Crispy and delicious, these low carb butter pecan cookies are one of my most popular keto dessert recipes. They’re so buttery and sweet, and so easy to make. And they’re egg free!
I am delighted to be re-introducing you to one of my most popular keto cookie recipes. Now, for those of you who love these butter pecan cookies, don’t panic. I haven’t changed the recipe at all.
I’ve just taken some new photos and added in even more tips and tricks to get the best low carb cookies imaginable! Because you deserve success in your keto baking.
Popular low carb cookie recipe
This recipe was first published in my cookbook, The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen, and I was amazed at how popular it was right off the bat.
But really, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that these unassuming little cookies took the keto world by storm.
While they aren’t fancy looking, and they don’t have frosting or sprinkles or beautiful drizzles of chocolate ganache, they pack a huge flavor punch.
They’re shortbread-style cookies, with no eggs and no baking powder. Just like traditional shortbread, they are the perfect marriage of flour, butter, and sweetener. Crispy, buttery, and absolutely melt-in-your-mouth.
Have I sold you yet?
Ingredients for butter pecan cookies
Just like conventional shortbread, you don’t need a lot of fancy ingredients for this recipe. You simply need:
- butter
- sweetener – must be erythritol based for a crisp cookie
- flour – a mix of almond and coconut flours gives the right consistency
- vanilla
- salt
- chopped pecans
Tips for keto butter pecan cookies
The method is ridiculously simple but I have a few extra tips for you!
- Use softened butter. The butter should be soft enough for you to press a finger easily into it. If not, warm it up ever so slightly before proceeding, otherwise the other ingredients won’t beat in as well.
- Beat in the sweetener. It is absolutely imperative to use an erythritol based sweetener such as Swerve here. Erythritol is the only sweetener that allows cookies to get crisp. Even a small amount of allulose or BochaSweet will make them too soft.
- Add the flour, vanilla, and salt. The dough should be very uniform and well combined.
- Stir in the chopped pecans. I find it easiest to do this by hand, as the nuts can get caught in the beaters.
- Roll into balls and flatten slightly. Don’t push them down too much yet, as the edges crack when you do. Bake for 5 minutes.
- Flatten again. This is a trick I developed to get nice flat keto cookies. After a few minutes of baking, the dough is softer and more cohesive, so you can press them down thinly with a flat bottomed glass.
- Finish baking and enjoy! Remember, they will continue to crisp up as they cool so, as hard as it might be, leave them alone for a bit.
Slice and bake method
I want to give you one additional tip for these low carb cookies that I think you will appreciate, and that’s the slice and bake method. It’s ideal for making them in advance and baking a few cookies at a time. Here’s what you do:
- Divide the dough in half and roll each into a log about 1 1/2 inches thick.
- Wrap each log tightly in waxed paper and freeze for 1 hour.
- Use a sharp knife to slice the dough into 1/4 inch slices.
- Bake 5 minutes, then flatten with a glass.
- Proceed as directed.
You can freeze the dough logs for up to 2 months, but they will be very hard right out of the freezer. Let them soften for about 20 minutes before slicing. You can just cut a few and return the rest of the dough to the freezer, or you can make the whole batch.
Frequently Asked Questions
As mentioned above, these are shortbread style cookies. The recipe works as written and trust me, as long as you are using finely ground almond flour, they hold together just fine!
Please be sure to read the How To section. If you want a crisp cookie, the sweetener MUST be erythritol based, with no allulose or xylitol in the blend. As long as the main ingredient is erythritol, other sweeteners such as Lakanto should be fine.
Absolutely! Many readers have enjoyed these as low carb chocolate chip cookies too.
I have not tested this myself but palm shortening or coconut oil will probably work.
Storage information
Once baked, simply keep these low carb cookies in a covered container on the counter for up to 5 days. You can also refrigerate them for up to 10 days or freeze them for several months.
If you would prefer to freeze the raw dough, please refer to the “Slice and Bake” method outlined above.
Other keto pecan recipes you might like
- The Best Keto Pecan Pie
- Keto Maple Pecan Scones
- Sugar Free Pecan Turtles Candy
- Keto Biscotti with Pecans and Cranberries
- Pecan Crusted Salmon
- Brown Butter Pecan Muffins
Keto Butter Pecan Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (91 g) Swerve Sweetener
- 1 3/4 cups (182 g) almond flour
- 2 tbsp (14 g) coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 1/2 cup (49.5 g) chopped toasted pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sweetener together until lightened and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the almond flour, coconut flour, vanilla extract, and salt until well combined. Stir in the chopped pecans.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place a few inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand.
