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These keto cream cheese cookies are the keto cookies recipe that everyone at the table loves! With a few simple ingredients and kitchen tools, I’ll show you how to make the best delicate and buttery low carb cookies recipe fit for any occasion — all with minutes of prep. Plus, get my top tips for helping your keto cookies bake perfectly every time!
Cream cheese makes great desserts (low carb cheesecake is my most popular!) and adds delicious tang to breakfasts, like cream cheese pancakes. To make a keto cookie with cream cheese, though, I took inspiration from my keto shortbread cookies and made a few tweaks to give them more structure and complex flavor. This keto cookie recipe is perfect for holidays or anytime you need a little treat in your day.
For a soft, chewy consistency and buttery flavor, these cream cheese keto cookies depend on two key ingredients: Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend and Wholesome Yum Almond Flour. Unlike other sugar substitutes that can make cookies brittle or give them an aftertaste, this one helps them bake up soft and taste just as sweet as regular cookies — all with 0 grams net carbs and no added sugar. Combine with this finely ground almond flour, and you get low carb sugar free cookies with perfect taste and texture!
Why You’ll Love This Low Carb Keto Cookies Recipe
- Subtle buttery and tangy flavor
- Soft centers with light, crisp edges
- Uses basic keto diet pantry staples
- 1 bowl and no special equipment needed
- Naturally gluten-free with no wheat flour
- 10 minutes prep
- 1.7 grams of net carbs per cookie
- Quick keto dessert that everyone loves with tea, coffee, or on a holiday cookie tray!
Ingredients & Substitutions
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for easy keto cream cheese cookies, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Butter – I prefer grass-fed butter in my low carb cookie recipes, but any unsalted variety will work. Make sure it is softened. Butter flavored coconut oil might work as a substitute to reduce dairy, but I haven’t tried it.
- Cream Cheese – A full-fat one adds the most flavor, but any plain kind should work. Soften it to room temperature, so it mixes easily. A dairy-free cream cheese should also work if needed.
- Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – The secret to making chewy, mouthwatering keto friendly cookies without any sugar! If you’re craving a subtle brown sugar flavor in these low carb cookies, you can substitute a few tablespoons of Besti with Besti Brown instead. Other keto sugar substitutes may work, but the cookies will be more dry and can have an aftertaste. (In fact, some older comments complain about dryness, because this recipe used to use erythritol — this issue is fixed if you use Besti.) If you still want to substitute, check this sweeteners conversion calculator to get the correct amounts.
- Egg – Use a whole, large egg. Warm it to room temperature to help it combine easily with the cream cheese. A flax egg would probably work as an egg substitute, but I haven’t tried it.
- Vanilla Extract – A classic flavor addition to conventional and keto friendly cookies.
- Sea Salt – Helps round out the sweet flavor in keto cookies recipes.
- Sour Cream – A not-so-secret ingredient that adds an extra pop of flavor and moisture to this keto cookie recipe. It’s optional, but makes a huge difference in the texture.
- Wholesome Yum Almond Flour – A fine grind compared to other almond flours helps make this keto cookies recipe bake up perfectly — never mushy or gritty.
How To Make Keto Cream Cheese Cookies
This section shows how to make low carb cookies, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Cream butter, cream cheese, and Besti. With a hand mixer, beat butter, cream cheese, and Besti together in a large mixing bowl until pale yellow and fluffy.
- Add other wet ingredients. Add vanilla, salt, egg, and sour cream (if using), adding gradually and beating in between ingredients.
- Add almond flour. Beat until a soft dough forms.
- Scoop. Use a cookie scoop to spoon keto cream cheese cookie dough balls onto a lined cookie sheet. Flatten each ball with the palm of your hand.
- Bake. Cook in a 350 degree F oven until low carb cookies are golden.
- Cool. Let the cookies cool completely before moving them. Dust the finished keto cookies with powdered Besti, if desired.
Tips For The Best Keto Cookies
You can see that this keto cookies recipe is pretty straightforward, but here are a few tips for a great result:
- Bring ingredients to room temperature. Otherwise, they’ll be too hard to mix together and make a lumpy dough.
