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Are you following along with me? Today is the final day of Keto Cookie Week at Wholesome Yum. I’m finishing it off with a quick and easy keto cream cheese cookies recipe. These low carb keto cookies are one of my favorite keto cream cheese desserts. I hope you’ll give them a try!
Before you do, make sure you go back to check out the other low carb Christmas cookies I shared this week:
- Chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies
- Lemon meringue cookies
- 4-ingredient low carb peanut butter cookies
- Turtle cookies
It’s hard for me to choose a favorite. What’s yours?
Inspiration for Keto Cookies with Cream Cheese
Ultimately, if I had to pick just one keto cookies recipe from this week, it would have to be this one. Cream cheese makes great desserts – low carb cheesecake, to name another!
Cream cheese cookies are quick and easy, and just perfect for dipping in hot tea or even coffee. They also happen to be a classic kind of cookie that people like to make around the holidays.
The inspiration for these low carb cream cheese cookies started with the 4-ingredient gluten-free shortbread cookies I posted last year. In fact, that recipe went live almost exactly a year ago today.
And, it was the most popular recipe on Wholesome Yum’s Facebook page during the last holiday season. (Be sure to follow along on there if you aren’t already! I share exclusives and other low carb recipes there.)
The shortbread cookies were delicious, and I’ve been using them as a launchpad for other recipes ever since. Recently, I wondered if I could adapt them to make cream cheese sugar cookies – without the sugar, of course.
I started by adding cream cheese to the original recipe and playing with the ingredient amounts. I also added an egg for more structure. After several experiments, this was the final result.
Just like the original version, these are low carb, gluten-free and sugar-free. They are crispy, with a very muted cream cheese flavor and a delicate crumb. My new favorite keto cookies, for sure!
How To Make Cream Cheese Cookies
Are you ready to learn how to make cream cheese cookies the easy way? All you need is a hand mixer, a single bowl, and a baking sheet. Yay for not having too many dishes to wash!
The whole recipe needs just six ingredients, plus salt. It doesn’t get much simpler than this.
Here’s how to make keto cookies with cream cheese:
- Use the hand mixer to beat together the butter, cream cheese, and sweetener. It’s important for the butter and cream cheese to be soft before you begin, so just let them soften at room temperature first. Otherwise, they’ll be too hard to mix together. You’ll know this step is done when the mixture is very pale yellow and fluffy.
- Beat in remaining ingredients. First add the vanilla, salt, and egg, then a dollop of sour cream if you want softer cream cheese cookies, and finally the almond flour, adding gradually and beating in between. You’ll end up with a dense, crumbly dough.
- Scoop the cream cheese cookie dough onto a lined cookie sheet, and flatten each ball with the palm of your hand.
- Bake until golden, then cool completely.
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:
Add sour cream for softer cookies.
A reader suggested this to me, I tested it, and decided to incorporate it into the recipe as an optional ingredient. (Thank you, Marie!)
It’s just a tablespoon of sour cream for the entire batch of keto cream cheese cookies, but somehow makes a big difference.
Use monk fruit allulose blend.
Originally I made this keto cookie recipe with erythritol, which you can still use if you like, but now I much prefer them with monk fruit allulose blend. It makes softer cookies that are less dry.
(If you still prefer erythritol, be sure to convert the sweetener amount on the recipe card using my keto sweetener calculator.)
Use a cookie scoop.
Even though you could use a spoon or your hands to make these low carb cream cheese cookies, I highly recommend a cookie scoop. It ensures that the cookies are uniform in size, so that they’ll cook evenly.
Press the cookie dough into the scoop.
Because the dough for these cookies is fairly dense, it can fall apart if it’s too loosely packed. Just press with your fingers after scooping to ensure that it stays together upon release.
Flatten the cookies appropriately.
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.
Bake until golden on the edges.
The baking time will vary depending on your oven, the pan you use, and how thinly you flatten the cookies. You’ll know they are done when the edges are golden.
Let the low carb cookies cool.
The cream cheese cookies will get nice and crisp as they reach room temperature. Don’t handle them right away while they are hot, because they will be too soft and probably fall apart.
They’ll get perfectly crunchy as they cool, so be patient. These keto cookies are worth the wait! đŸ˜‰
Decorate the cookies if you like.
Keto cream cheese cookies are delicious as is! But if you want to, you could drizzle some glaze or chocolate on top.
