carb friends loved them!!! Thanks for sharing and keep all these fabulous recipes coming!!” — Stephanie
“These are delicious! Thanks for developing this recipe. It will help me to avoid hitting the vending machine at work for my favorite Twix bars!” — Leigh
“I probably shouldn’t have started my holiday baking with this recipe. These cookies will never make it to Christmas! So good! The shortbread alone is yummy, but the caramel and chocolate take it to a whole new level. Thanks for another great recipe! Happy Holidays!” — Dana
Ingredients you need
- Almond flour: Fine blanched almond flour will give you the best texture for all of your keto baked goods.
- Butter: You can use salted or unsalted butter. Make sure it is properly softened but not melted before creaming it.
- Sweetener: You will need several different kinds of sweetener for this recipe, including erythritol. Please see the Tips for Success for more information.
- Egg yolk: You only need the yolk of one egg for the shortbread cookie. It gives them added tenderness.
- Sugar Free Caramel Sauce: You will only need half the recipe, but feel free to make a whole recipe and save the rest for another use. It’s delicious over ice cream!
- Sugar Free Chocolate: You can use Lily’s or ChocZero sugar free chocolate. They both melt well for this recipe.
- Heavy cream: The chocolate topping is a rich ganache, which uses heavy cream in addition to the chocolate.
- Pantry staples: Vanilla extract, baking powder
Step by Step Directions
1. Cream the butter: In a large bowl, beat the butter until soft and creamy, then beat in the sweetener. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
2. Add the dry ingredients: All at once, add the almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until the dough comes together.
3. Form the cookies: Divide the dough into 14 equal portions and roll into balls. Place the balls several inches apart on a large baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone. Press down to about ¾ inch thick with the palm of your hand. Take a rounded tablespoon or other rounded implement and press a large indent into each cookie.
4. Bake the cookies: Bake 18 to 20 minutes at 325ºF, until just beginning to brown around the edges. They will still be very soft and a little puffy. Remove and gently reform the wells while the cookies are still hot. Let cool completely on the pan (the cookies will firm up as they cool).
5. Make the caramel sauce: Once cool, make the caramel sauce according to the directions, but do not add any extra water. Let it come to room temperature to thicken, then spoon into the wells of the cookies. Refrigerate to help set the caramel, about 20 minutes.
6. Make the chocolate glaze: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk the cream and allulose together and bring to just a simmer. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit 5 minutes to melt, then whisk until smooth.
7. Glaze the cookies: Spoon the chocolate over the tops of the cookies and spread lightly over the caramel filling. Sprinkle with a little flaked sea salt, if desired.
Tips for Success
For the caramel filling, you want a slightly thicker version of my classic sauce, so you need to skip the addition of the water at the end. You can make the caramel sauce ahead of time so that it cools and thickens up a bit before you even start the cookies.
During baking, the cookies will puff up a little and the indents you created won’t be as deep. Make sure to re-form the wells right after the cookies come out of the oven and are still warm.
I made my cookies large to be more like a Crumbl cookie. But you can easily make 24 to 28 smaller thumbprints and have 2 per serving. They will bake faster to keep your eye on them in the oven. They will probably take about 15 minutes.
Sweetener Options
I highly recommend an erythritol-based sweetener for the cookie base, with no allulose or xylitol. This allows the cookie to crisp up properly. If you are okay with a softer texture, feel free to substitute.
The caramel sauce uses a mix of brown sugar substitute and allulose (or xylitol). This combination helps give the caramel the right rich color and flavor, as well as a gooey texture that doesn’t re-crystallize. I don’t recommend changing these sweeteners, as it will affect the outcome of the sauce.
Make sure that you let the caramel sauce cool and thicken up before spooning it into the cookies. If it still seems runny after it has cooled, you can bring it back to temperature and whisk in a bit more thickener like xanthan gum or glucomannan.
For the chocolate glaze, you can use any sugar-free chocolate you like best. I like to add a tablespoon of allulose to keep the glaze shinier as it sets but you can skip it if you don’t have it.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can, in fact, make a good keto-friendly caramel sauce. My favorite method is to combine a brown sugar substitute with some allulose, as I find this provides the best flavor and consistency. And many of my readers agree!
I rarely use coconut flour to make keto cookies, as I find it makes them overly dry and crumbly. If you would like to make these cookies nut-free, I recommend using something like sunflower seed flour. One word of caution if you do this: skip the baking powder altogether, as it reacts with sunflower seeds and can turn your cookies green. Weird but true!
This Keto Twix Thumbprint Cookie recipe has 6.1g of carbs and 2.9g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.2g net carbs per cookie.
More delicious keto cookie recipes
Keto Twix Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Shortbread Cookie Base
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 7 tablespoon butter softened
- ⅓ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Caramel Filling
- ½ recipe keto caramel sauce feel free to make a whole recipe and save the rest for another use! It’s delicious over ice cream
Chocolate Drizzle
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon allulose
- 2 ounces sugar-free dark chocolate, chopped (Lily's or ChocZero)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter until soft and creamy, then beat in the sweetener. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
- All at once, add the almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until the dough comes together.
- Divide the dough into 14 equal portions and roll into balls. Place the balls several inches apart on a large baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone. Press down to about ¾ inch thick with the palm of your hand. Take a rounded tablespoon or other rounded implement and press a large indent into each cookie.
- Bake 18 to 20 minutes at 325ºF, until just beginning to brown around the edges. They will still be very soft and a little puffy. Remove and gently reform the wells while the cookies are still hot. Let cool completely on the pan (the cookies will firm up as they cool).
- Once cool, make the caramel sauce according to the directions, but do not add any extra water. Let it come to room temperature to thicken, then spoon into the wells of the cookies. Refrigerate to help set the caramel, about 20 minutes.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk the cream and allulose together and bring to just a simmer. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit 5 minutes to melt, then whisk until smooth.
- Spoon the chocolate over the tops of the cookies and spread lightly over the caramel filling. Sprinkle with a little flaked sea salt, if desired.
Akilah says
How much salt should be used in the recipe? Salt is not on the ingredients list but it is listed in the instructions. Thank you,
Carolyn says
1/4 teaspoon.