Keto Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Published June 20, 2019 • Updated March 3, 2026
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I accidentally invented these while making butter bars, and they turned out to be the chewiest almond flour chocolate chip cookies I've ever baked. 3.2g net carbs for two cookies, 9 ingredients, zero grainy texture.
I came up with this recipe completely by accident. I was making my keto butter bars and added too much almond flour to the batch. Instead of tossing it, I mixed in an egg, baking powder, and a handful of sugar-free chips. The first batch came out soft, chewy, and sweet without that grainy texture most low carb cookies have. That was back in 2018, and I’ve been making these keto chocolate chip cookies weekly ever since.
These are the only cookies I’ve made that a brand wanted on their packaging. ChocZero put this exact recipe on the back of their bag. Not a sponsored deal. They baked them, liked them, and asked to feature the recipe. That’s still one of my proudest moments as a recipe creator.
The secret I figured out early on is heavy cream. Just two tablespoons dilutes the off-flavors from the nut flour and sweetener, and it gives these cookies a tenderness that mimics real butter cookies. I’ve tested them without the cream and the difference is obvious (grainier, drier, less forgiving).
The whole recipe uses just 9 simple ingredients and comes together in about 30 minutes including chill time. If you want something even simpler, my 3-ingredient almond flour cookies are a good starting point. For a version with slightly different macros, I also have a 1.2g net carb version that uses both almond and coconut flour. And if you only need one cookie right now, there’s my single serve version that’s ready in 15 minutes.
I make these for Friday dessert night at our house. My kids don’t know they’re sugar-free (they don’t care about that), they just know the cookies are soft in the middle and crispy on the edges. If you’re looking for more keto baking projects, try my keto shortbread cookies or keto peanut butter cookies.
How to make these almond flour cookies
Mix dry ingredients first (almond flour, baking powder, salt), cream the butter and sweetener, then combine everything with egg, heavy cream, and vanilla before folding in the chips. Chill the dough at least 30 minutes before baking. I press each ball to about 3/4 inch thick on a parchment-lined sheet. If you want to try an air fryer method, I have a dedicated air fryer version with adjusted times.
Key ingredients
- Almond flour: The base of the whole cookie. If you need to use coconut flour, try 2/3 to 3/4 cup instead, but the texture will be different (drier, more crumbly).
- Baking powder: Gives these cookies their slight puff. I use baking powder, not baking soda. Baking soda makes them flatter and crispier, which isn’t what I’m going for.
- Butter: Real butter, softened. Margarine has more water and will make your cookies spread and flatten. I’ve tested both.
- Sweetener: Any sugar-free sweetener that measures 1:1 like sugar. I use an erythritol monkfruit blend. Brown sugar subs work too and add a slight molasses depth.
- Heavy cream: The secret weapon. Two tablespoons dilutes the graininess from almond flour and off-flavors from the sweetener. Most recipes skip this, and you can taste the difference.
- Sugar-free chips: I recommend ChocZero (monkfruit sweetened) or Lily’s. No access to keto chips? Use a 90% dark bar cut into chunks.
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Ingredients
2 cups almond flour -
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
-
1/4 teaspoon salt
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1/3 cup butter, softened
-
3/4 cup sugar-free sweetener
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1 egg
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2 tablespoons heavy cream
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1 teaspoon vanilla
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3.5 oz keto approved chocolate chips
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Mix dry ingredients
In a small bowl, whisk almond flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
Cream wet ingredients
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar substitute. Beat in egg and mix in heavy cream and vanilla.
Make cookie dough
Slowly sprinkle in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Once combined mix in the chocolate chips.
Refrigerate
Scoop into 1 inch balls, flatten and place on a parchment lined baking tray. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Preheat oven
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake
Bake at 350 for 12 to 15 minutes. Bake until edges start to brown. Let rest on a baking tray for 2 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Is a serving 1 cookie or 2?
A serving is 2 cookies, and the recipe makes 13 servings (26 cookies total). I know the nutrition card trips people up because it shows '13 servings' and readers think that means 13 cookies. Each serving of 2 cookies has 3.2g net carbs and 183 calories. If you're tracking per cookie, just cut those numbers in half.
Can I use coconut flour instead of almond flour?
I wouldn't. Almond flour is what gives these cookies their chewy texture. Coconut flour absorbs way more liquid, so you'd need to completely rework the ratios (about 2/3 cup coconut flour plus extra egg and cream). At that point you're making a different cookie. I've tested it and the result is drier and more crumbly. Stick with almond flour for this one.
Why did my cookies crumble?
You probably moved them too soon. These cookies are super soft when they first come out of the oven and they need to cool completely on the baking sheet before you touch them. I give mine a good 15 to 20 minutes. If they still crumble after cooling, double check that you didn't skip the egg.
Why did my cookies spread too thin?
Two things: warm dough or margarine. Always refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking so the butter firms back up. And use real butter, not margarine. I've tested with margarine and the extra water content makes cookies flatten out every time.
How long do these cookies last?
About a week in an airtight container on the counter. They do dry out faster than regular cookies because sugar-free sweeteners don't hold moisture the same way sugar does. I've also frozen them for up to 3 months and they reheat well. Just layer parchment paper between them so they don't stick together.
What sweetener works best?
I use an erythritol monkfruit blend because it measures 1:1 like sugar and doesn't have that cooling aftertaste you get with straight erythritol. Allulose also works great and gives a slightly chewier texture. If your brand is super concentrated (like pure monk fruit powder), you'll need way less. Reader Richard asked about WHYZ Organic Monk Fruit powder, and at 1/8 teaspoon per teaspoon of sugar, you'd use about 4.5 teaspoons instead of 3/4 cup. Always check your brand's conversion ratio.