Personally, I’m usually too pressed for time to decorate my cookies. Besides, I’m not very good at it. If you are, go for it!
Otherwise, another option is to dip half of the cookie in chocolate.
Tools To Make Keto Cookies
Tap the links below to see the items used to make this recipe.
- Hand mixer – This one is really powerful and I love the convenient storage. A hand mixer is a must for the best texture in these keto cookies!
- Stand mixer – Another great option for making keto cream cheese cookies.
- Medium cookie scoop – A cookie scoop ensures that the cookies bake evenly.
- Sheet pan – This one is sturdy and will last a long time.
Low Carb Keto Cream Cheese Cookies Recipe - Quick & Easy:
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Low Carb Keto Cream Cheese Cookies Recipe - Quick & Easy
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GET BESTIInstructions
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 dense and a little crumbly, but should stick when pressed together.)
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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 15 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. Allow to cool completely in the pan before handling (cookies will harden as they cool).
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Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 2-inch cookie
Nutrition info does not include optional sour cream.
If you prefer to buy pre-made cookies, these are delicious!
Video Showing How To Make Keto Cream Cheese Cookies:
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617 Comments
John
Made these and they are very good but, bake them till they turn golden or they will be too wet, not crispy. I used the sour cream.
Sharon
I was pleased with how these turned out. I have two questions though:
1. Do I need to refrigerated these for storing?
2. I watched the video and noticed it shows an egg white going into the mixture, but the recipe states a whole egg.
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Sharon, The recipe written in the recipe card is the most up-to-date version. The video shows an older version of the recipe that only used egg white. The cookies are safe to store at room temperature for a few days but will need to be moved to the fridge for longer-term storage.
Kay W
These are barely OK with tweaking. Pretty sure I made these almost a year ago and I threw them away, which is saying a lot. I love cookies. If not these, something very similar. So glad I read the comments before giving them another try. My modifications: I doubled the cream cheese, used only 2 cups instead of 3 of almond flour (according to comments and common sense because these would basically be almond flour without any flavor otherwise), and I added 1/3 cup of macadamia nuts because I thought they would go well with the cream cheese and give some crunch. They are just OK. Kinda still too much almond flour and very little flavor otherwise. Good thing I added the macadamia nuts. I think that saved them. If I tried them again I would further reduce the almond flour, further increase the cream cheese, and increase the macadamia nuts as well. Lots of tweaking for a recipe. Oh might need to increase butter and salt as well.
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Kay, A lot of changes were made to this recipe, so it wouldn’t really resemble the original. I have several other cookie recipes you may prefer. Here are Keto Peanut Butter Cookies, Keto Oatmeal Cookies, and Keto Magic Bars. I hope you find a recipe you love!
Allison
I tweaked this a bit. I used about 2 1/2 cups of almond flour, cheesecake flavoring, 1/4 c unsweetened coconut, and I did thumbprints on top with sugar-free strawberry preserves. I had to bake them a minute or two longer than the recipe stated, but the sugar free jam gave them that extra deliciousness. I did also use the sour cream.
tegma
Could I use another sweetener of my choice in these cookies, for ex., Swerve?
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Tegma, Yes, but you will get a different final texture in the recipe. Allulose creates softer cookies, erythritol blends (i.e. Swerve) will create more crispy textures. Enjoy!
Ariann
Hi, I loved this recipe it was easy to make and was overall a pretty good snack food for keto diets. One question I have tho is do all the cookies come out a little grainy ot just me?
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Ariann, These cookies are not grainy, but your results can vary depending on the type of almond flour you use. I always recommend using Wholesome Yum Almond Flour, which is super fine ground and blanched.
Mary Beth Wylam
Hello….I thought the cookies were really interesting… as I’m new to Keto foods and baking. Trying to be a bit healthier, although my family isn’t really interested in a Keto way of life! I had on hand, the almond flour but was almost out, so I subbed coconut flour (only 1/2cup), even though you suggested not doing that….it was what I had. Otherwise, I followed the recipe to a tea, and only baked three cookies at first, to try out the texture. They turned out super dry. I read some of the reviews saying that three cups of almond flour was just too much….I used 2 1/2 cups almond and 1/2 cup coconut flour. So, I added more cream cheese into the mixer and some almond flavoring….and a bit more sweetener. I have to say, it didn’t really help the consistency, but the flavor was better having added the almond flavoring. I made some frosting using cream cheese, 100% dark, unsweetened chocolate, monk fruit sweetener, and butter. This helped a lot too. These cookies are only for me, so its okay that no one likes them and they’ll help when I get a sweet tooth urge! I just wish I could find a good, chewy, Tollhouse-like keto cookie out there. Its fun to try new things though, and maybe the coconut flour altered the consistency and I’ll give them another try. Thank you for the recipe and l’ll continue my quest!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Mary, Unfortunately coconut flour and almond flour are not interchangeable, even in small amounts. The dry cookies were the result of the coconut flour substitution. I hope you’ll get the chance to try the recipe as originally written, they should not be dry that way. If you want them more chewy, you can add a little bit of xanthan gum (like 1/4 or 1/2 tsp for the whole batch).
