Tender pecan crescent cookies made with almond flour. These easy and delicious low carb cookies are a must make for the holiday season. They also make great snowball cookies too! And at 4g total carbs per serving, you can afford to indulge.
These low carb pecan crescent cookies are full of deep and emotional nostalgia for me. Pecan crescents were my father’s favorite Christmas cookie, and as many of you know, he died a few years ago right around Christmas. I miss him terribly but I am lucky I got so much time with him in the end.
I originally created this recipe in 2012, long before his diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He and his wife often used to spend Christmas with us when we lived in Boston, before he got too ill to travel. One holiday, I was inspired to attempt a low carb version of his beloved pecan crescents.
And I was absolutely delighted by how they turned out, and how pleased he was to indulge in my healthier version. They have the same soft and yet slightly crumbly texture of the original, and the same delicious pecan flavor coming through, without an ounce of sugar or gluten. The old man gave them two thumbs up.
It truly is astonishing what you can accomplish with a stick of butter, a bag of almond flour, and a willingness to experiment.
I decided that in his honour, I needed to update this old post and give them some pretty new photos.
How To Make Pecan Crescent Cookies
Pecan crescents are akin to shortbread and they have that unique sandy texture of a typical shortbread cookie. To shape them, you simply roll them into balls and then form them into crescents. Or you could simply leave them as balls and turn them into pecan snowballs.
Be sure to use finely chopped, toasted pecans. If the pecan chunks are too large, it’s harder to roll and shape the cookies properly.
Our traditional family recipe took brown sugar. At the time I first created these, I subbed in granulated Swerve and some molasses, but now that Swerve has a brown sugar substitute, it’s perfect for these cookies. If you can’t find Swerve Brown, try regular Swerve and 2 teaspoons of Yacon or molasses.
We used to decorate our cookies with some canned vanilla frosting that we thinned out with a little milk. Ugh, can you believe that? Now I simply whisk together a little vanilla glaze with powdered sweetener and heavy cream, and it’s just as good.
Sadly, there really aren’t any great sugar-free sprinkles out there. I just use a few holiday sprinkles on the frosted cookies to give them a festive flair.
You could also simply roll them in powdered sweetener. I did that to half of the pecan crescent cookies this time and they were lovely that way. If you want to make snowballs with these cookies, you simply roll them in powdered sweetener after they’ve cooled.
This recipe makes a lot of cookies so it’s perfect for holiday parties or gift-giving. The great thing is that the cookies freeze well both baked and unbaked. For unbaked, simply wrap the dough up tightly in plastic and freeze. Thaw before shaping and rolling into crescents.
If you want freeze the baked cookies, let them cool properly first. Freeze before frosting or rolling in powdered sweetener. They can last in the fridge for up to two months.
So there you go, Dad. I am sending a healthy keto version of your beloved Pecan Crescent Cookies into the world so that people can enjoy them. Miss you!
Keto Pecan Crescent Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoon coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter softened
- ⅔ cup Swerve Brown (or regular Swerve and 2 teaspoons Yacon syrup)
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla Glaze:
- ⅔ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener or powdered erythritol
- 6 to 8 tablespoon heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 325F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, chopped pecans, coconut flour baking powder and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat butter with Swerve until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
- Beat in almond flour mixture until dough comes together. Form dough into ¾ inch balls, then roll between palms and shape into crescents.
- Lay on prepared baking sheets and bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until just lightly golden brown. They will not be firm to the touch, but will firm up as they cool. Cool on the pan.
For the glaze:
- Whisk powdered Swerve with ¼ cup cream and vanilla extract until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon more cream at a time until a thin but spreadable consistency is achieved.
- Spread on cooled cookies and decorate as desired.
- Or simply roll the cookies in powdered sweetener.
Notes
Arlene Travnik says
I love this recipe.
I lost my dad too, and this time of year I miss him even more than usual. I feel your story in my heart.
I’ll think of you both as I share these cookies.
Thank you!
Katerina @ diethood .com says
Oh my, these cookies are amazing!! A must try!
April says
Pecan cookies are a holiday must have!
Jennifer says
Oh my goodness, how good do these look! I can’t wait to make them!
Betsy says
We call these Pecan Sandies in our house. One of our all-time favorite Christmas cookies! So buttery, flakey and delicious! Thanks for the Keto version! Perfect!!
Kristyn says
Thank you for sharing this recipe!! Love that they are keto friendly. They look so soft & I love the crunch from pecans!
Lisa H Reed says
Having baked for a while, I always wonder about one direction for keto baking. Normally with butter and sugar, instructions often say “cream together” and this is to break the crystal structure of the sugar down (I believe). I find when baking with a sugar substitute like Swerve granular, I find it very hard to get that “cream” texture. The instructions for keto baking will often say mix until “light and fluffy”. I don’t know about anyone else, but this seems to never quite happen for me. The resulting product therefore still has a granular texture. Any suggestions for how to achieve “light and fluffy”?
