Keto Almond Crescent Cookies – gluten-free with vegan option
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These Gluten-free and Keto Almond Crescent Cookies are a melt-in-your-mouth delicious and a healthier re-creation of the traditional holiday cookie. This “guaranteed to please” recipe is perfect for the Christmas Season, but you’ll love them so much you’ll for sure want need to make them all year round!
I have a thing for baking cookies and Almond Crescent Cookies were always a favorite of mine to make, especially at Christmastime. Today I’m super thrilled to share a healthier remake that I’m sure you will love.
Besides the charming shape, the almond flavor of these gluten-free crescent cookies is complimented perfectly by the light texture and the buttery flavor that makes it all just heavenly.
How These Keto Crescent Cookies Came to Be
I LOVE cookies, but we’ve moved more and more low carb for many reasons.
I worked on making these Keto Almond Crescents several times, and while it was fun experimenting, it was hard to get them just right.
You can go here to Instagram to see an example of one of my “Low-Carb Almond Crescent Cookies” fails.
I had to go back to the drawing board multiple times until these crescent cookies turned out perfect.
The Origin of Crescent Cookies (aka Moon Cookies or Vanillekipferl)
Almond Crescent Cookies originated as Vanillekipferl (pronounced VAN-el-eu-KIP-fuhl), which means “vanilla crescent” or “vanilla moon.” They originated in Vienna, Austria, where they are still a much-loved, traditional Christmas cookie, however, they are also quite common throughout Europe.
One legend has it that their shape is modeled after the Turkish crescent moon to celebrate one of the victories of the Hungarian army over the Turkish army.
Others that believe that this treat evolved from the Hungarian kifli, a typically-savory, croissant-like pastry that is shaped like a crescent.
Traditionally these cookies are almond based, but hazelnuts and walnuts are often used as well.
Believe me, you’ll have a hard time not eating them all.
These keto almond crescent cookies are perfect for dunking into coffee or Hot Chocolate, this Easiest Coconut Milk or Easiest Almond Milk, or whatever milk you typically use.
Of course you can also simply eat them on their own.
How to Make These Keto Almond Crescents
Preheat oven. Place butter, salt, and sweeteners in a bowl (photo 2).
Beat together until well blended (photo 3). Add the extracts and beat well. Add remaining ingredients and combine well (photo 4).
Form into small logs.
Place sliced almonds into bowl. Roll logs in almonds. (photo 5)
Shape into crescents (photo 6) and place on baking tray.
Bake until lightly browned. Let cool. Sprinkle with powdered sweetener if using (photo 7). Store in airtight container.
Special Diet Substitutions and Notes
- Vegan: Use coconut oil instead of butter for a vegan option.
- Paleo: Use coconut sugar, sucanat, maple syrup or honey for a paleo cookie. See this post on Substituting Sweeteners if you choose to go with a liquid sweetener.
- THM: This recipe is an “S” for those on the Trim Healthy Mama plan.
Recipe Notes
- Topping Options: The cookies were photographed in this post dipped in both almond slices and sprinkled with powdered sweetener, but, you could leave them plain or dip these cookies in melted chocolate or these melted Homemade Chocolate Chips or Homemade White Chocolate Chips (mmm…white chocolate and almonds–yum!) as well for an extra fancy treat.
- Sweetener: If you don’t want to eat low-carb, you can substitute sugar or most alternatives. See How to Substitute Sweeteners should you wish to use a liquid sweetener.
I originally wrote this recipe using granulated low-carb sweetener, but I edited it to use powdered, which I think give it a better end result. - Baking Time: IMPORTANT. These cookies will be quite soft when you remove them from the oven, but they will cool to be just the right texture. I know. It’s hard. You want to eat all of the cookies. Now. But trust me–resist the temptation and let them cool.
- Sweetener Amount: A few readers have commented that these cookies are a little too sweet (while other say that they are just right). You can leave off the powdered topping or reduce the sweetener amount. I haven’t tried making these with less sweetener yet, but you can let me know how it goes! Most likely the sweetness is dependent on the type you use.
- Butter Notes: Please make sure to not use butter that is too soft as that might cause the cookies to come out flat.
I’d LOVE to hear what you think about these Almond Crescent Cookies. I mean, you’ve got your potholders and cookie trays ready and waiting already, right?
Oven pre-heated? Go and bake cookies.
More Healthy Cookies
Eggnog Cookies – gluten-free or keto
Pumpkin Pecan Cookies – not keto, but delicious!
Keto Snowball Cookies – amazingly delicious!
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles – vegan with keto option
No Bake Coconut Cookies – so simple!
