Low-Carb Mocha Lace Biscuits

4.3 stars, average of 34 ratings

By Naomi Sherman, updated March 19 201914

It was my husband’s birthday recently and I made him a stupendous (if I do say so myself) keto cheesecake to celebrate. As I was putting it all together I realised that I wanted something to place on top, a thin, chocolatey biscuit.

So, I quickly made up a batch using butter, almond meal and coconut as the base. I was in a rush and added a bit of this, a bit of that, a touch more of this…

THEY WERE THE BEST BISCUITS I’VE EVER MADE! Sorry about the shouting, but they really were. Did I write it down? Of course not! That would have been way too sensible of me.

It’s taken me quite a few experimental batches to get these just right but I’ve captured the crispy on the outside, chewy in the centre, bitter with a rich chocolate taste, goodness of those biscuits.

My original batch were made with an Australian spice called Wattleseed. If you can get your hands on some, do try it. I wanted to make this recipe accessible to everyone, so I used instant coffee in its place. They have very similar flavour profiles.

I hope you love them as much as we do.

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0 hours, 20 minutes

Hands-on 10 minutes Overall 30 minutes

Nutritional values (per biscuit)

Net carbs1.5 grams

Protein1.9 grams

Fat8.5 grams

Calories95 kcal

Calories from carbs 7%, protein 9%, fat 84%

Total carbs6 gramsFiber4.5 gramsSugars0.7 gramsSaturated fat3.7 gramsSodium37 mg(2% RDA)Magnesium28 mg(7% RDA)Potassium86 mg(4% EMR)

Ingredients (makes 18 biscuits)

¹/₂ cup grass-fed butter or virgin coconut oil (114 g/ 4 oz)
¹/₄ cup powdered Swerve or low-carb sweetener of choice (40 g/ 1.4 oz)
4 tbsp sugar-free maple syrup or yacon syrup (80 g/ 2.8 oz)
1 tsp sugar-free vanilla extract
1 cup almond flour (100 g/ 3.5 oz)
¹/₂ cup raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch process (43 g/ 1.5 oz)
¹/₄ unsweetened shredded coconut (19 g/ 0.7 oz)
2 tsp instant coffee powder
¹/₄ tsp Himalayan rock salt

Note: You can make your own sugar-free maple syrup.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 190 °C/ 375 °F (conventional oven) or 170 °C/ 340 °F (fan-assisted oven). Place butter, Swerve, low-carb maple syrup and vanilla in a pan on the stove over medium heat and melt together.
Meanwhile, place all dry ingredients into a bowl and mix to break up any clumps. Line two large baking trays with ovenproof paper.
When melted, pour butter mixture into dry ingredients and mix well. The mixture will seem quite liquid at this point, but don’t panic. Keep stirring for about 30 seconds and it firms up.
Using a teaspoon, drop small spoonful’s onto your baking trays.
Leave some space between them as they spread quite a bit. Flatten the balls slightly using wet fingers. Bake for 8-12 minutes. Be careful not to burn them!
The biscuits will not crisp up until completely cold so remove from oven and let cool on the trays. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per biscuit)

Net carbs	Protein	Fat	Calories
Butter, unsalted, grass-fed
0 g	0.1 g	5.1 g	45 kcal
Swerve, natural sweetener (Erythritol and chicory inulin based)
0.1 g	0 g	0 g	0 kcal
Low-carb Maple Syrup (KetoDiet blog)
0.2 g	0 g	0 g	7 kcal
Vanilla extract, sugar-free, alcohol-based
0 g	0 g	0 g	1 kcal
Almond flour (blanched ground almonds, almond meal)
0.5 g	1.2 g	2.9 g	33 kcal
Cocoa powder, raw (cacao)
0.5 g	0.5 g	0.3 g	5 kcal
Coconut, dried, desiccated, shredded (organic, unsweetened)
0.1 g	0.2 g	0.1 g	3 kcal
Coffee (powder)
0.1 g	0 g	0 g	0 kcal
Salt, pink Himalayan rock salt
0 g	0 g	0 g	0 kcal
Total per biscuit
1.5 g	1.9 g	8.5 g	95 kcal

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Georgie one year ago #

Hello,
Just seeing comments about almond flour - I'm in Melbourne, Aus so if you could recommend which one you're using that'd be great! I usually buy the 'Lucky' brand or the supermarket brands from coles/woolworths... any of those?

