This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure and privacy policy.
Healthy 3-ingredient almond flour shortbread, ready to eat in under 30 minutes! They are also vegan, Paleo, grain-free, gluten-free, and keto (with one ingredient swap).
Super Easy Almond Flour Shortbread
It is 100 degrees outside, but I cannot help myself: I am ready for fall baking to begin!
School starts next Monday, so I am planning ahead, filling the freezer with quick and easy options I can add to lunches.
Confession: it’s mostly cookies. I’ll get around to savory options soon enough, but I need to be true to my cookie monster self :).
My 3 ingredient almond flour cookies continue to be a hit, so I decided it was time for more of a good thing. Specifically, 3-Ingredient Almond Flour Shortbread!
These cookies are tender, teatime-perfect shortbread heaven. They are also:
- Vegan
- Grain-free
- Gluten-free
- Paleo
- Keto (with one easy ingredient swap)
Fast , Easy & Foolproof Grain-Free Shortbread
They are ridiculously easy, and almost foolproof, too. Simply mix together 1 cup of blanched almond flour (not almond meal), 2 and 1/2 tablespoons coconut sugar (or a keto substitute), and 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil, plus 1 tablespoon water and a pinch of salt.
No Electric Mixer and No Chilling Required
You read correctly: this shortbread cookie dough is made with MELTED coconut oil. No electric mixer required. A bowl, a spoon, and about 30 seconds of stirring are all that you need for the preparation.
Moreover, the dough does not need to chill before baking.
Simply roll the dough into balls, place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and flatten halfway. I chose a fork for my flattening, but a cookie stamp, the flat bottom of a measuring cup, or fingertips will also do the trick.
Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the centers no longer look wet. The cookies will still seem somewhat soft, but that is due to the high amount of fat (almond flour + coconut oil). They will become firm once completely cooled.
Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
That’s it! With minimal time and effort, a dozen delectable shortbread cookies are yours for the eating.
You can double or triple the recipe according to the needs of your household, or the occasion.
Like my other minimalist cookie recipes, the opportunities for flavor personalization are boundless. Some quick ideas to jumpstart your creativity include the following:
(1) Extracts: replace 1/2 teaspoon of the water with vanilla extract, or 1/4 teaspoon of the water with almond, orange or lemon extract;
2) Citrus: replace the water with an equal amount of freshly squeezed lemon, lime or orange juice and add 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon, lime, or orange zest
(3) Spices: add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite spice (you can taste the dough to determine how much; begin with a little add more as needed). For example, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, or nutmeg.
(4) Chocolate: Add 2 to 3 tablespoons miniature chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (sugar-free, keto-friendly options for keto cookies). Cacao nibs are also an excellent choice (they have no sugar and are naturally keto).
Happy baking, and stay cool!
More Grain-Free & Vegan Almond Flour Cookies to Try:
- 3-Ingredient Almond Flour Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Banana Almond Flour Cookies
- 4-Ingredient Chocolate Almond Flour Cookies
- Almond Flour Gingerbread Cookies
- Pumpkin Almond Flour Cookies
- Sweet Potato Almond Flour Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Fresh Apple Almond Flour Cookies
3-Ingredient Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 13
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 12 cookies 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Tender and decadent-tasting almond flour shortbread, made with 3 ingredients. The cookies are extremely simple to make, as well as vegan, Paleo, grain-free, gluten-free, and keto (with one ingredient swap).
Ingredients
- 1 cup (112 g) blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- 2 and 1/2 tablespoons (30 g) coconut sugar (see notes for keto)
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) virgin coconut oil, melted
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) water
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt (optional/ adjustable)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients, stirring to combine (be sure to break up any lumps in the flour and/or sugar).
- Shape dough into twelve 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls (I use my small cookie scoop). Space balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Flatten halfway (e.g., with a fork, I chose a fork, cookie stamp, the flat bottom of a measuring cup, or fingertips).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes until golden (the cookies will seem somewhat soft while hot; they will firm up as they cool).
- Remove from oven and cool on sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.
Notes
Storage: Because of their high fat content, the cookies are best stored in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to 2 weeks (or the freezer for up to 6 months).
