These perfectly sweet, buttery and crisp thumbprint cookies are filled with lemon curd and baked to perfection! If you like lemons, you are going to love these low carb cookies!
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If you’re a Keto shortbread cookie fan then this recipe is for you. Delicately baked cookies with a lemony tart curd center have such an amazing texture and flavor! They’ll quickly become your new favorite gluten free cookie!
Lemon curd desserts do have an extra step, making the lemon curd and then you should allow it to chill and thicken in the fridge, but it all pays off when you taste the finished product.
This recipe uses a delicious 5 Minute Microwave Lemon Curd, which is super quick and easy to make!
What’s in Keto Thumbprint Cookies?
- Almond Flour
- Oat fiber
- 5 Minute Lemon Curd
- Butter
- Egg
- Swerve confectioners
- Vanilla extract
- Baking soda
- Xanthan gum
*Exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.
How to Make Keto Thumbprint Lemon Curd Cookies
Preheat your oven to 325F.
In a mixing bowl, add the almond flour, oat fiber, baking soda and xanthan gum and whisk until well combined, then set aside.
In a separate bowl, add the butter and whip using a hand mixer.
Add in the Swerve confectioners and cream together. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and continue mixing. Mix in the dry ingredients, only until combined.
Using a cookie scoop, scoop out the dough.
Then roll them in your hands briefly, to form a ball, then set them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat. Don’t let the dough stay in your hands too long because it will begin to warm it.
Then using your thumb or the back of a teaspoon round measuring spoon, make an indentation in the top of the cookie, forming a well.
Add some of the lemon curd into the well of each cookie, making sure not to overfill them.
Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the edges are golden.
If you’d like to change things up a bit, you can swap out the Lemon Curd for Blueberry Sauce, Raspberry Sauce or even Cranberry Sauce in the fall!
Do You Fill Thumbprint Cookies Before or After Baking?
Even though some thumbprint cookie recipes call for you to fill them after baking, that is not the case most of the time. By filling the curd or other sauce you choose before baking, it slightly bakes the curd into the cookie and helps it from turning loose or running out.
Tips for the Best Thumbprint Low Carb Cookies
- One of the main reasons Keto cookie recipes don’t turn out the way they should is the mix up between almond meal and blanched super fine almond flour. Make sure you’re using almond flour. Almond meal has a grainier texture and just doesn’t work as well in most cookie recipes.
- Almond flour in these low carb thumbprint cookies is much more dense than traditional flour. In many of my baked Keto recipes, you’ll see the addition of oat fiber. Oat fiber is a game changer in low carb baking. The combination of these two gluten free flours allows the cookie, or whatever you’re baking, to become light and fluffy without falling to pieces.
- Another way to ensure your almond flour cookies stay together after baking, is to allow them to cool for a little while before transferring them to a cooling rack.
- Because almond flour doesn’t contain gluten, you need to use some sort of binder to help hold the dough together as it bakes. Eggs along with xanthan gum, arrowroot flour or guar gum are great Keto friendly binders.
How Do I Store Leftover Keto Shortbread Cookies?
Leftover cookies will keep just fine in the fridge for up to a week. Keep in them an air tight container with a lid for optimal freshness.
If you want to make them in advance, gluten free thumbprint cookies freeze perfectly. Just allow the cookies to cool completely, then wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in an freezer safe container. Store in the freezer for up to a couple of months.
Are Almond Flour Cookies Keto?
Good news! Where traditional cookies, made with regular flour are not recommended for Keto, almond flour and oat fiber are both acceptable ingredients for Keto baked goods.
Both are gluten free and low carb and in fact, almond flour is the top go-to flour for most Keto bakers, because of it’s versatility and ability to take on the flavors you bake with it.
What is Oat Fiber? Is Oat Fiber Keto?
The Oat Fiber is really important in this recipe! I use it in so many recipes, because of the amazing texture it gives whatever I’m baking! It is hands down, the best ingredient I’ve baked with! The Oat Fiber that I use is made by Lifesource Foods, because they grind it to a very fine powder and has a mild flavor. I buy it in the 16 ounce bag, which lasts a while, because you don’t need to use much in your recipes.
Oat Fiber is not the same as Oat Flour, which is made from grinding oats. Oat Fiber is made from grinding the outer husks of oats and is pure insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber doesn’t dissolve in water and is not broken down in the digestive tract, so it has zero net carbs and is Keto friendly.
More Gluten Free Recipes Using Oat Fiber
- Blueberry Muffins
- Coffee Crumb Cake
- Coconut Lime Cupcakes
- Cheddar Jalapeño “Cornbread”
- Fluffy Pancakes
- Rosemary & Kalamata Olive Focaccia
- Salted Caramel Collagen Muffins
More Keto Lemon Recipes
- Strawberry Lemonade Cake
- Blueberry Lemon Scones
- Lemon Cheesecake Mousse
- Mini Lemon Curd Tarts
- Lemon Bars
- Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
- Lemon Chicken Tenders over Zoodles
- Lemon Mascarpone Tart
- 5 Minute Microwave Lemon Curd
More Keto Cookie Recipes
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Coconut Meringue Cookies
- White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
- Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Mocha Meringue Cookies
If you’d like to know more about baking on Keto, this article, Keto Baking Made Easy, is loaded with tips and info that you’ll find helpful. You might also check out my Keto Sweet Treats eBook that has 50 amazing Keto dessert recipes, all with color pics, macros and more! I’m offering it at 50% off when you subscribe to my free weekly emails here.
Shop my favorite products on Amazon and check out my Keto Pantry List!
Keto Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies
Recipe Video
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/4 cup oat fiber
- 1/3 cup 5 Minute Lemon Curd
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup Swerve confectioners
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
PREPARATION
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- In a mixing bowl, add the almond flour, oat fiber, baking soda and Xanthan gum and whisk until well combined, then set aside.
- In a separate bowl, add the butter and whip using a hand mixer. Add in the Swerve confectioners and cream together. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and continue mixing. Mix in the dry ingredients, only until combined.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop out the dough, roll them in your hands briefly, to form a ball, then set them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat. Then using your thumb or the back of a teaspoon round measuring spoon, make an indentation in the top of the cookie, forming a well.
- Add some of the lemon curd into the well of each cookie, making sure not to overfill them. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the edges are golden.
NOTES
Baking soda or baking powder?
Baking soda, as mentioned in the recipe.