Keto Almond Crescent Cookies – vegan option
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (softened–or alternative. See Recipe Notes)
- 3 3/4 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 2 – 2 1/8 cups powdered low-carb sweetener (Or 1-1 1/4 cup granulated. See Recipe Notes.)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- sliced almonds for coating (approximately 1 cup. This is a generous amount, but will ensure that you have plenty)
- powdered sweetener for coating (optional for topping; my Low-Carb Powdered Sugar Substitute)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place butter, salt, and sweetener in bowl. Beat until well blended.
- Add the extracts and beat well.
- Add remaining ingredients and combine well.
- Form into small logs, about 3 inches long.
- Place the sliced almonds into a bowl.
- Roll the logs in sliced almonds.
- Shape into crescents and place on baking tray.
- Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Let the cookies cool completely.
- Sprinkle with powdered sweetener if using.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
The above nutrition facts are estimates only, based on using almond flour and low carb sweeteners. Please rely on your own calculations and read my Nutrition Disclaimer here.
By the way, this recipe was originally published in February 2017. It has been updated with new text, new special diet information, new instructions, and nutritional information. In addition, new photos have been added including step-by-step photos. For reference, here is one of the photos from the original post:
What is your favorite cookie recipe?
Hi Adrienne The nutrition facts in the recipe are per serving?
Thank you in advance
Hi there. Sorry for the delay but we just got that clarified on the site. Thanks for reading and hope you like them! Oops I see the calories aren’t there. We’ll try to get those in today!
Absolutely love your creative idea with almond crescent cookies! As you know I made it a short while ago and it was lovely! Thx, Adrienne for sharing!
Thank you so much!!!
I love these cookies.
And I have a question.
I cut the xylitol almost in half and they were still a little sweet for my tastes.
As a result of cutting the xylitol the cookies were a little crumbly.
I want to cut it even more . I wondering if you can suggest a substitute binder for me so that cookies aren’t so crumbly.
Thanks
Thank you! This is a tough one. Reducing sugar too much in cookies will affect them. Sugar is hydroscopic so it draws water to itself and that is why the cookies are crumbly now. I wouldn’t try to make them w/ less sweetener. You could chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking which might help some. I don’t have any other thoughts at present but I can ask around. Maybe add some coconut flour? Just a guess.
Hi there. I have not tried the almond flour you used in this recipe. What would you recommend?
Thanks
Hi there – are you saying you haven’t used almond flour or you need a brand recommendation?
Yes, I’m looking for a brand recommendation.
I’ve linked to a good brand. Hope that helps! Costco has a good one as well – some are more fine than others but I like it well enough!
What is the 1 1/4 cup of sweetener you use? Can I use regular sugar for the sweetener?
I adjusted the post for you– hope that clarifies things. Thanks!
We have updated the recipe to have xylitol as its sweetener, which is what we used, but you can substitute any sweetener. Regular sugar can be used. We just don’t use it ourselves.
These turned out perfect. I like a crisp cookie with a crunch so after 11 mins I opened the oven door and let out some heat ( turned it off), then left the cookies in for about 45 mins. Absolutely delicious! I made a fourth recipe ( just me) which made about 12 cookies.
Thank you
So great – thank you! We LOVE these. What a great tip!!!
Hi…I would love to try this recipe but I am not a fan of xylitol. I read your sweetener substitute recommendation but if I use honey, I’m not sure where I and decrease the amount of liquid from this recipe. Any recommendations?
Thank you,
Angie
Hi there. Good question. Hmmmm….there really aren’t any liquids to remove. If it were me, I would try a smaller batch and maybe see how it goes. If the resulting dough is too soft maybe add a small amt of coconut flour b/c that soaks up liquids really well. Hope it works out! Or you could try coconut sugar. The resulting cookies will be a different color either way, but should still taste good.
How many carbs
Hi there – we are working on a recipe option that calculates nutritional values but we are having technical difficulties so please try an online calculator that you trust – thanks!
Made these today. The whole family liked them! Yay!! Thank you for sharing your amazing recipe!
So glad – thanks! We love them too!
How many cookies to a batch? How large should the “logs” be?
Hi there – I just updated the post for you with that information. Thanks for reading!
My 8 year old chose this for desert this week. She made it with a little help from me. It was easy and everyone loved it. Thank you for a great recipe!
So great!!!!! We love them too!!
“Dessert”. ?
Hi I love the recipe. I use another recipe similar to it. But I would not call this as low carb almond cookies due to the fact both butter and coconut are high in calories. Fat provides 9 calories in one gram. You could replace fat by egg whites. Then would really be low carb cookies. Just providing some information. I am a registered dietitian. Thanks.
