I’ve been experimenting with erythritol recently and am pleased to say that it made an excellent sugar substitute in these keto sugar cookies. (You can read all about its safety profile in a previous post, Erythritol: What Is It, and Is It Safe to Eat?) In general, my family avoids sugar. I instead use blended Medjool dates or a few drops of stevia as a sweetener on special occasions. However, dates and stevia will only get you so far. Stevia has a unique aftertaste that only works with certain dishes, and it’s nearly impossible to make date-sweetened cookie batters since you have to use some type of liquid to get the dates to blend. Cakes, breads, and creamy desserts are easy peasy, but cookies… not so much.
As my children get older, I find myself wanting healthier alternatives for fun holiday foods while avoiding unhealthy ingredients including loads of sugar. These keto sugar cookies fit the bill. They’re not quite like the gluten-, dairy-, and sugar-filled versions we’re accustomed to, but they’re pretty darn good, and they were easily cut into stars using a cookie cutter.
People often hope for restrictive diet substitutes that closely mimic traditional versions of foods, but this is only possible when you use highly processed ingredients. Replacing offending foods with chemicals is never a healthy alternative. So, you make ket0 sugar cookies fully knowing that they’re going to be amazing, but they’re not going to be identical to the store bought versions slathered in food coloring, confectioners sugar, and crisco.
This keto cookie dough is slightly challenging to work with, so you really need to do two things:
- Make sure the dough is cold. Don’t get impatient like I did, because it will only frustrate you and force you to ball up your dough and wait for it to chill.
- Don’t make your cookies too thin. 1/4″ is the perfect thickness, so be mindful when you’re rolling out your dough. You can even go a little thicker if you’d like, but not thinner.
I used a fine almond flour to make the cookies, which seemed to help avoid the grainy-ness that often accompanies almond flour products. However, I ran out and had to use my normal brand, which resulted in having some almond colored specks in the cookies. The fine almond flour uses almonds without skins, which also helps to give a better appearance (you can easily see specks in the above photo, the color would have been more uniform had I just used the fine ground flour).
You can use room temperature butter in the place of the coconut oil if you can eat dairy, but we eat very limited dairy and I like to save these splurges for occasions when there are no good substitutes. Also, I happen to really enjoy the taste of coconut oil in sweets, so its use was a win win.
If you’re new to erythritol, be sure to buy a non-GMO brand and check the ingredient list to verify that it’s not mixed with an artificial sweetener. Some brands contain oligosaccharides (like Swerve, for example), which is a form of fiber. Other brands contain monk fruit extract, which is also an acceptable ingredient. I used pure erythritol for this recipe, but I’m sure the erythritol mixes would work as well. The end result may be slightly sweeter, but it’s hard to say for sure without knowing what you’re using and how the use ratio compares to plain erythritol.
I found a confectioners’ erythritol to create a lemon icing for the cookies. I didn’t record the recipe, but I used about a 1/2 cup of confectioners’ erythritol, juice from half a lemon, and enough almond milk (just a few tablespoons) to create a creamy and spreadable topping. The lemon seemed to help hide some of the erythritol aftertaste, which was an added bonus (I seem to be more bothered by the taste than the rest of my family who didn’t even seem to notice). You can find plenty of icing recipes online; just use confectioners’ erythritol in the place of sugar. For colored icings, find a natural food dye made from ingredients like turmeric, red cabbage, and other colorful fruits and vegetables if you want to go all out with your cookie decorating extravaganza. I look forward to trying some of these dyes over the holidays for our first annual sugar-free cookie decorating party!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup coconut oil (see note below), more for greasing
- 3/4 cup erythritol (see note below)
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 1/4 cups fine almond flour, lightly packed
- 1/2 cup coconut flour, more for rolling
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine the erythritol and coconut oil in a bowl and mix together using a hand mixer until the coconut oil is evenly dispersed and creamy.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine all remaining ingredients and mix together. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and use a hand mixer to form an even batter. Divide the batter into two round balls and place the batter in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill.
- Preheat the oven to 350*F.
- Remove one ball from the refrigerator and use a rolling pin to roll it into a 1/4" thick sheet on a coconut flour dusted piece of parchment paper. Be sure to dust the top of the dough as well so that your rolling pin doesn't stick. This dought becomes difficult to work with if rolled any thinner than 1/4”. Cut out your desired cookies and place them on a greased pan.
- Gather the remaining scraps from the cookies, form them into a ball, return the ball to the refrigerator, remove the other chilled ball, and continue preparing cookies. Alternating your dough like this will keep it chilled and make it easier to work with.
- Bake the cookies for 8 minutes or until the edges are just slightly golden.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for about a minute and then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. Be sure to allow the cookies to cool completely before icing.
Notes
Your coconut oil needs to be solid at room temperature. Chill your coconut oil until solid if ambient temperatures are too warm and it's in a liquid state. There are numerous types of erythritol used as sugar substitutes. I used pure erythritol, but blends using monk fruit are also available. These may result in a sweeter cookie, but they should work fine.
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