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
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Just made these tonight and all my people said “DELICIOUS”! I would ear these with my dad when I was a little girl and these are even better than I remember. Thanks for the recipe Carolyn.
Absolutely amazing flavour and texture. Used trim healthy mama sweetener, these were the stars of my spread.
10/10*
Delighted to hear it!
Absolutely, hands-down, one of the best keto/low carb cookies I have ever made. Not just the taste, you nailed the texture and that’s hard to do. I made it just as written and they were wonderful although I think I should have made them a bit thinner and personally I will probably make more smaller, thinner ones, but that’s just a personal preference. I cannot say enough good things about this, I have off and on, been trying to do a “sandie” / “shortbread cookie for years and this is just the best.
These almost have the same flavor of the Christmas snow balls, might have to dust them with a little confectioners sugar. 😉
Sounds good to me!
Can Swerve Brown be used?
Yes, that would be delicious.
Easy and yummy! Been on keto for 2 years…this my FAV cookie recipe! Thanxxx soo much, Caroline!
My husband and I are working on lowering our carbs. These cookies are going to be the perfect dessert for our taco salad dinner! YUM! I love to bake in general and I am missing that as I try and do lower carb foods. This recipe is such a winner though. I had to take a picture of them so my husband could see that I actually make them, I’m not sure if there will be any left by the time he gets home.
Thanks so much!
just made these and holy cow! amazing!
These are good! My only criticism is that there seems to be that Swerve coolness factor in the taste. Perhaps Lankato Monkfruit would resolve that for me? They turned out nice and look great and I know I will end up eating all of them. 🙂 Followed the recipe to the letter. Used granulated Swerve. Thank you!
Lakanto is actually mostly erythritol so if you are experiencing it with Swerve, then you will with Lakanto too. I do not get any cooling sensation from Swerve but I do with plain erythritol. Keep in mind that it is very much an individual thing and not everyone tastes that.
These cookies are really delicious! They taste like Keebler Pecan Sandies. I only made half the batch because I was unsure how they would turn out. Had I known how great they would taste, I would have made the full batch. I substituted the Swerve for Lakanta Monk Fruit sweetner. Next time, I’ll add a few chocolate Keto friendly chocolate chips!
So glad you liked it!
These are my favorite cookie. I have to admit I subbed a bit of brown swerve hoping for the brown sugar pecan taste…not disappointed! Thank you for all your hard work Carolyn, I love your recipes. We have had amazing success with our health eating keto!!!
I made these today 3-24-19 and used lemon extract instead of vanilla. They came out delightful! Thank you Carolyn!
I ran out of vanilla extract but used caramel extract instead. Absolutely Devine!! Thank you
I also made mine with powered and it turned out great…. MY new favorite cookie!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! These are the best low carb cookies I’ve ever tasted! I know I’ll be making these on a regular basis because my hubby loves having something sweet!! needed to watch them a little closer, one batch got a little too brown, but my hubby liked them too! The recipe was so easy to put together and I loved that it used ingredients that I keep on hand now!
I am so glad to hear it!
They came out perfect and since it was snowing here on the Arizona desert, where it seldom snows, I got busy and whipped up a batch. They were so simple to throw together and bake. They are awesome!! Just like the snow!! I’ll be looking at the pictures I took today, when our Summer temperatures are in the 110 degrees F. in June..
Thank you~~
Delicious! I made them today on a snow day and enjoy them with hot cocoa : )
The only they didn’t hold together very well ? (no that I mind ) perhaps needed more time in the oven ? Or freezing the dough before baking them? Love your feedback!
The taste was perfect !
You shouldn’t need any of that. If they didn’t hold together well, it makes me think your almond flour was too coarse.
Oh my heavens…I just made these today and they are by far one of my favorite low carb cookies. So quick and easy to make and they made the house smell incredible! Thank you so much!
These are my go to cookies!!! BEST by far!!!! I always make a double batch because everyone loves them. I keep them in the freezer for a crisp and crunchy treat!
So glad to hear it!
Wow!!! Wow!!! Wow!!! I came across this recipe a few weeks ago, but just filed it in my to-do-one-day recipes. I was looking for a keto pecan short bread recipe, so since the name of this recipe didn’t contain the word shortbread, I just moved on and tried another, which was tasty, but texturally disappointing. Then the other day I actually read through your recipe and the comments and realized that even though this isn’t called shortbread, it is essentially that. So I made these cookies, and was completely blown away!!! They are EXACTLY like the regular ones I used to make every Christmas!! Thank you so much for your brilliance!! I’ve now made three batches!! They don’t last long in our house. Lol!!
So when I made them, I roasted the pecans at 350 for 8 minutes (check at 7 to make sure they don’t burn), and let them cool before putting them in the dough. Also, I roll the dough into a log on parchment paper, and then freeze it for 30 minutes to an hour. Then I cut them into discs. In my last batch, I was able to cut 26 cookies from the log! For anyone reading this- it is a MUST MAKE!!!! For the people whose dough was sandy, it may be the brand of coconut flour you’re using. Or perhaps you mis-measured? Or could altitude affect this somehow?
Carolyn, you are BRILLIANT!!
So glad you liked it. Yes, they are very much like shortbread. And i’ve done the slice and bake method too.