Keto Double Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Joanie Robach | Apr 10, 2020 | Keto, Keto Comfort Foods, Keto Desserts, Keto Diet, Keto Friendly, Keto Ingredients, Keto Lifestyle, Keto Recipes, Keto Snacks, Keto Sweets, Ketogenic, Ketogenic Diet | 32 comments

How would you describe the perfect chocolate chip cookie? Ask that question and you’ll get vastly differing opinions. Do you prefer a thicker, cake-like texture, or crispy all the way through, or crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. I fall into the last category – crispy around the edges, with a nice chewy texture on the inside.

I’ve been trying out keto chocolate chip cookie recipes over the past year, but haven’t been able to find one that I thought was good enough to pass on. Well, now I’ve got one. A few days ago, Amy sent me the cookie recipe she’s been working on. Weeks earlier, she sent it to her GMA hairstylist extraordinaire, DeAna, who added her own spin on the recipe. I tried it out the next day. The flavors were awesome – all buttery-toffee-chocolatey yum, but, I didn’t love the texture.

Baking keto or low carb desserts means nixing (or greatly reducing) the sugar, and eliminating white flour, both traditionally used in just about everything from cookies, to cakes and pastries. The original Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe uses hefty amounts of white flour, white sugar, and brown sugar. The average chocolate chip cookie runs about 18 to 20 net carbs per cookie, and who can stop at just one?

Blanched almond flour (meaning the almond skin has been removed from the nut) has a fine, smooth, and fluffy texture, making it a good substitute for white flour in baked goods. It’s much lower in carbs and higher in fat content compared to white flour. That’s right up our KETO alley! Fat keeps you full, and you eat less when you’re full.

To get the texture the way I like it, I doubled the butter. Yes, doubled, and added pecans for additional taste and texture, making this keto chocolate chip cookie recipe a joint venture! I’m not supposed to say this, but I always try out the raw dough. My food scientist husband reminds me that’s not a good idea, but I can’t control myself. After tasting a sample of the dough and loving it, I crossed my fingers that the cookies wouldn’t flatten out too much during the baking process. Thank goodness, they didn’t.

I use 78% dark chocolate bars and cut the squares into chunks. If you’re not a fan of dark chocolate or want to skip this step, you can certainly use regular semi-sweet chocolate chips. They’ll add on an additional 2 net carbs per cookie, but that’s still only 5 net carbs! Lily’s chocolate chips (found on Amazon) contain erythritol, and will add a little over 1 net carb, for a total net carb count of 4.

If you prefer chocolate chip cookies with a dense texture, just cut the butter back to 1/2 cup. You can see the difference between the butter ratios in the cookies below. The double butter cookie is on the right.

I bake the cookies one sheet at a time, preparing the next sheet as the first one bakes. A ten minute bake produces a softer cookie, while a few minutes longer will crisp them up. I check after 10 minutes (using the oven light), and after that, I keep a careful watch so they don’t over-brown. Eleven minutes is the sweet spot for my oven.

One of the most important steps for successful keto chocolate chip cookies is cooling time. Resist the temptation to eat them while they’re still warm. Give them ample time to cool completely, because almond flour cookies crumble into pieces when warm. I know – I tried one. Put the entire sheet of cookies into the freezer for 15 minutes to firm them up faster. If you prefer a cake-like texture to your chocolate cookies, then dig in a few hours after they’ve cooled. If you’re like me and prefer a texture that’s truer to the real deal, I find I love them even more a day or two later, giving the almond flour time to release moisture and firm up the texture. To store, cover loosely with waxed paper or foil. This recipe yields 30 cookies.