These low-carb cookies are made with almond flour and golden monk fruit sweetener, with vanilla bean ghee and coconut oil for a rich, buttery flavor. They bake up with golden edges and a soft, chewy center in 15 to 18 minutes, and one batch makes 20. If you love baking with almond flour, my Almond Flour Brownies and Peppermint Patty Brownies are two more for your weekend baking list.
The aroma from Almond Flour Cookies baking is half the appeal — warm vanilla, browned ghee, the kind of smell that draws people into the kitchen asking what’s in the oven. The cookies come out with golden edges and a soft, chewy center, and the vanilla bean ghee with golden monk fruit sweetener gives them a depth that reads like a brown-sugar butter cookie.
I tested this recipe multiple times to get the spread and texture right — which means the details here matter. The cookies spread as they bake, so give each ball about 2-3 inches of room on the pan. The edges turning golden brown are your doneness cue, not the center, which will still look soft at the 15-minute mark. Cool them completely on the baking sheet before moving them, and they hold together well — a commenter confirmed they’re sturdy enough to bring to a birthday party.
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💛 Why you’ll love this recipe
- An electric mixer makes all the difference. Mixing by hand can leave sweetener or ingredient pockets in the dough, but a hand mixer gets everything fully combined — which means a more consistent cookie from first to last.
- Almond flour creates a naturally tender crumb. Because it doesn’t develop gluten the way wheat flour does, almond flour keeps the center soft while the edges crisp up and turn golden in the oven.
- Golden monk fruit sweetener mimics brown sugar. It has a warm, caramel-like flavor that pairs well with the vanilla and ghee, and it dissolves into the dough the same way traditional sugar would.
- The edges are your doneness cue, not the center. Pull the cookies when the edges turn golden brown — somewhere between 15 and 18 minutes. The centers will look underdone at that point, but they firm up as the cookies cool completely.
- These cookies spread, so give them room. Place each ball about 2-3 inches apart on the baking sheet and use a second sheet if you need one — crowding the pan leads to cookies that merge together.
- A full cool on the pan is non-negotiable. The cookies are fragile straight from the oven. Let them cool completely before serving or moving them — that cooling time is what sets the texture and keeps them intact.
⏲ How to make this recipe
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, mix together coconut oil and ghee until well-combined. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix again.
To the same bowl, add monk fruit sweetener, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix again until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
One cup at a time, add almond flour and mix again.
Form dough into balls and lightly press down and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake cookies until edges are golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before serving. Enjoy!
- Keto and Low-Carb: With only 3.6 grams of net carbs per serving, these almond flour cookies are the BEST low-carb, keto cookies out there!
- Paleo: Paleo cookies?! YEP! These ingredients are totally paleo-compliant!
- Gluten-Free: The ingredients in these cookies do not contain gluten, making them safe to consume for those with Celiac or other gluten intolerances.
- Grain-Free: There are no grains in this recipe.
- Dairy-Free: These low-carb cookies do not contain dairy!
- Vegetarian: These sugar-free cookies are vegetarian-approved.
- Refined Sugar-Free: This cookie recipe is completely free of refined sugar!
👉 Easy ingredient swaps
- Vanilla bean ghee → coconut oil: Replace the ½ cup vanilla bean ghee with ½ cup coconut oil at a 1:1 ratio. You lose the vanilla notes the ghee adds, so I recommend stirring in an extra ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract to compensate. Keep in mind the nutrition information will shift slightly with this swap.
- Golden monk fruit sweetener → classic monk fruit: The two swap at a 1:1 ratio. The cookies will still bake and taste great — you’ll just get a slightly lighter flavor, since classic monk fruit doesn’t carry the brown-sugar heat the golden variety brings.
✨ Variations
- Chocolate chip cookies: Fold in ½ cup of dark chocolate chips after mixing the dough. I confirmed in the comments that chocolate chips work great here — just know the nutrition facts will change with the addition. Bake at the same temperature and time.
- Vanilla wafer substitute: I noted in the comments that these have a mild vanilla flavor that works as a stand-in for vanilla wafers — including crumbled into banana pudding. The texture holds up well in that role.
〰️ How to serve
- Arrange them on a holiday cookie platter alongside something chocolate — Peppermint Patty Brownies are a natural fit.
- Pack them for a birthday or gathering — they hold together at room temperature as long as the room isn’t warm, and a batch of 20 goes a long way.
- Pair them with a warm drink like a Cinnamon Dolce Latte — the vanilla and caramel notes in the cookie are right at home next to a spiced coffee drink.
- Crumble them over vanilla ice cream or layer them into banana pudding as a vanilla wafer substitute for a simple, crowd-free weeknight dessert.
💬 FAQs
Do I need an electric mixer, or can I mix by hand?
An electric mixer (hand mixer) is strongly recommended. It gets the coconut oil, ghee, and monk fruit sweetener fully combined, which is much harder to do by hand and can leave ingredient pockets in the dough. A hand mixer also speeds up the process considerably. If you mix by hand, plan to put in extra effort and mix very thoroughly at each step.
Can I use coconut oil instead of ghee?
Yes — replace the vanilla bean ghee with an equal amount of coconut oil (½ cup). Because you lose the vanilla flavor the ghee adds, I recommend adding an extra ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract to the dough. Keep in mind the nutrition information changes slightly when you swap ghee for coconut oil.
Will these cookies hold together, or do they crumble?
They hold together well once cooled, as long as they’re not sitting in a warm room. The key is letting them cool completely on the baking sheet before you move them — straight out of the oven they’re still fragile. A reader specifically asked about bringing them to a birthday party, and I confirmed they hold up just fine under that condition.
Can I use classic monk fruit sweetener instead of golden?
Yes, classic monk fruit sweetener swaps in at a 1:1 ratio for the golden variety. The cookies will bake up the same way — you’ll just get a slightly lighter, less brown-sugar-forward flavor, since the golden variety is what gives these their warm depth.
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Low-Carb Cookies
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup 80mL coconut oil, room temperature
- ½ cup 104g vanilla bean ghee, room temperature or 1/2 cup (120mL) coconut oil, room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup 144g golden monk fruit sweetener
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups 336g almond flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- In a medium-sized bowl, using an electric mixer, mix together coconut oil and ghee until well-combined. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix again before adding monk fruit sweetener, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix again until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
- One cup at a time, add almond flour to mixing bowl and mix again.
- Form dough into balls and lightly press down and place on prepared baking sheet (Note: cookies will spread when baking so be sure to place them about 2-3 inches apart. Use a second baking sheet if necessary).
- Bake cookies until edges are golden brown, about 15-18 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven and allow cookies to cool completely before serving.
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