Naomi Sherman one year ago #

Hi Georgie
The Lucky brand is great, as is the Woolworths Macro range.
These only come in quite small packages though and I use a LOT of almond flour, so I tend to buy mine in larger bags from the health food shop.
Thanks
Naomi

Sabrina one year ago #

Mine had a burnt taste. Had to turn oven down. But still just crumbled. Not a good recipe. Waste of ingredients that cost a fortune.

Martina @ KetoDiet one year ago #

I'm sorry to hear that. It's best to start checking after 8-10 minutes Chocolate treats can get bunt but you won't see it due to the darker colour.

C. Zuniga one year ago #

Could this be modified to make the crust of a cheesecake? It sounds so yummy and I intend to try the biscuits but would love to use it as a crust for a strawberry chocolate cheesecake.

I believe you can do that (press into a cake tin and bake until crispy). Careful not to burn the base as the dark colour makes it harder to tell.

Christiana Hancox one year ago #

I so wanted these to be a success but despite three attempts I have to admit failure! I was really careful measuring out the ingredients - used a scale, all metric, but could not replicate anything resembling those pictured. My first mixture finally thickened up a bit, after 30 minutes, but ended up a completely joined up mass on the baking tray, despite big, big spaces! And just crumbled to pieces when cold, never got crisp enough to hold a shape. Attempt number two wasn’t any more successful- this time I lowered the oven temperature by 20 degrees - recommended for a fan over - still just crumble. Third attempt I used butter instead of coconut oil, and added a couple of tablespoons of coconut flour, which made the mixture a tad stiffer, and returned to the specified oven temperature. These held a better shape, but were burning after 9 minutes, so I whipped them out, and into the bin! Such a disappointment, and a waste of good ingredients. I’ve never had a failure like this in 8 years of GF/LC cooking. Lovely flavour - just wondering how I might use a big bowl of crumbs . . . . any suggestions?!

I'm sorry to hear that Christiana :-( The only thing I can think of is that the almond flour you used is different - based on what you said, more almond flour should help. Not all products are the same, some contain less fat/moisture. If it burnt then I'd reduce the temperature to 150-165 C (300-330 F) and bake them for as 15-20 minutes (they will crips up once they cool so it's hard to tell exactly). I'll try to make these myself and share some tips. I hope this helps!

MD one year ago #

Mine flattened alright, but got all stuck to the parchement paper. I found this odd given ho much oil it is in the recipe. I peel the dough from the paper with a spoon and I will have it with my coffee all the same. The dough came too runny, next time I might try adding a bit of coconut flour.

I find it easier to use heavy-duty parchment paper that has aluminium foil layer on the other side. It never tears and nothing gets stuck to it. I hope this helps!

Christine McDonald one year ago #

I tried these first time nd they turned out perfect but when I baked them yesterday they crumble apart.....could it be not enough butter?
Would be an awesome base for cheese cake I think

Hi Christine.
Hmmm, was anything else different? Did you change almond meal brands or anything else?
Otherwise, yes, try adding a touch more butter.
Cheers, Naomi

Alana 2 years ago #

I’ve tried these twice now....both times they ended up not spreading out at all. They are like little mini hockey pucks 😩. The second time I made them very small and flattened quite a bit more, but they still didn’t turn into flat, lacey biscuits...Anyone else have this issue?

Naomi Sherman 2 years ago #

Hi Alana
I'm sorry that you're having difficulties.
Perhaps your almond flour is slightly different to mine?
The only suggestion that I have is that you could try increasing your butter content or decreasing your flour slightly? The mixture is quite wet, as you can see by the photos.
Good luck, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!