Sis
I loved this recipe. I added lemon juice in one batch and added cinnamon in another. It’s a very versatile cookie. Thanks.
Francy
Just made these. Followed the recipe exactly (3 cups of almond flour & 1 tablespoon of sour cream) and used Swerve sweetener. They don’t look quite as crackly on the top as your picture but thinking that may be the addition of the sour cream? Regardless, they taste fantastic – will definitely make again!
Bren Castillo
Your recipes are great, but this website is pretty rough. Every time I open it my computer goes into overdrive and slows down everything. I get bombarded with ads and popups and its really hard to focus on anything else. I think the recipes are fabulous and amazing but is there any way you could back on all the ads and popups? It makes it really impossible to navigate the page
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Bren, Thanks for your feedback. The ads are used to keep the site running and allows me to continue to add more free content. If you would like to have the ads removed, then please join the Wholesome Yum Plus membership! Not only do you get to enjoy a premium website experience, but you also get great quarterly gifts, and discounts on Wholesome Yum Foods products.
StacyLynne
I just finished making these. Glad I read the comments first as I did reduce the almond flour to 2.5cups and added a little almond extract (these are def worth a revisit for other extract flavors. Orange or lemon would be lovely). I recently made peanut butter cookies with this sweetener (first time ever using) and it left that cooling sensation, so with these cookies I took advice I found and dissolved the sweetener into the egg and vanilla mixture first and there is no cool sensation after baking (I fear this now). I did add an extra ounce of Cream Cheese and the sour cream. They came out better than I expected. Tasting the batter pre-baking was disappointing, so I doubted the outcome. I most definitely was pleased with the after baked product
Tara
Hi thanks for this coconut free recipe. ( I have a food sensitivity which makes finding keto recipes tough). I used cream cheese from the tub which tends to be softer than the one I buy in the block shape. No sour cream and all 3 cups of flour. I even baked in the toaster oven and they came out perfectly soft and not too crumbly!!! I kept in a Tupperware and never got crunchy!! So happy!! Now I made with cocoa powder and hazelnut extract. They’re cooling. Hope they’re just as good!!
Cm
Amazing cookies
Cc
I made cream cheese keto frosting and placed on top!! Delicious cookies! Yum
Rebecca Gamez
Awesome thanks
Antoine
I should have read the comments first. Had to throw the whole mix away because 3-cups of almond flour were just too much.
Mary
These turned out great! And the longer in the frig the better they got! I added the higher amount of sweetener. Thanks! They hit the spot!
Cindy
I like these! This KETO, People can’t expect a sugary sweet cookie. Truly they are just the right sweetness. Not a bit dry. Great texture. Thanks!
Heidi
They were easy to make but I find them dry and lacking something. I did add some nuts to them but they just did not turned out how I hoped they would. Not a fan of them,sorry.
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Heidi, Sorry these didn’t turn out as expected. You may prefer the texture of these Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies over the Cream Cheese Cookies.
Carol
I love these! I have to keep my family from eating them all before I get some. The base recipe is excellent as described and also good with cardamom, coconut etc!
Maria Hernandez
I made my bf buy me all the ingredients and the cookies turned out tasting not as we thought. We were a little disappointed. I don’t recommend adding sour cream, they make the cookies more like playdoh and less crumbly like. I won’t even give this recipe a second try. I feel like all the positive reviews are fake.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Maria, Sorry to hear the cookies were not to your liking. I added sour cream to the recipe to make the cookies more soft and less dry, but you can omit it if you prefer a crisper, more crumbly cookie. I don’t add any fake reviews to my website.
Kelly
I didn’t like them. Threw the whole lot of them away. Too much almond flour taste.