- Bake 5 minutes then remove from the oven and use a flat-bottomed glass to flatten again to about ¼ inch thick. Return to the oven and bake another 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.
- Remove and let cool completely. Store on the counter for 4 days and in the refrigerator after that.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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About to have my 3rd run of these yummies. This recipe is spot on if keto sweet greatness!
I can see why it’s one of your favorite cookies. They are delicious. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Thank You very much Carolyn I will try the recipes.
I am amazed how good these are. My favorite cookie in the world is homemade shortbread.
These have a very different texture but really are tasty. The thing I like the most is they are just as good
after 5-6 days in the cookie jar as they are on the first day. My husband really likes them and he doesn’t
diet. He only eats Keto because of me.
Hi! I only have Swerve Brown. Would that be ok for this recipe?
It will make them a little softer but yes, it should work.
I recently bought pecan flour but never used it yet. Do you think it could substitute for the almond flour?
Thanks
Yes but you may need a bit more of it (like 2 tbsp or so) to get the right consistency.
I just got back on keto 3 weeks ago and your site has been invaluable to me. You provided many helpful tips getting started, and lots of menu variety to avoid boredom. I have fallen into the trap of eating cheese and turkey sticks in the past. This cookie is delicious with a cup of coffee at the end of my day. Thank you.
Variety is important!
I made these a few days ago and my husband who grew up on and still worships his mom’s crisp chocolate chip cookies loved them. Soooo, today I tried two variations:
Chocolate Chip where I just subbed Lily’s chocolate chips for the pecans. Chopped them a bit, as the chips are quite large. Yu-u-um!
Lemon White Chocolate Chip where I subbed, 3/4 tsp lemon extract for vanilla, and Lily’s white chocolate chips (again chopped up a bit) for the pecans. Then added the zest of one large lemon. So fresh and delicious!
Thank you so much for all the work you do, I couldn’t maintain a Keto lifestyle without you. You really are a superstar!
We prefer the chewier type.
Grew up on that, freshly baked out of the oven. Warm, chocolatey and chewy!
These cookies were delicious! My husband said that reminded him of the Keebler Pecan Sandies. Thanks for a tasty low carb treat!
Hi Carolyn, made these today and they taste delicious, thank you. I’m confused by the servings and macros though, in the video you say it should make 30 cookies, in the recipe above you list serving size as 20 cookies but in a response to a comment you say it should make 40 cookies (20 servings). I made these as thin as possible and only got 21 so not sure how it’s possible to get 30, let alone 40 out of the batter. This isn’t an issue but I would really like to know some accurate info about calories/carbs if possible? Even if just for the total amount of batter and then I can divide that by 21. I don’t want to be massively underestimating these and be eating too many. Thanks in advance, Samia.
I guess I misspoke in the video, as it makes 20 cookies, 10 servings. The information in the actual recipe is correct.
I added a 1/2 cup of sugarfree chocolate chips. They are delicious! After 5 minutes it was not possible to flatten because the choc chips were like glue and stuck which tore the cookies apart, so I stopped. They were fine, but next time I will flatten them a little more in the beginning.
This was a fun cookie to make with my toddler so he could eat some of the cookie dough while we were baking.
I made these yesterday and they are delicious! I felt like the mixture seemed a little bit dry but once I started shaping into balls it did hold together pretty well. I didn’t have the powdered version of this sweetener (and live in Spain so can’t get Swerve or some of the more interesting versions) so took my immersion blender and blended it a bit finer before mixing.
With our oven I found it helpful after the 5 minute timer to set the next one conservatively for 8 and then check them. It ended up needing another 2-3 min.
I have been trying a lot of keto cookie recipes since I do intermittent fasting but am not overall on a ketogenic diet. I just wanted to have the occasional sweet treat without eating sugar as often. This fits the bill well!
I only have almond flour. Can I just use that instead of adding the coconut flour?
You will need to add an additional 1/4 to 1/3 cup.
Could I replace the almond flour with pecan flour?
Pecan flour is much more coarse because it has the skins on. So yes, you can do it but your cookies will look more rough and will likely be a little more fragile.
I currently live in the mountains and cook with a cruddy propane oven, and these cookies still came out phenomenal! I burned a tray of them at 12 minutes (17 total, including the first 5) so the 2nd tray I did 10 minutes (15 total) and they were better. I made a note to only do 8-9 minutes next time and watch like a hawk. I used the very fine granular erythritol-monkfruit blend sweetener – I find it creams way better than coarser granulated Swerve. Will keep making these – incredible with half and half!
Sorry the first set burned… that’s a bummer!