Keto lemon cookies topped with lemon icing. These cookies are slightly crisp on the outside with a soft lemony center. They are also low carb, keto-friendly and gluten-free cookies. They are made with almond flour, fresh lemon juice, and lemon zest and are easy to make.
I’ve been baking a lot of lemon desserts lately and my latest project is this keto lemon cookies recipe. I love the soft texture of the cookies and the lemon icing gives them an extra pop of sweetness and citrus.
One cookie has only 1 net carb and they really do satisfy a craving for cookies.
Cookie Ingredients
- Softened unsalted butter
- Powdered erythritol
- Large egg
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon juice
- Lemon zest
- Superfine almond flour
Lemon Flavor
The lemon flavor for these cookies comes from fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. I really wanted to stick to just fresh lemons and not use lemon extract since fresh lemons are more easily accessible.
If you do have lemon extract on hand you can add a few drops to the cookie batter to really pump up the lemon flavor for these cookies.
Working with lemon juice when baking cookies is tricky. Too much moisture and the cookies will not turn out correctly. These cookies have only enough lemon juice added to the batter so that you can taste it.
Low Carb Flour
The flour used for these cookies is superfine almond flour. I have not tested the cookies with any other low carb flours like coconut flour as my goal was to make the cookies completely with almond flour.
Baking Tips
The batter is very wet and sticky. For best results, use a cookie scoop to scoop out the dough and place it onto the baking sheet. The release function of the cookie scoop should allow the dough to easily come out even though it is sticky.
Press down on the cookie balls only a little, just so that the surface is flat, which will let the cookies spread and cook more evenly. You don’t want to press down and flatten the dough too much because the cookies will then spread quite a bit when in the oven.
Don’t add too much lemon juice to the cookies because it will cause the dough to be too wet. Don’t leave out the lemon zest. The lemon zest really enhances the lemon flavor since there is only a little bit of lemon juice in the cookie dough. If you have lemon extract in your pantry, you can add a few drops to the dough to increase the lemon flavor in the cookies.
The lemon glaze is optional, but it adds extra sweetness as the cookies are not overly sweet. You can frost the cookies or add a drizzle of glaze. The ingredients and instructions for the glaze are included in the recipe card.
More Keto Desserts
Keto Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/3 cup powdered erythritol
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
- 1 ½ tsp lemon zest
- 1 ½ cups superfine almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
Lemon Icing
- 1/2 cup powdered erythritol
- 1 ½ tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with silicone baking mat.
- Add butter and erythritol to a large mixing bowl. Mix on high speed until light and fluffy (about 1 minute).
- Add in egg, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest. Scrape the sides of your mixing bowl with spatula and mix again until ingredients are evenly combined. It's okay if your batter appears lumpy and separated.
- Add in almond flour and baking powder. Mix until smooth and a wet dough forms. Scrape your bowl a few times with a spatula to make sure the butter is not sticking to the mixing bowl and has completely mixed into the cookie dough.
- Use a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop to scoop dough balls and place onto prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. You should have enough dough for 11 cookies. Slightly flatten the top of your cookies, only until the surface is flat instead of round. You do not want to flatten the cookies too much because they will spread out even more in the oven.
- Bake cookies for about 15 minutes or until edges turn golden brown. Let cookies cool and set completely on the baking sheet before attempting to remove them.
Lemon Icing
- While cookies are cooling, make the icing. In a small bowl, combine all icing ingredients. Stir until smooth. If you desire a thinner icing, you can add a little more lemon juice or milk.
- When cookies are cool, top with icing. You can also garnish with additional lemon zest.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Tina Krug.
- Make sure you don't add too much lemon juice as it will make the dough too wet. Don't leave out the lemon zest because the cookies will not have enough lemon flavor without it. If you have lemon extract, you can add a few drops to the dough batter to really make the lemon flavor pop in these cookies.
- The dough is very wet and you will not be able to shape the dough balls by hand. You should use a cookie scoop because it has a release mechanism that will easily release the dough onto the baking sheet.
- For the almond flour, I used Kirkland Signature superfine almond flour.*
- For the sweetener, I used So Nourished powdered erythritol*
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases (at no extra charge to you).
- The estimated nutrition carbohydrates count excludes sugar alcohols. The net carbs exclude both fiber and sugar alcohols.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
How long do they last in fridge
They will keep for several days. Store them in an airtight container.
Great underrated cookies. The measurements are exact
Thanks so much!
These look yummy! But I don’t have erythritol. Can I substitute with regular white sugar? Thanks
We haven’t tried it, but powdered sugar would probably work better. Let us know how it works!
These are excellent! Soft and buttery. Ate three already (whoops). Thank you!
I’m so glad you liked them!
I loved this recipe. The glaze was so good, I was just eating it straight out of the bowl. The cookies are not very sweet without it, but the combination is wonderful. I think we ate all of these in less than 2 days.
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
These are SOO good! I had to stop myself from eating the whole batch, I wasn’t going to do the icing, but the cookies were so fluffy I said I would try it. So glad I did. This is the third recipe I’ve tried off of your blog!! All of them have been good. Thank you! Love these!
I’m so happy you are enjoying the recipes! I really loved these cookies too