Bring a little joy and sunshine to your tea or coffee time with these delicious low-carb, gluten-free lemon cookies. Inspired by the traditional shortbread cookies, this recipe is a healthified version using grain-free, paleo-friendly and keto ingredients. If you’re looking for healthy cookie recipes to try, this is the one! Let me know in the comments below if you make them, and don’t forget to rate this recipe.
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
This healthy lemon cookies recipe is inspired by the lovely buttery shortbread biscuits you’d have with a cup of English breakfast tea on a rainy afternoon. I wanted to adapt a recipe for a low-carb and gluten-free diet, so the texture is a little different but you still get that ‘buttery feel’.
You can make a batch to bring to an office party or a kids gathering; these lemon cookies also freeze well so you can enjoy them over a period of time.
You will find step-by-step pictures of how to make these low-carb and gluten-free lemon cookies below the recipe card.
How To Make Low-Carb Lemon Cookies
You will find the full list of ingredients and more details on how to make these low-carb and gluten-free lemon cookies in the recipe card below. Here are some notes on ingredients and step-by-step pics.
Ingredients
With a hint of lemon flavour and scent, these grain-free cookies are made with almond meal, coconut flour and nut butter, keeping them low-carb and keto-friendly – great for those of you watching sugar intake. Sugar alternatives such as monk fruit sweetener or something like Natvia (a combination of stevia and erythritol) work really well here and a little lemon zest and juice are used as main flavours.
Step 1. Combine almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and sugar-free sweetener. In another bowl, whisk the egg, almond butter (melt it slightly if needed), lemon zest and juice and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture into the egg and nut butter until well combined.
Step 2. Roll the dough into 15-16 balls (approx. 25-grams for each ball) and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Make sure to leave space between the balls. Press the cookies down lightly with the palm of your hand.
Step 3. Bake in a preheated 350 °F (175 °C) oven for 11-14 minutes until lightly golden. Once done, they’ll be very soft while hot but will continue to cook as they sit on the cookie sheet. Let them cool completely on the baking sheet. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or longer in the fridge.
Voila! I hope you enjoy these yummy lemon shortbread cookies.
More Healthy Cookie Recipes
- Golden Cookies (Low-Carb, Grain-Free)
- Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Cookies (Paleo, Gluten-Free)
- Hemp Seed Anzac Biscuits (Paleo, Gluten-free)
- 10 Paleo Flour Alternatives
Lemon Shortbread Cookies (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 34 minutes
- Yield: 15 cookies 1x
- Category: Treats
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: British
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Learn how to make healthy and delicious lemon shortbread cookies that are gluten-free and grain-free, low-carb and sugar-free. Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee, minus the sugar!
Ingredients
1 cup almond flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup sugar-free sweetener (e.g. monk fruit or Natvia powder)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
12 tablespoons almond butter (slightly melted)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup / 4 tablespoons lemon juice
1–2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and sugar-free sweetener.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg, almond butter (melt it slightly if needed), lemon zest and juice and vanilla extract.
- Stir in the flour mixture into the egg and nut butter until well combined.
- Roll the dough into 15-16 balls (approx 25 grams for each ball) and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Make sure to leave space between the balls. Press the cookies down lightly with the palm of your hand.
- Bake for 11-14 minutes until lightly golden (depends on your oven). Once done, they’ll be very soft while hot but will continue to cook as they sit on the cookie sheet.
- Let them cool completely on the baking sheet. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or longer in the fridge.
Notes
You can use coconut sugar instead of sugar-free alternatives.
You can make the cookies vegan by replacing the egg with 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds or linseed mixed with 4 tablespoons of water (let it sit 5-10 minutes).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie (25 grams each)
- Calories: 139
- Sugar: 1.4 g
- Sodium: 91.3 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 5.5 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Protein: 4.7 g
- Cholesterol: 12.4 mg
Keywords: Cookies, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Low-Carb, Paleo, Lemon, Almond Meal, Coconut Flour
Is there a substitute I can use for Almond Flour? I am assuming that the Almond Butter can be substituted with other nut butters (Cashew or Sunbutter) – yes?
Yes, indeed. You can use any other butter. If you can’t do almonds specifically, you could use flour/meal made by grinding any other nuts/seeds.
How much lemon juice, you stated 1/4 cup tablespoons, don’t understand that one, lol.
Sorry, was meant to be 1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons (same amount, depending on what you have to measure with).
Sorry, was meant to be 1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons (the same amount, depending on what you have to measure with).