- Use a cookie scoop. The dough is very soft and fairly sticky, so a cookie scoop is easier than a spoon or using your hands. It also ensures that the cookies are uniform in size, so that they’ll cook evenly.
- Flatten the cookies. Keto cookies do not flatten or spread very much the way regular cookies with wheat flour would. So, make sure you flatten them to the right thickness before baking. Also, since they don’t spread a lot, having the cookies about 1 to 1.5 inches apart is sufficient.
- Account for wet dough if needed. If the dough is too wet and sticky to flatten easily, chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes. It can also help to wet your hands to flatten, which will prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.
Variations
- Chocolate Chips – You can fold them right into the batter, dip half of each baked keto cookie in melted chocolate, or add a melted chocolate drizzle at the end. This is my favorite brand of keto dark chocolate chips.
- Flavor Extracts – I used classic vanilla, but you can also try other flavors.
- Citrus – Add a little lemon or orange zest to the dough.
- Frosting – Spread cooled cookies with keto cream cheese frosting (and top with sugar-free sprinkles if you like!).
- Caramel – Add a drizzle of sugar-free caramel syrup and set in the fridge to harden. (You’ll want to eat them cold to keep the caramel firm.)
Storage Instructions
- Store: Cover low carb cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or up to a week in the fridge.
- Meal prep: You can make the dough ahead of time and store in the fridge or freezer until ready to use. If using frozen dough, thaw overnight and bring to room temperature before scooping.
- Freeze: Place the keto cookie recipe in an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Keto Cookie Recipes
If you like a quick and easy keto cookies that fit your macros, you’ll love these other popular low carb cookie recipes:
Tools To Make Low Carb Cookies
- Hand Mixer – This one is really powerful and I love the convenient storage.
- Cookie Scoop – A cookie scoop ensures that the keto cookies bake evenly. This one is the perfect size for this recipe.
- Baking Sheet – This one is sturdy and will last a long time.
Cream Cheese Keto Cookies Recipe
Low Carb Keto Cream Cheese Cookies Recipe
Sweet, buttery low carb cream cheese cookies are one of the best keto cookies recipes! They're fast, easy, and need just 6 ingredients + 10 minutes prep.
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
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Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat together the butter, cream cheese, and sweetener, until it's fluffy and light in color.
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Beat in the vanilla extract, salt and egg. Beat in sour cream, if using (optional).
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Beat in the almond flour, 1/2 cup (64 g) at a time. The dough will be soft. If it sticks to your hands when you touch it, refrigerate for 30 minutes.
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Use a medium cookie scoop (about 1 1/2 tbsp, 22 mL volume) to scoop balls of the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Flatten with your palm.
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Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. Allow to cool completely in the pan before handling (cookies will firm up as they cool, but are intended to be soft).
Last Step: Leave A Rating!
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Readers Who Liked This Easy Recipe Also Made:
Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 cookie
Nutrition info does not include optional sour cream.
If you prefer to buy pre-made cookies, these are delicious!
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
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695 Comments
A
1You will want to add 1/3 cup more of cream cheese and use more sweetener and then they taste good!
Allison
0I made these with the optional sour cream and subbed Swerve as the sweetener. Iced with a cream cheese icing and they were delicious! Will definitely make again.
Barbara
0I’m confused about your total carb counts. Besti has 4 grams carbs per tsp (64 for 1/3 cup) and almond flour has 72 carbs in 3 cups. Divided by 24, that equals 5.6 carbs per cookie, not 3.2. What am I missing? Also, what do you recommend when substituting liquid stevia for Besti? Thanks!
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Barbara, Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. If you have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy. If you want to replace liquid sweetener, I recommend Wholesome Yum Simple Syrup.
Pam Gray
0I swapped 1/2 the almond flour for pecan meal* and the cookies came out great. I also added more sweetener but I like things sweet.
Thank you for another go-to cookie recipe that is good as is but also easy to modify with citrus, nuts, chips, frosting, spices… lots of possibilities here.