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Kelly, Sorry this recipe didn’t turn out as expected. I recommend using high-quality, super fine ground blanched almond flour for the most neutral flavors in baking. This is the brand of almond flour I use in all my recipes.
Mary
These came out really good. Keep an eye on them because they start to brown quickly. Great base to experiment with other flavors like maybe lemon or orange zest added. Almond extract might be good too or add ground pecans. Many options.
Tammy McDowell
I made these a second time. This time, I used half a cup of sweetener. I left the sour cream out, but upped the cream cheese by not quite an ounce. The result was a cookie that was so tasty, my mom only got one. Dad got the rest…lol. They were absolutely wonderful as we are chewy cookie folks.
Marcella Cooper
These cookies are amazing. I included the sour cream and it was a hit. I’m baking them again now without the sour cream and I’m sure they’ll be just as delicious. I love how soft they were but also that they were sweet but not too sweet.
Kim Millership
Can I use Coconut flour instead of Almond flour, and if so how much?
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Kim, I’m sorry, that will not work in this recipe. Coconut and almond flour have very different properties and are not interchangeable. If you need to stock up on almond flour, you can get it at WholesomeYumFoods.com!
Tammy
These are amazing! I finally found a cookie that I like better than the dough! I was nervous about making my first keto sweet. I love sweets and that was the hardest thing to give up. When I tasted the first one I was hooked. Thank you!
Melissa
I was a little disappointed in these. They taste just like baked almond flour. I think there is too much almond flour and not enough cream cheese. I will try adjusting and see how they come out.
Alexandra
I rarely leave comments on recipes, but this was too good not to comment on! I followed the recipe and video, and the only difference I made was using 2 cups almond flour instead of 3 ( I ran out so that’s all I had on hand!). These still turned out super moist, chewy, and delish! This is now our fave keto treat recipe. Excited to make them again and experiment with different extracts as mentioned in some comments. Thank you for another solid recipe!
Kara
So I messed with the recipe enough that it’s probably something else entirely, but it’s really good, so I thought I’d share. I used brown sugar Swerve (1/2 cup, lightly packed), 2 eggs, 2 cups of superfine natural almond flour, 3 tsp small-batch vanilla, and a splash of cinnamon and nutmeg. I also used cream cheese *spread* – maybe 2.5 – 3 ounces to account for the air space. I used a melon baller as my scoop because that’s all I had. These came out like tiny fluffy delicious chocolate chip cookies, so then I went and added chocolate chips to the rest. These were much closer to chocolate chips cookies (with my whack version) than the keto chocolate chip cookies I attempted at Christmas and literally threw away.
Katie
Do you need to refrigerate these for storage due to cream cheese and sour cream after baking??
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Katie, These cookies can be stored at room temperature for a couple of days but will keep the longest in the fridge.
Jerry
These cookies were pretty good!! I did read a bunch of the reviews and made a few tweaks. Here’s what I tweaked: used 2 1/4 cups of almond flour (about a half a cup at a time) and 2 tbsp of sour cream. Then I added a half a teaspoon of cinnamon and a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg along with a pinch of baking powder. Popped them in the oven for about 20 mins and they came out great! Super soft and chewy, yet crispy and brown on the edges. If you prefer crispier cookies, maybe bake them 5-10 mins longer, your call. Overall, good recipe and I’ll definitely back these again!
Rosa
So, before I started making this, I read most of the comments left on this recipie. And after all the rave reviews, I decided to give this a try.
I did came across some comments saying it was dry or crumbly, so I decided to add my flour 1 cup at a time.
OH MY! WAS I GLAD I DID THAT!! I followed the recipie exactly, and i added 1 cup of almond flour and that was enough! It came out like a short bread kind of texture. Next time i will try 3/4 cup of almond flour instead … and maybe add some baking powder.
The flavor is good, but for sure i would have wasted expensive ingredients if I had thrown in the 3 cups of almond flour.
So, my recomendation is:
Add your flour 1/2 cup at a time and check the texture before adding more . I live at sea level, so I dont know if that makes 2 cups of flour of a difference.
Anyway, the cookie came out tasting ok, just be carefull with the dry ingredients.
Raquel
Made these tonight. The taste was AMAZING but the dough was too sticky to work with at first and the cookies never fully cooked inside without starting to burn on the outside. They remain too chewy for my taste after cooling. I did add extra sweetener and used xylitol (again, the taste was great the way I adjusted), but perhaps the sweetener change affected consistency. Will try again with lower oven temp and longer cook time. Thanks for the recipe!
