These Low Carb Pecan Shortbread Cookies THM-S are a rich buttery shortbread cookie…
Originally posted on this blog on Dec 1, 2015 but I’m updating this one once again for this 2019 baking season!
These in one bowl and wrap in parchment paper to slice and bake whenever you want a nice sweet treat. They also make a great cheesecake crust! I modified the recipe just a bit (using oat fiber instead of psyllium and protein powder) to use it for a crust in this Fruit Pizza Cookie Pizza just recently, in fact.
These rich, buttery-tasting Low Carb Pecan Shortbread Cookies are a result of a tweak on a cookie posted by cake baker extraordinaire, Susie Z. on the THM main page a while back. This recipe gave me the idea of adapting this timeless classic to this version.
It was a cute little cream cheese cookie that you mixed together in one bowl then rolled it up to chill and sliced it off to bake it anytime! It looked like a great idea so I started tweaking and became more fascinated with this “cookie” the more I learned about it.
I shared my tweaks with Susie and started baking and making more changes to this recipe that turned out to be way more than just a cookie! You will find more information on shortbread here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortbread
Everyone that tried this Pecan Shortbread Cookie loved it, so I have continued to experiment with it extensively.
I’m moving it over from my old blog now, but including a link to the older recipe with lots of pictures and more variations. These Low Carb Pecan Shortbread cookies are being called THM Pecan Sandies by some of its fans!
You can also see this cookie used as a cheesecake crust in this recipe for Mini Cheesecake With A Shortbread Crust that was posted a few months later.
I’ve always subbed out up to 1/3 of the almond flour in recipes with extra fiber and protein powder. First of all, because it lightens the recipe up and secondly because, most of the time, it improves the texture and flavor of the baked product; which is the case with this cookie. In this cookie I used psyllium but if you’d like to use oat fiber instead you can see where I did that in this White Chocolate Cookie.
This recipe works best with a natural sweetener called Gentle Sweet but be aware of the following when using it:
THM Gentle Sweet is so authentically sugary sweet because it contains xylitol and high-quality stevia.
BUT xylitol is dangerous to pets so if yours have access to your treats be sure and use the Xylitol Free Gentle Sweet (the taste and texture are not quite spot on but still a great product.
Equivalent sweeteners for this recipe are double the amount of Swerve or 1/2 the amount of Pyure or Truvia.
If you enjoy a good Christmas Cookie be sure and check out some of these from a few of my blogging buddies too! All of these are THM-S
Keto Spice Cookies ~ The Yellow Glass Dish
Low Carb Refrigerator Cookies ~ Northern Nester
Adrienne’s Christmas Cookies ~ Mrs. Criddles Kitchen
If you need anything from the Trim Healthy Mama Store it would be a help to me if you could use my link and at no extra cost to you. Thanks for helping me keep producing and offering these free recipes.
Here’s a link to my old blog which has lots of older detailed pictures for this recipe. I can not include them here at this time, but just click over there for more info if needed. In this link, I pictured this cookie made into skillet shortbread too!
The ingredients and amounts for the Pecan Shortbread cookie and the Skillet Shortbread are the same. http://turtlehull.blogspot.com/2015/02/sugar-free-low-carb-short-bread-s.html
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Low Carb Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 3 oz. cream cheese
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup Gentle Sweet or equivalent
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup psyllium flakes (Now brand psyllium granules are available in 1 pound bags from natural food stores)
- 1/4 cup plan approved plain whey protein powder
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the butter and cream cheese in a glass mixing bowl in the microwave briefly to soften. Cream together with a large fork or slotted spoon.
- Whisk in sweetener then add in flours and protein powder.
- Stir in pecans till mixed and then plop the whole thing out onto a sheet of parchment paper.
- Fold paper over and shape into a nice fat log then open and check to make sure it is evenly shaped.
- I like to keep this roll nice and fat for big plump soft cookies normally, as pictured on my old blog but yummy either way, so if you're going for crispier make your adjustment here.
- Roll up and fold the ends of the paper together then put into the freezer till it hardens, for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- Remove from the freezer and slice into 1/2" pieces or smaller for crispy, and lay out on a fresh sheet of parchment and bake for about 10 minutes or longer till lightly browned. Watch them carefully so they don't burn.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool well before attempting to remove from the parchment paper. Like all shortbread cookies, see article above, they become nice and firm when totally cooled, but are easily broken until then.
- Makes 12 to 18 cookies.
Anyone tried to sub baking blend instead of almond flour??
I have not tried it as of yet. I really enjoy converting these recipes to baking blend but I’m not so sure about this one. For one thing it doesn’t have eggs in it and for another thing short breads typically have a balance of ingredients that help them maintain their character. Three parts flour, 2 parts fats and 1 part sugar. So if you add the flours I have 1 1/2 cup of them and the butter and cream cheese make almost a cup and the sweetener is 1/2 cup. If you change the flours to the blend it will only convert 3/4 cup to 1 cup of the other flours (except coconut). Add to that you need extra moisture so you will need a liquid and/or an egg and then you might have a good cookie but not a shortbread cookie. Hope that wasn’t too much info but that is just my thought on it. I hope you get to try this cookie it is really unique. Thanks so much for stopping by. 🙂
Answered my question completely, thank you!
Thoughts on using THM Gentle Sweet? I love shortbread cookies and can’t wait to try these!
Yes I have updated the recipe by popular demand and I think it will work just fine.
I’m wondering if this recipe would work for the crust of a fruit pizza on a 14 inch round pan? I’m thinking I might need to make 1 1/2 times or maybe double the recipe. I love fruit pizza but dislike a soggy crust. Should I refrigerate the dough before spreading on the pan? Thank you for all your hard work. I haven’t been disappointed with any of your recipes and I’ve made several!
This recipe should definitely work! I think it will work as is but if you want to double it even you can store any leftover in the freezer and use a little at a time as a slice and bake.
May I ask for clarification please (brain overload and I want to make sure that I have got it right)? Instead of psyllium husks and whey powder, I can substitute 1/2 cup of oat fibre and 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum, as in the white chocolate cookies, but NOT the egg which is used in those cookies and the wreath.
thanks so much for this recipe and your help.