This is a “Keeper”.
*Watching my omega 3/6 ratio.
Hope
0Yummy!
june
0how to soften cream cheese?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi June, Just let it sit on the counter until soft. It’ll be faster if you cut it into pieces first.
Andrea
0Made the recipe. After reading all the reviews I added the zest from 1 lemon and 2 mandarin oranges to a doubled recipe. It’s a good base recipe to add zest or flavorings too. It picks up other flavors well. Sure they fall apart while warm. So do most keto cookies.
Nikki
0These taste like a light shortbread. Not overly sweet even with the extra sweetener. I added in 1/4 tsp. Lemon extract as well. There is a hint of lemon flavor. I’ll add extra next time.
Overall, I love these. It’s a simple recipe to put together in little time at all. Perfect for a small get together.
Great for coffee or Tea.
Will keep this recipe for sure!!!!!!
Nikki
0Let me add in the difference I used. I used off brand Splenda and Nature’s Valley Blanched Almond Flour.
Denise
0These are delicious. We added a keto choc drizzle for a little extra treat!
Whitney
0These were not sweet enough. I used only Allulose and followed the conversion chart (aka I added more). Not sure if it would be sweeter with a monkfruit/allulose blend. I know they’d be sweet enough with a monfruit/erythritol blend, but I’m not a fan of the cooling effect. I suppose it wouldn’t be noticeable if eating hot. I’d prefer to use just allulose though. I’d add more, but I’m concerned about getting a stomachache. However, I don’t get them from erythritol. Can erythritol and allulose be mixed? Aka allulose in the cookies, but a cream cheese frosting with monfruit/erythritol?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Whitney, Yes, you could mix allulose and erythritol.
Yoanna
0I love this cookie, just added chocolate chips, and they are delicious. Thank you!!!
MitsyBaby
0Made these for the first time. Its a nice textured cookie but was expecting more in the flavour dept given its a cream cheese cookie. Noted someone else suggested adding 1/3 cup more cream cheese which was my first consideration. Don’t like loading cookies with sweets so next time will also try the lemon zest option to enhance the flavour. Would like another try at them to see possible improvements.
Pamela
0I made this recipe for a family gathering, it was my first time making the recipe. I’m not sure if I did anything incorrectly, as the cookies were extremely bland. I used the exact ingredients. Disclosure: I am new to cooking with almond flour and sugar substitutes. I ended up not taking the cookies to the gathering. I did find out, they were better after a few days, however, looking for some suggestions on how to make them better. I used the minimal amount of the sugar replacement, as one time I used Stevia to make keto cupcakes and they were so sweet. Any hints or suggestions on how to make these better is much appreciated! I also wanted to ask if I should use more Vanilla extract, and is there a way to make them taste a little more like cheesecake? Thanks again!!!
Wholesome Yum D
1Hi Pamela, These cookies aren’t really meant to taste like cheesecake. I suggest trying them with more sweetener, Best Monkfruit Sweetener is less sweet than stevia (which is 300x sweeter than sugar).
Pamela
0Thanks so much!!! I did use the Best Monkfruit Sweetener, but was afraid to add too much since I had used the Stevia on another recipe and it was really sweet. I’ll try again, thank you so much!! Oh, and as with most recipes, it tasted much better a few days later. They were soft, just the way I love my cookies!! A great recipe for when you want to have a dessert, but not overdue it on the carbs. I also realized, I didn’t dust the top with any sweetener either. I’ll try that as well. Thanks again!!! Love the website!!!!
Nicollette Saint
0There is a tree nut allergy in my house…is there a way to adapt the recipe to regular flour? It looks so delicious I would love to be able to make & bake.
Thank you
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Nicollette, I have not tried this recipe with wheat flour, so am not sure how that would work. Please let me know how it goes if you try it!
Feli
0These were really good! They remind me of the classic sugar cookies I grew up eating during the holidays, but without being loaded with sugar and carbs. I didn’t have sour cream so I used Greek yogurt and it worked well. I def plan to make again. Thank you for the recipe!