Keto Variation: Replace the coconut sugar with an equal amount of keto-friendly brown sugar replacement (e.g., Sukrin Gold, Swerve). Keto Version Macros per Cookie: Calories: 75; Total Carbs: 2 g; Net Carb: 1 g; Sugars: 0.3 g.
Other Sugars: An equal amount of brown sugar or granulated sugar of your choice can be used in place of the coconut sugar.
Butter and other Fats: If not following a vegan diet, you can use melted butter or ghee in place of the coconut oil. Because butter has a higher water content than coconut oil, I suggest increasing the butter to 2 and 1/2 tablespoons and only adding 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of water.
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 85
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 24.2 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 4.6 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: 3-ingredient vegan cookies, 3-ingredient almond flour cookies, 3-ingredient keto cookies, vegan, keto, Paleo, egg-free, dairy-free, almond flour
I made these with butter as the notes instructed (under the recipe). Added a little almond extract. OMG so good. The boyfriend loved them too.
★★★★★
Yum yum yum, glad you two enjoyed them!
Thank you for this recipe! I didn’t have any maple sugar and can’t use eggs, butter, or wheat. This was very easy. I added a little vanilla and dark chocolate chips. The texture is great, and I can see how this could be a base for lots of different kinds of cookies.
I am so glad these worked out for you, Shannon!
Just made these cookies, thank you they are very good !
Excellent, Rose!
My bag says almost meal/flour. Will that work?
That should work fine, Pam. I’ve see some Bob’s Red Mill almond flour labeled that way recently
I’m so excited to try this recipe! Sounds delicious with a cup of tea. Do you think I could use vegetable oil or olive oil in place of the coconut oil?
Thank you!!
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
I do not think the cookies would hold together (coconut fat becomes solid once it cools).
Just got home from my friends dinner. Everybody loved both of the cookies. They couldn’t believe 3 ingredients. I have to give them the recipe. Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much, Joan!!! 🙂
I made the almond flour cookie and the shortbread cookie. They taste wonderful. But, I had a hard time making the cookie shape. Neither one spread. The cookie i rolled in balls and they came out that way. The shortbread I flattened with my hand to keep it together. I never have a problem baking cookies. Did I have a witch in my kitchen? What do you think I did wrong??? My friends are going to love them tonight.
Hi Joan,
Sorry the cookies did not take the shape that you had hoped for! The shortbread cookies definitely do not spread (same as traditional shortbead). I use my cookie scoop to get a rounded shape and to compress the dough into shape and then use a fork to flatten.
The 3 ingredient almond flour cookies should spread a little, but it is very dependent on precise measurement. I strongly recommend using a digital scale with grain-free baking. If the cookies did not spread at all, it is most likely because of a too much almond flour (it is easy for almond flour to pack when using cups measurements).
I just made these. They were very easy to make and turned out great. Thank you for the recipe
You are so welcome, Camille!
So in my version I added some Almond extract in place of some of the water (just because I love almond). Topped some with a few dark chocolate chips. Great recipe – THANK YOU!
★★★★★
yumyumyum!!!! Sounds so delicious, Lisaan! 🙂
Hi, I the cookies are ready exctly now. I tasted one, still hot, and the taste is fantistic. They got darker, because the coconut sugar I used is is dark, like brown color. I’ll try to post a photo on Pinterst. Thank you!
★★★★★
Excellent, Fabio!
I made a batch of these biscuits this afternoon. They were delicious hence they didn’t last long. I substituted 1/2 tsp of the water with vanilla extract and I grated half a square piece of Lindt 90% chocolate. Thank you for posting such a simple but great recipe. I will definitely make a bigger batch next time.
Hi Camilla,
I made these yesterday for my GF friend. I ended up making 2 batches. For both I replaced coconut sugarwith brown sugar, used 2 1/2 Tbsp. of melted vegan butter instead of coconut oil, subbed 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract plus 1 tsp of water for the 1 tbsp of water. The 12 cookies were the size of quarters, bite size really, and were very good. I made a second batch and made six larger cookies. These were great since I was making them to replace the graham crackers in s’mores my friend absolutely loved them-thx!!