Carolyn says
Creaming butter and real sugar or another granular sweetener is NOT to break down the crystalline structure at all. It is to beat air bubbles into the butter. Many recipes beyond keto also say “until light and fluffy”. It serves exactly the same purpose. You need to beat for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the power of your mixer. Stand mixers are more powerful and will do it more quickly.
Kathryn DeSilva says
Hi I am a bit confused! How many cookies in total should this recipe make? If each serving is 2 cookies, would the total number of cookies made = 20 and with 2 cookies per serving there are 10 total servings? Or does the recipe make 40 cookies with 2 cookies per serving for a total of 20?!!!
Thanks in advance for clarifying!
Carolyn says
It’s 20 servings at 2 cookies per serving so yes it’s 40 cookies.
Cat Stuart says
I have wonderful memories of my mom’s Christmas cookies and these are one of them. I would sneak into the dinning room and “sample” a few when she wasn’t looking. I hesitate trying keto dessert recipes because they don’t always taste good but these are exactly the way I remembered them! Thank you so much!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Linda says
Carolyn,
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! it’s very similar to one that my grandma used to make with hazelnuts and that my father, who passed away a year ago around this time, loved. I’m sorry to hear that you lost your dad, too.
I’m going to use your recipe and sub in toasted hazelnuts. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Happy Holidays!
Best,
Linda
Carolyn says
So sorry for your loss, Linda. It’s a tough time. Hazelnuts would be delicious!
Linda says
Thank you so much, Carolyn! I hope you had a lovely Christmas!
I just wanted to follow up to say that I made these with the hazelnut and the flavor was a spot on match to my family recipe. However, I was trying to cut back on the amount of swerve I was using in the recipe, since I was planning to dust them with swerve confectioners and didn’t want an overload of cooling, so I used allulose for the cookie part and they didn’t crisp up. Do you think the allulose would have kept them from getting crispy?
Aside, for a handful of them, I added cinnamon and cardamom to the dusting swerve and it was an absolutely delicious complement to the hazelnut cookie.
Once again, I want to thank you for your site, recipes and advice. I have made the most delicious and memorable Christmas meals with your help.
Wishing you and your family a very Happy New Year! I look forward to more of your creations in 2019.
Best,
Linda
Carolyn says
Hi Linda, I am just beginning to play with allulose myself and yes, I am finding that it affects the consistency of baked goods. Swerve is non-hygroscopic, which means it doesn’t attract moisture. Allulose and other sweeteners like Bocha Sweet do attract moisture. That’s why they help caramel sauce and ice cream stay soft but they aren’t so great for crisp cookies.
Linda says
Thanks! This is great info – I knew you’d have some good insight.
Regards,
Linda
Denise says
I almost dropped my tablet this morning when I saw this post. I am in my early seventies and reading this, too, brings back deep nostalgia for me. I made these every Christmas with my 3 daughters and what fun we had trying to get them hot from the pan into the 1st coat of powdered sugar without breaking them and then into our mouths without burning ourselves. As they cooled we always rolled them a second time in the icing sugar and then left them to set up on a wire rack. Have missed my grown girls so much; making these tomorrow to bring back some special memories and, for that, I thank you.
Carolyn says
Enjoy, Denise!
Sharon Lee says
These cookies sound delightful and what a sweet tribute to your father. My dad would have loved these too. Next week is my baking week and I’ve added these to my list of “Carolyn’s cookies”. Seriously..all the recipes are yours. My family is a huge fan of yours!! Merry Christmas to you and your family! ❤️
Erica B says
“They can last in the fridge for up to two months.”
Hey Carolyn, did you mean the freezer? (Though I’m certainly adventurous enough to try 2-month old cookies…)
Terri says
I made these cookies today and they are very good. Did you use sugar-free sprinkles?? where do you buy those? thanks!!
Marisa says
What brand of liquid stevia do you use? Looking forward to making these!
Carolyn says
NuNaturals liquid, usually!
Karen says
Real Vanilla Extract is NOT GLUTEN FREE. You have to use Imitation instead.
Carolyn says
I am sorry, but I am not sure where you are getting your info from. There are many brands of REAL vanilla extract that are in fact gluten-free. Here’s one of them. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GAWH4G?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000GAWH4G&linkCode=xm2&tag=aldaidrabfo05-20
Ladybug says
I totally missed the contest, but have a question about the recipe. Is there a non-nut substitute for almond flour? Maybe a combination of whey protein and coconut flour? The nut flour is too much for the hubby’s system…I will take a stab at a substitute myself and let you know how it goes, but if you have a suggestion I would love to hear it.
OTA Mom says
gingerbread men! 🙂
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