M
0Can’t print recipe! Endless loop of downloads and clicking but no recipe ever comes up.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi, When you click the print button, it will open a new window/tab that you will be able to print from. If this does not happen you may have to change the pop-up settings on your computer.
Janelle
0These tasted a little bland to me, but I usually like them extra sweet. How should I adjust the sweetener if I’m using Lakanto monkfruit instead of allulose if I like them sweeter?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Janelle, I recommend using Besti Monkfruit Allulose Blend because it provides the perfect taste and texture. You can add 1/2 cup if you prefer these cookies to be extra sweet.
Mia
0I’ve been using your keto recipes for a few years and I always love them. This one fell a little short, but that’s ok! I think there’s too much almond flour and not enough cream cheese. Otherwise, love whay you’re doing- keep it up!
Georgina
0I am going to try this recipe as instructed as we all love “cream cheese sugar cookies”, so hoping these at least come close to my recipe. My question is can they be frozen or how do you normally store them and for how long? Thank you.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Georgina, Yes, they can be frozen, and you can find the full storage instructions in the post.
Lorine Spinner
0Amazing recipe, great texture and taste!!!!
Shelly
0Can you substitute the monk fruit and allulose blend to the monk fruit with erythritol?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Shelly, You can substitute, but the cookies will be more dry if you do.
BessieWare
0I made the keto cream cheese cookies and my goodness they were delicious and buttery tasting, soft chewing I love them P.S.get you A cup of coffee wow so good.
Journa Liz Ramirez
0It turned out to be fluffy and delicious! YUM! Highly recommended!
Dana
0Love how quickly these tasty cookies come together! That means I can make them pretty much anytime we are craving a little treat and still be guilt free!
Glenda
0A good recipe to have on hand for the holidays! Thank you so much!
Steve
0Cookies made from cream cheese are supposed to be refrigerated after being out for 2 hours. Since these have cream cheese, they would need to be refrigerated, right?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Steve, Yes, you can store them in the refrigerator.
Susan
0Very good, haven’t eaten cookies, bread etc. in over a year. My husband and I loved them.
Ayami
0This was sooo good!!
Elizabeth Fortney
0These cookies were horrible. They went straight in the trash. Totally flavorless.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Elizabeth, Sorry this recipe didn’t meet your expectations. I would love to help you troubleshoot, did you follow the recipe exactly as written?
Michelle Seamer
0So yum! I may have undercooked them – I made about 15 cookies and left them in for about 15-16min. I only let it cool for about 5min before trying one so it was still warm and soft. But SO YUM! I had never heard of Monk Fruit sweetener before but was pleased to find it at Coles (Australia) but it had erythritol in it too (whatever that is). The end result was so yum!! I also made it with almond meal – which I accidentally bought instead of the flour but … STILL SO YUM! I hope I can limit myself to one a day.
DIane
0Confused…Video shows adding egg WHITE, not whole egg. Recipe says add 1 egg. Which is it? 1 whole egg or just the egg white. Thank you!
Diane
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Diane, This recipe has been updated recently to include the whole egg. I recommend using the recipe as written in the recipe card.
Sharon
0I don’t have almond flour. I’m using coconut… its all I have… for sweetener I’m using Stevia in the raw.. we shall see.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Sharon, Coconut flour is usually not a suitable substitute for almond flour.
Christine
0Great recipe. I make Italian Ricciarelli cookies at Christmas and these are so close. I use 2 tsp of orange zest and pure almond extract instead. They are amazing.
Cindy
0These turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!
Jessica
0This did not cook at all lol
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Jessica, I would love to help you troubleshoot the issues that you had if you can be a little more specific on what you mean by did not cook at all.
Doug
0You show servings as a gauge on how much to make. What is a serving?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Doug, The serving size is 1 cookie and the recipe makes 24 servings.