Hi Amber – thanks for reading and for commenting. I’m confused by your comment, however. Carbs and fat are 2 totally different things. Fats, carbs, and proteins are the 3 different caloric sources in our diets. Low carb means that there can be protein and fats, but few carbs. Fat is fat. Egg whites are largely protein. So replacing fat with egg whites would make them lower fat and higher protein, but would not affect carbs.
You seem to be confusing carbs with calories.
Do you have information to the contrary? I really don’t know where you could have gotten this information from. Could you tell me where you got your dietician certification from, please? I might want to contact them to find out why they are teaching this, if in fact, they are.
Thank you and I hope that helps.
I love your reply! Unfortunately, the dietitians I’ve met sound the same… really no clue and not able to offer good advice.
carbs in cookies
butter zero
extract zero
3 3/4 c almond flour 4 a cup 15 net carbs
1/2 coconut flour 21.36
1 1/4 c xylitol 2.69 total
these figures came from many sites, cant comment on the correctness of the sites.’
1.63 carbs per cookie if 24 cookies are made.
maybe someone else has a more accurate calculation.
wish I could find a carb calculator that is easy to use.
hope this helps.
Adriene, I did make your recipe for Almond Cookies several days ago. They were/are YUMMY! I only had alcohol almond flavoring and same for vanilla (which is 2x strong so only used half of it), & tho’t the almond was a bit stout in the cookie. Probably the alcohol is the reason. Will half the almond next time, too, but these first cookies are still Yummy!
I tried to roll dough small to curve to roll in the sliced almonds but the dough kept breaking up and the store-bo’t sliced almonds would not stick. So failing that (the “mother of invention”) I rolled a bit in hands, then w/3 fingers flattened the dough on the cookie sheet, It formed some ridges which when I hand “sprinkled” the sliced nuts onto the tops each cookie held the slices better, then push nuts lightly into the dough.
They turned out great and I really like them!
I put them in a capped container in the freezer so I can help discipline m’self to only 1 cookie after lunch & 1 after dinner. So far so good! Only with the help of God as my “willpower” to control m’self is shot!!
Question: I have a recipe w/white flour and reg. sugar that makes Eclairs w/raspberry filling, and topped w/chocolate on outside top. Looks so good & would taste so good BUT I need to cut WAY down on real sugar & willing to do same with white flour.
I was wondering what type of flour/s would work among those you recommend in your recipes? Right now I have Spelt, coconut, almond, cracked wheat, whole wheat in my pantry.
Making the filling to be “sugarless” using Xylotol (sp?) should be easy to do substitutions.
Joan
So glad you enjoyed them! We do too!
Re: the eclairs I don’t know but I think you should decide on gluten-or grain-free. I have seen both online as well as GF eclairs but they are going to be tricky regardless, with each having different resulting textures. I now really want an eclair though :).
Do you know how many carbs are in each cookie? I’m excited to try them!
Hi there. I’m sorry but I haven’t calculated it. We have had concerns about legality issues and also don’t know if we have access to a reliable calculator. If you know of one that I can use here I am all ears. Could you take the ingredients and plug them into an online calculator?
I plugged all the ingredients in and divided by 24 servings, approximately 171 calories per cookie. Can’t wait to try!
Oh great! Thanks! You are hired if I get the means to do this :).
I just made these, and YUM! I didn’t have the patience to form them into crescents, so I flattened the spoonful of dough into a circle and pressed that into the almonds. They’re delicious! I’m so excited to have this recipe. I subbed out 1/2 C of the almond flour for 1/2 C oat fiber. I find that doing that really helps with the texture of baked goods. I couldn’t believe I was making a cookie with no eggs! I read the recipe 4 times making sure I wasn’t missing it. Lol
Soooo glad to hear it. I really couldn’t believe how great they turned out either. Thanks for coming back to let me know!
I like to try and make these, they look yummy. What can I substitute for xylitol?
You can use any sweetener you like. Xylitol is the same sweetness as sugar. This post might help: https://wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget/baking-with-honey-sugar-for-baking/ I hope you enjoy them!
How many does this yield? Thanks.
Hi there. It would depend on the size of your cookie, but maybe 2 dozen. I did make mine on the smaller size (so that I can eat more cookies — ha!) so maybe more than that. Enjoy!
How many cookies should this make?
Hi there. I guess it depends on the size of your cookie, but maybe 2 dozen. I will take another run at it but I think that’s a safe estimate. I did make mine on the smaller size so maybe more than that. Enjoy!
I love your recipes!!
Thanks, Angela. I hope you like these!