Can I make these dairy-free?
I haven't tested a fully dairy-free batch myself, but I've had readers swap coconut oil for butter and coconut cream for heavy cream with decent results. The texture is slightly different (less crispy on the edges, a bit more dense in the middle), but it works. Use refined coconut oil so you don't end up with a coconut flavor in the cookies.
Are these diabetic-friendly?
I can't give medical advice, but these are low carb and sugar-free, which is why a lot of my readers with diabetes bake them regularly. Each serving of 2 cookies has 3.2g net carbs and uses erythritol or monkfruit sweetener, which doesn't spike blood sugar the way regular sugar does. I'd still check with your doctor on how they fit your specific plan.
Browned the butter instead of creaming it and these got a nutty depth I wasn't expecting. Might be my default now.
Noticed the dough gets way easier to flatten after a longer chill (I did about 40 minutes instead of the minimum). Didn't crack when I pressed them down, and the edges set up much cleaner. Used Lily's dark chocolate chips and two cookies at 3.2g net carbs felt like actual dessert.
My mom made Toll House cookies every Sunday. Been keto two years now, so figured those days were done. Made these last night. First bite stopped me. The chewiness got me.
Used brown butter instead of softened and the dough smelled insane before it even hit the oven. Cookies came out with this almost toffee-like edge, still chewy in the center. Not going back to regular butter.
The toffee edge thing is real. Brown butter pushes the sweetener into almost caramel territory. Been making them that way for a few batches now.
Browned the butter instead of softening it, and the flavor jumped. Used Lily's dark chocolate chips, chilled the dough a full hour. Edges got this caramelized crunch, center stayed soft and chewy. Not going back.
These are genuinely good but I wish the recipe was clearer on the chill time. Mine only sat for about 20 minutes and they spread way more than I expected (thin and almost lacy at the edges, which wasn't bad, just not what I pictured from the photos). Going to try chilling overnight next time and see if I get a thicker cookie.
Overnight makes a real difference. 20 minutes isn't quite enough for the butter to firm back up, 30 is the minimum but the longer the better. Way thicker cookies.
Best Keto cookie recipe I've ever tried. I used Lily's chips and Swerve brown sugar, and Full Circle Market almond flour. I was out of heavy cream (and I wanted cookies NOW! :) ) so I used sour cream instead and it worked beautifully. My daughter isn't even eating keto but she keeps stealing them. Thank you for sharing this recipe, it is now my #1 go-to!
Sour cream works, the fat content is close enough. A non-keto kid who can't stop eating them. That's the real review.
My mom made Toll House cookies every Christmas. Soft centers, butter smell, the whole thing. I stopped letting myself think about it once I went keto two years ago. These brought it back more than I expected. No graininess from the almond flour. Lily's chips melt the same way, and the chew is actually there.
The butter smell is what does it. Mine come out of the oven and I'm right back in someone else's kitchen.
First time baking with almond flour and I went in fully expecting something grainy and crumbly, but these held together and had actual chew (I did overbake my first tray a little, hence four stars instead of five).
The center still looks totally raw when they're actually done. I pull at 11 minutes, edges just turning, and let them set on the pan for 15. Second tray will be better.
My daughter grabbed the last three off the cooling rack and when I said they were keto she went and got the almond flour bag to check, like I was somehow tricking her.
Ha. The bag check. These actually chew like a real cookie so I get why she was suspicious.
I've tried probably three other keto chocolate chip cookies and they all had that grainy almond flour thing that kind of ruins it. Made this one because of the 'zero grainy texture' claim, mostly skeptical. But the dough came together really smooth and the cookies actually spread like normal cookies, which I was not expecting at all. Still not quite my old Tollhouse, but it's the closest I've found.
The heavy cream is what fixes the graininess. It smooths out the almond flour in a way most recipes don't bother with. And the Tollhouse gap is real, but 3.2g net carbs for two cookies that spread like that, I'll take it.
Just tried recipe as written. I used white and brown Swerve, Lilys chocolate chips and threw in some pecans, these were the changes I did. I also froze the cookie circles for 10 minutes. The first batch at 13 minutes browned too much, on the bottom. The second batch(froze x 10 minutes) I put them at 11 minutes, it to browned more than I liked but less than before. The last batch I put at 10 minutes, it browned the bottom but thankfully not burned. First batch seemed undercooked; however I ate 2 right away( to check my sugar later). I’m pretty sure the others might be undercooked (maybe) as they were in oven less time. None of the cookies spread, stayed in roundish shape from the cookie scoop. Overall, I’m used to the cooling effect of keto sugar (alive and well) but, I think the taste of almond flour is more off putting to me than anything else. Sigh…I’ll still eat them, the taste may improve overnight. I don’t think anything is wrong with the recipe, just my tastebuds😂
The almond flour flavor does mellow. Mine taste pretty different by day two, the sweetener kind of settles in. Your oven is also running hot if they're browning that fast at 10 minutes.
Made these six times and the one time I skipped chilling the dough they spread way more than usual. Not skipping it again.
The butter needs that time to firm back up or it spreads the second it hits the heat. I've rushed it too and regretted it every time.
kids demolished these. didnt even ask if they were keto just kept grabbing more
Ha, I love that! My kids do the same thing - they just know they taste good. I actually freeze batches now so I'm not baking every other day. They thaw in about 20 minutes and taste just as fresh.
How do you get your macros to line up like that? The ingredients I use it comes out to around 8g of carb for a single cookie
It depends on the brand of ingredients you use...especially the chocolate chips. For two cookies, there are 9.4 total carbs but after you take out the fiber, they are 3.2 net carbs for two. Are you looking at total carbs instead of net? The recipe makes 26 cookies.