Soft, chewy, buttery, cakey and extra delicious make up this easy recipe for Cream Cheese Cookies. If your Keto sweet tooth comes a-knockin’ (or if you just love cookies!) then these ones are sure to satisfy!
Where my fellow Keto dieters at?! Can we just have a little venting pow-wow where all I do is complain about the fact that I’ve never wanted to sink my teeth into a rich and fudgy chocolate cupcake more in my entire life than I have in these last 2 months on the Keto diet. I mean, really. I can even venture far enough to say that I’m not really a sweets person – never have been. Except, I will admit, that slowly seems like it’s starting to change every now and then. You know, in my old age.
But keto. Man. There’s something about the absence of sugar that just makes you want it. All day. Everyday. I literally dream about it. Well, not sugar specifically. But desserts. And cakes. And ice cream. Of course, this diet is making me dream about cookies, too. More specifically, these soft, decadently chewy, crumbly and absolutely buttery Keto friendly Cream Cheese Cookies at that.
I just had the hardest 3 weeks of my Keto life as I was staying at my sister’s place back in Toronto. Not only is she the Carb Queen who just had a baby (aka wanted to eat everything in sight…lol) but I simply didn’t have very many keto snacks or desserts just hanging around like I sometimes do at home. So it was pretty strict Keto for me in those weeks, whether I liked it or not.
I had already made and tested this recipe for Cream Cheese Cookies prior to going to my sister’s place. I’m not lying when I tell you that these cookies are the exact thing I spent my 3 weeks dreaming about and salivating over. I just couldn’t stop thinking about their buttery and cakey texture paired with their moist and creamy insides. A cookie almost too soft to hold in your hands but who cares because these Cream Cheese Cookies are satisfying every single dessert craving I’ve felt in the last 2 months. And something tells me that even when this whole Keto diet thing is all said and done for me, this recipe for Cream Cheese Cookies will live on forever.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE CREAM CHEESE COOKIES
A few wet ingredients. A few dry ingredients. You know the baking drill. Let’s discuss the exact ingredients you will need in a little bit more detail down below:
- Almond Flour: This gluten free flour (made from blanched peeled almonds) is a life saver on the Keto diet. It has a thick but light consistency and makes these cookies cakey but fluffy.
- Sweetener: Adds the perfect bit of sweetness to these cookies and gives them an almost grainy (but addicting) texture. I used a monk fruit erythritol blend but any keto friendly sweetener will do. If not on the Keto diet, feel free to use regular sugar instead.
- Baking Powder: Helps with the rising, fluffiness and consistency of these Keto Cream Cheese Cookies.
- Salt: Balances out the sweetness and flavours from the rest of the ingredients. A little bit of salt goes a long way in baking.
- Cream Cheese: The star of the show in this recipe for Cream Cheese Cookies. Gives them a light, airy and creamy texture making them highly addicting and irresistibly delicious. Full fat plain cream cheese works best in this recipe (the one that comes in a block).
- Butter: Adds to the smoothness, richness and fluffiness of these Cream Cheese Cookies. The buttery flavour combined with the cream cheese and grainy sweetener is the irresistible flavour combo you didn’t know you needed. Unsalted butter works best in this recipe. However, if all you have on hand is salted butter, just omit the added salt.
- Egg: Adds flavour and helps with the structure and texture of these Cream Cheese Cookies.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances and balances out the flavours of the rest of the ingredients.
HOW TO MAKE KETO FRIENDLY CREAM CHEESE COOKIES (KEY TIPS)
You can find full instructions for how to make these Keto friendly Cream Cheese Cookies in the recipe card down below, but here are a few quick tips to keep in mind:
- Soften the butter and cream cheese before attempting to mix them together. It simply makes this task so much easier, makes less of a mess and, in general, you get an overall smoother batter without many lumps.
- Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer to help you mix the ingredients. Again, it’s just way easier, faster and more efficient than any other way and will make these Cream Cheese Cookies a breeze to make.
- Try to make the cookies as even as possible so they all end up around the same size. How big you want to make them is totally up to you. However, making sure they’re about the same size before baking will ensure they cook evenly and in the same amount of time.