★★★★★
What a wonderful friend you are, Charleen! Great idea to use these in place of graham crackers in s’mores (I see s’mores in my near future…)
Tried the recipe today and it turned out fantastic. Thanks for sharing such a simple and fabulous recipe!!
I did use organic maple syrup instead of coconut sugar as I did not have that at home.
My kids loved it.
★★★★★
So happy to hear these were loved by all, Shuchi 🙂
Is that 2 net carbs for keto? Thanks
Hi Jabrina! Thanks for asking, I am sure others would like that information, too, so I just added it: total carbs per cookie is 2 grams, net carbs 1 gram per cookie 🙂
Wish I could say they were delicious, but my husband ate all of them on the tray before they had properly cooled and I didn’t even get to sample them 😂
Got to count that as a success!
Looks like this recipe is a permanent part of my kitchen from now on. Thank you.
That is hilarious, Natasha! You need to make your next batch in secret 🙂 So glad they were a success (at least, according to your husband!)
This recipe is so great!!! Thank you for sharing it. I love that it was easy to make and my family really enjoyed them!
★★★★★
Excellent, thanks so much, Oriana!
This looks delicious, thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Suzanne!
Can I substitute the sugar for lakanto maple syrup?
Hi Zuleima,
I have not tried it, but tat should work. Omit the water in the recipe and replace the sugar with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. I would love to know how they turn out!
do you think it would be possible to instead press the dough into a square baking dish and bake it into one big bar that could be cut into smaller squares? thanks 🙂
Thant should work great, Naomi.
Mine look a little darker, but are delicious! I made them first with no “additions”. Second time I made th with the vanilla added. Both were good, but I preferred the added flavor of the vanilla. I really love how easy and mess free these were to make.
★★★★★
Excellent, Susan! Perhaps try turning your oven down slightly next time (it may run slightly hot) and make sure to use a light colored baking sheet if you are not already 🙂
I tried this recipe out with oat flour and turned out amazing!!
★★★★★
Ooh, that sounds so good, Amal! Thanks for sharing, that is a great idea!
LUV this recipe. I made them for Easter. I added Lemon oil to the mix as well as a lemon glaze for on top of the cookie. They were perfect! 🙂
★★★★★
Oh, that sounds SO good, Lori!
I want to make these right now but I have 1 question. Can I add finely chopped nut’s (pistachios,almonds,walnuts,pecans, or cacao nibs) ? Thx doll!! Cannot wait for these with some Chamomile Tea! Do you hae other recipes using Almond flour( muffins)? Sorry 2 questions!! 😉❤👣❤🐾🙏
Hi Debee! Yes, definitely add finely chopped anything (perhaps not too much at one time or they could fall apart since they are rather delicate).
Yes, I have a bunch of other simple almond flour recipes! Just type in “almond flour” in the search box and it will pull them up 🙂
I made these! LOVED THEM! So easy to make.
★★★★★
Whoohoo! Excellent, to hear, Debbie!
Just made them with lemon extract and lemon oil – AWESOME!! the recipe is so versatile to say the least! LOVE the small list of ingredients AND easy to put together and then bake. VERY fast from start to finish.
★★★★★
Ooh, that sounds so good, Joanne! Love lemon shortbread 🙂 Glad they were so fast and easy for you to follow, too!
Do you think these would work with a cookie press? There are always moms looking for pretty Keto friendly at the school bake sales.
I think that would work–they hold fork impressions well, so as long as the stamp has a fairly bold design. Great idea.
I really like these FIVE ingredient cookies. Do you have a lot of these easy recipes?
★★★★★
I do, and adding more 😊
It looks like you used a fork to smoosh them down before baking, but it doesn’t say to do that in your recipe.
Thanks for catching that, Darlene! I have it in the blog post, but had left it out of the recipe card. Corrected–thank you!
Any way of cutting the fat? Reduce coconut oil and increase water?