Karen
0Allergic to almond flour what can I substitute?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Karen, They might work with sunflower seed flour but I have not personally tried that.
blessedmar
0I used half sunflower seed ‘flour’ (I grind them myself) and half tigernut flour. They turned out great. I will not hesitate to use all sunflower seed ‘flour’ when I make them again as tigernut flour is very expensive. I like to think of these little cookies as golden nuggets. lol It is a great base cookie and I will be experimenting with other flavors. The best part for me was mixing this up with my 5 year old grandson who bakes with me. I am teaching him how to grind seeds and how to use alternate sweeteners. He loves to eat what we cook.
Shad Chancey
0YUM!! These turned out FANTASTIC! Thanks for the recipe! Any other good Keto dessert recipes I should try?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0So glad you liked them, Shad! I have lots of other keto dessert recipes here.
Madison Lyn Burchett
0I don’t want to be rude, but I made this recipe to the t, other than using stevia instead of allulose, and they were absolutely awful… i’m trying again and using less vanilla because all I could taste was straight nasty vanilla extract.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Madison, Sorry to hear your cookies didn’t turn out. Unfortunately, swapping out the sweetener is not following the recipe to the T. 😉 The sweetener makes a big difference in both flavor and texture, and stevia would definitely have an aftertaste, that is likely what you are tasting. It could also be, if you used a low quality vanilla, that the flavor of that was not the best. I link the ingredients I use and recommend on the recipe card, and hope you’ll have the chance to try the recipe as written.
Pippy
0I really don’t mean to be rude, but these are absolutely disgusting! I have tried so many different low carb cookie recipes that everyone swears by and they are all disgusting. I’m trying to figure out how anyone finds these recipes appetizing in any way.
Gail Caruso
0I completely agree!
Mrs. Valerie
0Thank you for the recipe! If I want to use honey, how much should I use? Would I need to make any other adjustments since I’d be using a liquid sweetener? Gracias~
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Valerie, I do not test any recipes using honey so I can’t speak to the adjustments that would be needed.
Rose
0I used marscapone for the cream cheese and added extra marscapone in place of sour cream. Used 2.5 tbls stevia for the sweetener, so a bit less than stated. Added 1 tsp almond extract along with the stated vanilla. I also added 1/2 tsp baking powder. The mix was soft and pliable, so not as dry and dense as expected. I baked at 177C in my Vortex Airfryer, directly on the lift out tray, for 10 mins, turning half way through. They are quite golden brown and definitely cooked through. Taste good warm so I’m looking forward to tasting the cold version to see the texture.
Karen
0I like the cookies but am having an issue with the bottoms getting too dark. I’ve tried shortening the cooking time to 12 mins, lowering the temp to 325 but had the same result. They look perfect from the top, the edges are just starting to get golden but the bottoms are burned and don’t taste good. I have to cut the bottoms off to enjoy the cookie.
Deb Giesler
0I cooked mine for 8 min. They were great.
KDawn
0I used snøfrisk cream cheese and duck eggs for these and they are beyond delicious 🙂 Thanks for the recipe, SO GOOD!
Marjorie Heard
0Can I use mascarpone for the cream cheese?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Marjorie, The flavors will be more subtle, but the recipe will still work. Enjoy!
Darci
0My husband and I really enjoyed these. The recipe was very easy and the instructions were clear. We did find the first batch good but a little plain. On the second batch, I rolled the dough balls in a mix of cinnamon and erythritol before flattening them out. Kind of like when you make Snickerdoodles. They turned out great! I also made a few with sprinkles. Sprinkles are for winners. 🙂
Thanks for the recipe. I will definitely make these again!
Jewel Marcuerquiaga
0Love your cookies…a bit of cinnamon was nice. I also had a strip of parchment paper about 4 inches wide and I could lay that on top of a roll of cookies and flatten them with my hands no sticky mess. I was wondering what sugar substitute you like that doesn’t leave that nasty aftertaste? Thanks Jewel
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Jewel, I have my own line of keto-friendly sweeteners! They don’t have any aftertaste, and several options to suit your needs. Check out Wholesome Yum Foods to see the full lineup of sweeteners!
Cornflakes
0Loved these. Added a little lemon extract to everything else and they are so tasty!