- Leave room on the baking sheet in between the cookies for them to spread out a bit and ‘grow’ while baking in the oven. Don’t overcrowd the pan and work in batches if you have to. EXTRA TIP: The batter will be very wet. Just use a fork to flatten and shape each one to the best of your ability before baking.
- Allow the cookies to fully cool on the baking sheet before attempting to touch or move them. I’m not lying when I say that these Cream Cheese Cookies might just be some of the softest, most crumbly cookies EVER and a simple movement will break them to pieces. They’ll stay together and hold their shapes more when fully cooled and no longer hot.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Generally speaking, yes, you can actually swap out the butter for cream cheese in most cookie recipes. However, since this recipe is specifically for Cream Cheese Cookies, we use both butter and cream cheese to make them. And all I have to say is who knew that would be a straight up match made in Heaven?!?!
Yes, because of the dairy in the cream cheese, it’s best to refrigerate these cookies within two days of baking them.
These Keto friendly Cream Cheese Cookies will stay fresh on the counter for about two days. If keeping for longer, store them in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for up to a week. Because of the soft and crumbly texture of these Cream Cheese Cookies, I don’t recommend freezing them.
RECIPE FOR CREAM CHEESE COOKIES
Soft, chewy, buttery, cakey and extra delicious make up this easy recipe for Cream Cheese Cookies. If your Keto sweet tooth comes a-knockin' (or if you just love cookies!) then these ones are sure to satisfy!
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 8 ounce block Cream Cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Egg
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups Almond Flour
- 1/2 cup Keto friendly Sweetener such as Monk Fruit or Erythritol
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, grease and set aside.
- Add the dry ingredients to a bowl, whisk until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, add the wet ingredients. Using a hand mixer, mix until smooth well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and blend until smooth.
- Form 8-12 even sized balls (depending how big you want your cookies) and place them on the greased baking sheet being sure to leave about 2 inches of spaces between them (work in batches if you have to). Use a fork to flatten out the tops and round out the edges.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges and bottom are cirsped up and golden. Allow to completely cool on the baking sheet before attempting to move or touch them.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 262Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 205mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 6g
Nutrition is only an estimate and calculated using Nutritionix.
MORE COOKIE RECIPES FOR YOU TO LOVE
3 INGREDIENT ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES
HOW TO MAKE COOKIES IN A JAR (GREAT GIFT IDEA)
SOFT AND CHEWY ALMOND PULP COOKIES
6 INGREDIENT FLOURLESS PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
EDIBLE COOKIE DOUGH (MADE FROM CHICKPEAS!)
This looks like a fun recipe! If I’m not worried about having some sugar could I just use a 1/2 cup sugar instead of the other sweetener options and still get a good result?
Hey Matt! Yes, that won’t be a problem. Enjoy! 🙂
Can I use dates instead of sugar or other sweetener ?
Hi Elizabeth, I haven’t tried using dates instead as they’re not keto friendly and this cookie is. However, I think it would change the texture of the cookie too much so I wouldn’t recommend it.
More than a comment or review, I have a question. I did follow all the steps with same ingredients, didn’t change a thing. Unfortunately, there is a strong flavor towards the end, is this the monkfruit? Is the erythritol a better option?
Hi Sofia,
First and foremost, thanks for trying my recipe! I’m sad you didn’t love these cookies as much as I do. Personally, I find that erythritol has a milder taste than monk fruit which tends to be sweeter with a more intense taste. Therefore, I like using erythritol for most of my Keto cooking in general as I prefer the neutral taste. With that being said, I included the option of using monk fruit in the recipe as some people may find monk fruit’s flavour enjoyable and/or that’s what they have on hand. I didn’t actually realize that it may impart a strong flavour in the cookies and I’ll have to test and compare the two batches side by side to see what the strong flavour could be coming from. Perhaps using less monk fruit than you would erythritol would also give you a better flavour since it has a more intense sweetness. Thanks for the heads up on this – I’ll have to experiment and adjust the recipe if needed. 🙂