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Raquel, Yes, this may be due to the different sweetener. I think you have the right idea to bake at a lower temperature for the rest of the batch.
Sue
I didn’t read anywhere on that recipe about egg white only so I’ll put the whole egg in! I wound up with a dry powder that I couldn’t even get to stick together. I didn’t like this recipe. Unfortunately. I wasted a lot of ingredients. Hard lesson. I do wish I had watch the video first and I would’ve seen the egg white and not the entire egg. I still don’t think I did something right because the mix is just as dry as powder. this recipe did not work for me or I didn’t work for the recipe, one or the other.
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Sue, The recipe does call for a whole egg, you had that right! The video shows an older version of the recipe where I originally used the egg white only, but it’s since been updated to include the whole egg. I am sorry the recipe didn’t work as expected. Did you use softened butter and cream cheese? That would make a big difference in the final texture if the ingredients were too cold.
Mary
Can I use Stevia granulated instead of monk fruit?
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Mary, If you are using baking stevia that is 1:1 with sugar, then the recipe should work. Please note that you will get a different texture than what you see in the pictures, as you will be using a different sweetener. Allulose gives soft, chewy cookies. Baking stevia is generally a blend of stevia and erythritol and will make your cookies crunchy.
Nancy s Pierre
Love it. Crunchy in the outside, soft inside. Amazing!!
Shelia
This was by FAR the BEST KETO cookie recipe I have tried and I have tried many!!! THANK YOU
Shannon Hartson
I added an extra egg and instead of sour cream, I used about 1/8 cup mascarpone cheese. The result was a nice dense shortcake like cookie. I topped it with a keto chocolate frosting. So yummy.
hope
My husband and I really enjoyed these cookies. They are very easy to make and taste great.
Thanks for everything you do.
Sherry
My husband can’t do the salt. Can this be made with no salt or maybe less salt.?
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Sherry, You can omit the salt, but the cookies may taste a little flat. A salt alternative should help with the flavor profile if you have any.
Andrea Murray
I defo did something wrong. All I have is a crumble paste of flour like mixture. Very hard to form cookie. Maybe I used the wrong amount of cream cheese? Not sure but I epically failed and these taste terrible. Sorry. Didn’t work out for me.
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Andrea, Did you check out the video in the recipe card? It will show you what the cookie dough should look like before forming into cookies.
Joshua Johnson
Stumbled upon these cookies in an internet search and decided to give them a try. Decided to switch up fron the allulose and use Anthony’s Erithrytol/monkfruit using 1/2 cup and also added Hershey’s sugar free chocolate chips. The texture was ok and overall I like them and plan on adjusting the recipe for different flavors in the future.
Christina Andrade
I was about the make these, but just had one question. It is 1 whole egg or just the egg white? Your written recipe and video differ on that.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Christina, Sorry about the confusion – it’s a whole egg. An earlier version of the recipe used just the white, but I later found it works better with the whole egg. The recipe card is always the most up-to-date.
Lisa
Very good cookies, hit the spot!
Just wondering if they can be frozen?
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Lisa, Yes! These cookies freeze well!
Rikki Davenport
I did not enjoy these. I added in the sour cream and followed the recipe exactly. All I could taste was the almond flour. I’m new to Keto so maybe I just need to get used to Keto desserts?
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Rikki, Yes, these cream cheese cookies are made from almond flour and cream cheese, so those ingredients will provide the predominant flavors for the recipe. If you want the cream cheese flavor to come out a bit more, then put them in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Sophia
Hey Lady!
I made these and they are GREAT! I’m making them again, but adding my own twist of lemon zest!
Joan Talley
Really delicious and so easy to make. Outstanding.
Jane Fischer
I am sorry I couldn’t find a place for messages. This isn’t a review. I haven’t baked these yet. I have some questions. I want to send these to family out of state. Can that be done. If I mail them on 12/17 to arrive for Christmas will they be edible? Should I freeze them before I send them. What if anything can I do here?
Wholesome Yum M
Hi Jane, Obviously, I can’t speak to the handling or temperature changes that will take place during shipping, but these cookies will be good for about a week. If your package will arrive within that window of time, then they should be fine!
Rolinda Hameed
These really satisfy my sweet tooth!!!