Hi Jaye,
Try my 3-ingredient almond cookies instead of this recipe. They have almond flour but no added fat. Here is the link: https://www.powerhungry.com/2018/03/3-ingredient-almond-flour-cookies-vegan-grain-free-paleo/
I made these last night because I have a bunch of almond flour that is about to expire. I’m so happy I came across this recipe…Thank you for an easy, quick and delicious recipe to help satisfy my sweet tooth! And, I don’t feel guilty giving these to my kids are munching them up myself!
You are welcome, Elizabeth! 🙂
Can vegetable shortening (coconut) be subbed for coconut oil , if so would ratio be the same?
I think that should work just fine, Karyn. Same amount. It might work better to cream the shortening with the almond flour rather than melt it. I am not as familiar with coconut shortening (assuming it is akin to other vegetable shortenings in texture)
Just made these. They are Awesome!!!
Whoohoo!
Hi Camilla,
Thanks for the recipe! I substituted honey for coconut sugar and it came out great. The only thing was my cookies came out kind of burnt on the bottom. The rest of the cookie was cooked perfectly, so I wonder why only the bottoms were burnt? I’ll try baking for a few minutes less next time! Thanks!
★★★★
Hi, was going to ask about substituting honey, so thk you. How much honey did you use?
Thx for the assist!
Hi Joyce,
I have not tried them with honey, but I am sure you can make it work. I would suggest using 2 tablespoons honey (honey is sweeter than the sugar) and omitting the water. If the dough is too loose, add a tiny bit more almond flour 🙂
Would adding nuts add to the baking time?
Hi Sandy! I do not think so, except within the normal range for baking the cookies (e.g., +/1 a minute or so). I would just watch closely 🙂
Do you think this dough would work with cookie cutters instead of rolling I to balls?
I think it would be too tender. I have a 2-ingredient almond flour cut-out cookie in another post, though! Here it is: https://www.powerhungry.com/2019/02/2-ingredient-almond-cut-out-cookies-vegan-grain-free/
Do you by chance know the shelf life of these cookies?
These were delicious and they keep well. I will make them again!
★★★★★
Glad you like them, Rebecca!
Is there an oil free substitute for this recipe and any other cookies?
Hi Sue,
I have a number of other super simple almond flour cookies that are free of oil that I think will appeal. Here is the first, but I have a pumpkin, gingerbread, chocolate and banana version, too, all oil-free
https://powerhungry.com/2018/03/3-ingredient-almond-flour-cookies-vegan-grain-free-paleo/
Can I use butter instead of coconut oil? Thank you!
Hi Freya! My apologies, I meant to add a note about this in the recipe (I will do so now). Yes, you can –see my response to Anita (she asked shortly before you posted). CHeers.
Can I use butter in place of coconut oil?
Hi Anita,
Yes, thanks for asking! I will add that to the recipe. You can use melted butter or ghee. Because butter has a higher water content than coconut oil,suggest increasing the butter to 2 and 1/2 tablespoons and only adding 1-1/2 teaspoons of water.
I would like to go to your site for recipes, can I have your site please.
Hi Carmen,
Sorry if there is any confusion–but you are on the site (powerhungry.com). The recipes are at the bottom of each post 🙂
I just made this recipe with stevia. Not sure if i can have coconut sugar with lyme disease. I only got 1/2 dozen small cookies. Ill let u know how they turn out.
Hi Ellie–hope that they turned out well! Did you use a stevia for baking blend? I have not had a lot of success with regular stevia in baking.
I kept the balls to 1 inch to yield a full dozen cookies 🙂
Can you substitute butter for the coconut oil?
Hi Rocio,
Yes, you can! I am adding a note about doing so. Thanks for asking 🙂
Could you replace the coconut sugar with honey
Hi Brooks,
I have not tried it, but it should definitely work with a tiny bit of tweaking. Honey is a little bit sweeter than coconut sugar, so I suggest using 2 tablespoons (not 2 and 1/2). You may only need as little as 1/2 teaspoon additional water, if at all.
Could u use coconut flour instead of almond flour I have some I need to use up x
Hi Hannah,
N, coconut flour would not work as a swap in this particular recipe. But I have a number of other healthy, minimalist coconut flour cookies on my site! 🙂