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.
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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 ½ inches thick.
- Wrap each log tightly in waxed paper and freeze for 1 hour.
- Use a sharp knife to slice the dough into ¼ 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
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1 ¾ cups almond flour
- 2 tablespoon coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup 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.
Jer says
Carolyn, I’m gonna make these next weekend! Please tell me the reason and purpose for the coconut flour? I’m a total newbie to Keto cooking and am very curious what just 2Tbs does for the recipe.
Carolyn says
It gives it the right texture. Without it, the cookies spread too much.
gjeanieg says
These are DELICIOUS! Better than I expected…my new favorite! I like to put a heaping tablespoon of no-sugar Butter Pecan Ice Cream (Enlightened or Halo Top) on top, and savour it as long as I can make it last (which isn’t very long…). I sprinkle it with Real Salt, too, because it tastes like salted caramel to me. My only regret is waiting two months to make the recipe when I already had your cookbook. =) Thanks again, Carolyn! Another winner!
Carolyn says
Yes, why DID you wait so long! 😉
Donna M. Thomas says
Just made the cookies for the first time and they taste delicious, however they fall apart. Would adding an egg make a difference?
Carolyn says
Don’t add an egg, these are supposed to be shortbread like. Not sure why they are falling apart…did you cream the butter? What brand of almond flour and coconut flour?
Margo says
Hi if you let them cool completely they will get hard
katy says
I would like to swap the almond flour for pecan flour. Do you think this will work?
Carolyn says
You simply can’t get pecan flour fine enough to make a really good fine shortbread cookie like this.
Pam Forrester says
Your cookbook is on my Christmas list and I ordered another for a keto daughter. I was just wondering if I could make these without pecans and bake in a shortbread pan as classic shortbread?
Carolyn says
Hi Pam. yes, you can bake them that way. Not sure of the baking time, though, so watch them carefully!
Pam Forrester says
Ok Thanks!!!
Cody says
I only have powdered swerve, will that make any difference?
Carolyn says
It may a little but I think it should work.
Melody says
Made these today and will be making again. They are really tasty. I think I mistakenly added 1 too many tbsp if coconut flour…was distracted by a small emergency and didn’t remember if I had added 1 or 2 when I got back to cookie making so I added 1 more. With how they came out ( a touch too dry) I think they may have ended up with 3 tbsp…ooopps.
I switched out the Swerve for Splenda as I do not like the taste of Swerve at all.
Thank you for sharing your recipe with us all
Carolyn says
Could also be the Splenda making them drier and more crumbly.
jess says
I’m not sure what swerve is exactly but I have the baking granulated Splenda can I use that in place of the swerve and would I have to adjust the amount at all?
Carolyn says
I have not tested this recipe with Splenda so I can’t say for sure. Swerve measures like sugar in terms of sweetness.
LoriZ says
Reporting back as promised. The good news is these cookies are very good indeed. My husband liked them so much he had two, kind of unusual for him because he’s not into sweets. The bad news is I think the sweetener gave him diarrhea. I know that Swerve is supposed to be a lot better than most alternative sweeteners about that, so no reflection on the recipe. My husband just reacts in unusual ways to some substances. I loved how easy the recipe is though and because it’s not strictly necessary for us to be sugar free I think I’m going to try again using regular sugar. Do you think that would work? Thanks again for all your hard work.
Carolyn says
It should work fine with sugar too. Or if you want to cut back on sugar, use 1/4 cup sugar and then maybe 1/4 tsp liquid stevia extract.
Nicole says
I’m not sure if anyone will see this, but I successfully used Truvia sweetener in this recipe. Because it is a mixture of erythritol and stevia (and twice as sweet) I used 1/4 cup instead of the 1/2 cup of Swerve. Perhaps that might be easier in your husband’s stomach?
In any case, this is my new all-time favourite cookie. My second all-time favourite cookie is Carolyn’s cardamom snowballs.
Paula says
I just bought your book and am excited to try the recipes! I have loved following you on FB too ! I have a question about how to avoid getting the cool sensation in my cookies when using swerve. Is there a secret to it, as I see that so many people love swerve and I want to also! I will try this cookie recipe with swerve as like you, my very favorite type of cookie is a simple shortbread variety:)
Carolyn says
The secret is simply that some people don’t experience that cooling sensation with Swerve. I don’t. It’s the only erythritol based sweetener I don’t get it from. You can mix sweeteners and that can help reduce it. For example in this recipe, you could do 1/4 cup Swerve and 1/4 tsp liquid stevia extract.
Paula says
Thank you for your response, I will try that:)
Colleen says
Hi Paula and Carolyn. By cool down do you mean they taste different once cooled off or next day. I loved these out of the oven and the first day, but the next day they were so much sweeter and different tasting…is this what you mean and by chance did you test out the suggestion made by Carolyn?Thanks -it seemed the swerve became really distinct to me.
Wendy says
Carolyn, I made these cookies today and they are delicious. I was so excited to see your comment about the sweetener making your mouth feel cool. I experience that too with Swerve, but my husband doesn’t. I’m so glad I am not the only one.
KC Texan says
Thanks for the comment on cooling effect. I didn’t realize that some people don’t experience it. I absolutely hate most things with erythritol (except liquids like tea and koolaid in which the erythritol can’t recrystallize, and foods meant to be very cold, like cold strawberries dipped in granular erythritol like I used to do with sugar). I’ve made cookies several times with it and have thrown them in the trash because they taste like menthol cough drops (menthol being something else I hate). But then I must be odd because I don’t like peppermint in most things and I know I have the genetic anomaly which makes cilantro taste like soap. (15% of the population does, including Ina Garten, “The Barefoot Contessa.”) This has left me without the ability to make crisp sweet baked goods like cookies, which makes me so, so sad. If you ever come up with something that works, please let us know. Reducing the erythritol by half doesn’t help me all – I’ve tried. Allulose with stevia, monk fruit, and sucralose is my go-to, but no crispy goodness there. So sad.
Lori says
Love you and all of your recipes!
Christy says
So amazing!
wanda Clark says
OMG these are so good. Made them for Thanksgiving. Hit with even the people not eating low carb.
Christy says
These cookies are so delicious! I can’t wait to make more for Christmas. ?
Leonor Morales says
This are my cookies to go! I’ve made it more than 5 times and every time they’re wonderful! These are my favorite cookies! Thank you Carolyn for all your wonderful recipes! 🙂
Marguerite says
Oh my, these are to die for. 5 stars for sure!
Marguerite says
Dear Moderator: I gave it 5 stars, but only 3 stars were yellow after I hit submit? It not a 5 star rating, please let me know how to correct it bkz, so good.
Sheila M Bassett says
Oh and these turn out great using hazelnut flour as well. Just fyi…
Jennifer says
I made these to give to my husband for our anniversary. He absolutely loved them, said they were the best ‘gluten free’ cookies he’s ever had! Win! They were so easy to make and so flavorful! Getting ready to make another batch!!
Jennifer says
Sorry, forgot the rating!
Sheila M Bassett says
These cookies are divine. I’ve made them for me and my sister numerous times and they always come out perfect. My sister is dairy free, so I make hers with ghee. So quick and easy to make! The perfect treat for me on a keto diet.
Karen says
Ghee is dairy. I’m glad your sister doesn’t react to it, but a lot of folks do. I just wanted to clarify that for those of us who react to all parts of dairy, Ghee is not an option. I use Miyoko “butter’ (substitute butter) and it works well. 🙂
Cindy Mann says
I don’t know who is trying to lowball your ratings, but that is a nasty trick. These cookies are *incredible*! Amazing flavor and texture.