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It’s nearly Christmas! In my early days of keto I really struggled with cooking at Christmas. I love to cook and prepare food for my family, or for gifts, and it felt like an impossible task to adapt my favourite recipes to low carb.
Now that I’ve been at it for a while, I know better. Keto Christmas treats are as good, if not better, than those carb-laden ones of old.
These gingerbread cookies are perfectly soft and spiced and so easily decorated. You can cut out the traditional gingerbread men or any shapes you fancy. You can decorate them with your children and they make wonderful gifts. Enjoy!
Tips and Substitutions
- Sukrin Gold can be switched out for a different low-carb sweetener such as Erythritol, Swerve or Allulose, but really it does help with that beautiful golden colour and rich flavour.
- Yacon syrup (5.6 g net carbs per 2 tsp) can be substituted with blackstrap molasses (8.5 g net carbs per 2 tsp), or omitted, but it really does help with that golden colour and rich flavour.
- If you want to make these cookies 100% dairy-free, replace butter with an equivalent amount of sustainably sourced palm shortening.
Hands-on Overall
Serving size cookie
Nutritional values (per cookie)
Net carbs1.7 grams
Protein3.4 grams
Fat5.5 grams
Calories70 kcal
Calories from carbs 10%, protein 20%, fat 70%
Total carbs2.8 gramsFiber1.1 gramsSugars0.8 gramsSaturated fat1.2 gramsSodium44 mg(2% RDA)Magnesium23 mg(6% RDA)Potassium88 mg(4% EMR)
Ingredients (makes 30-40 cookies)
Gingerbread:
Royal icing:
Instructions
- Prepare all ingredients. In low-carb baking it's always best to use a kitchen scale for best results.
- Mix all of the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter and add it, along with the eggs, vanilla and yacon syrup to the mixing bowl.
- Beat on low until a soft dough forms. Tip out onto a sheet of cling-wrap and shape into a thick disc. Refrigerate for two hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 170 °C/ 340 °F (fan assisted), or 190 °C/ 375 °F (conventional). Remove dough from fridge and divide into three or four sections.
- Working on one piece of dough at a time and storing the remainder in the fridge, roll out between two sheets of silicone mat or parchment paper until about 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) thick. Cut cookies out using your choice of designs. Repeat with remaining dough. Depending on the size, you'll make 30 to 40 cookies. If the dough starts to feel a bit soft and difficult to handle, just pop it back in the fridge for five minutes or so.
- Bake for between 8 and 12 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies. Set on to cooling racks until cool.
- To make the icing, sift the powdered sweetener into a mixing bowl and add the egg white and lemon juice. Mix on low until combined the beat until smooth.
- To test your consistency, do an eight-second test; trace a pattern in the top of the icing with a knife and then count down the seconds until it disappears back into the surface. Eight seconds will give you perfect piping consistency. If you need it thinner, add a very small amount of water at a time.
Tip: To get the frosted look, I used a shallow plate of xylitol crystals and put the fresh piped cookies face down in the crystals.
- Set aside to harden at room temperature.
- Store in a covered container, for up to a week, or freeze for up to 6 months.
Decorated Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients (makes 30-40 cookies)
Gingerbread:
- 3 cups almond flour (300 g/ 10.6 oz)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp whey or egg white protein powder (60 g/ 2.1 oz)
- 1/2 cup Sukrin Gold or Erythritol (80 g/ 2.8 oz)
- 3 tbsp ginger powder
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter (57 g/ 2 oz)
- 1 tsp sugar-free vanilla extract or 1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder
- 2 tsp yacon syrup (10 ml)
Royal icing:
- 1 large egg white
- 1 1/2 cups Swerve confectioners or powdered Erythritol (240 g/ 8.5 oz)
- 1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Prepare all ingredients. In low-carb baking it's always best to use a kitchen scale for best results.
- Mix all of the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter and add it, along with the eggs, vanilla and yacon syrup to the mixing bowl.
- Beat on low until a soft dough forms. Tip out onto a sheet of cling-wrap and shape into a thick disc. Refrigerate for two hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 170 °C/ 340 °F (fan assisted), or 190 °C/ 375 °F (conventional). Remove dough from fridge and divide into three or four sections.
- Working on one piece of dough at a time and storing the remainder in the fridge, roll out between two sheets of silicone mat or parchment paper until about 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) thick. Cut cookies out using your choice of designs. Repeat with remaining dough. Depending on the size, you'll make 30 to 40 cookies. If the dough starts to feel a bit soft and difficult to handle, just pop it back in the fridge for five minutes or so.
- Bake for between 8 and 12 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies. Set on to cooling racks until cool.
- To make the icing, sift the powdered sweetener into a mixing bowl and add the egg white and lemon juice. Mix on low until combined the beat until smooth.
- To test your consistency, do an eight-second test; trace a pattern in the top of the icing with a knife and then count down the seconds until it disappears back into the surface. Eight seconds will give you perfect piping consistency. If you need it thinner, add a very small amount of water at a time.
Tip: To get the frosted look, I used a shallow plate of xylitol crystals and put the fresh piped cookies face down in the crystals.
- Set aside to harden at room temperature.
- Store in a covered container, for up to a week, or freeze for up to 6 months.
Nutrition (per cookie)
Calories70kcal
Net Carbs1.7g
Carbohydrates2.8g
Protein3.4g
Fat5.5g
Saturated Fat1.2g
Fiber1.1g
Sugar0.8g
Sodium44mg
Magnesium23mg
Potassium88mg
Detailed nutritional breakdown (per cookie)
| Total per cookie |
| 1.7 g | 3.4 g | 5.5 g | 70 kcal |
| Almond flour (blanched ground almonds, almond meal) |
| 0.7 g | 1.6 g | 3.9 g | 44 kcal |
| Whey protein powder (protein isolate, Jay Robb) |
| 0 g | 1.2 g | 0 g | 5 kcal |
| Sukrin Gold, brown sugar substitute |
| 0.1 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Ginger (ground, dried), spices |
| 0.3 g | 0 g | 0 g | 2 kcal |
| Cinnamon, spices |
| 0.1 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 kcal |
| Nutmeg, spices |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Salt, sea salt |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Egg, whole, fresh, raw (free-range or organic eggs) |
| 0 g | 0.5 g | 0.4 g | 5 kcal |
| Butter, unsalted, grass-fed |
| 0 g | 0 g | 1.1 g | 10 kcal |
| Vanilla extract, sugar-free, alcohol-based |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Yacon syrup, natural sweetener |
| 0.1 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 kcal |
| Egg white, fresh |
| 0 g | 0.1 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Swerve, natural sweetener (Erythritol and chicory inulin based) |
| 0.3 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 kcal |
| Lemon juice, fresh |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
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