Keto Cream Cheese Cookies

Easy Keto Cream Cheese Cookies are a quick and simple recipe not only for ketogenic diets but also a perfect gluten-free cookie recipe as well. Not only are they low calorie but they are low carb too, only 0.9 NET CARBS per cookie!

I didn’t know what a cream cheese cookie was until my mom told me that my grandma used to make them all the time. In fact, my grandma was the queen at making cookies.

If you ask anyone that knew her, they would tell you she would have trays and trays of different cookies all the time for her company. 

I was too young to remember those days of her constant baking but I think she would be proud of my cream cheese cookies. 

They have the perfect soft pillowy texture, but I added something she never added to her cookies. Just a tiny bit of almond extract…it gives a nice little added touch if I do say so myself. 

I wouldn’t say traditional cream cheese cookies are bursting with flavor, so the hint of almond in my opinion makes it an even better cookie. 

I’m looking forward to hearing your feedback on this keto cream cheese recipe, I hope you enjoy these cream cheese keto cookies as much as we do!

What are Cream Cheese Cookies?

Cream cheese cookies are quite yummy if you have never had one. Traditional cream cheese cookies are made with white cake flour and cream cheese.

What’s crazy is then you add cream cheese to a cookie, they puff right up resulting in a soft, moist, and chewy cookie. They are like biting into a cloud. 

Some are dusted with powdered sugar, some are coated in chocolate, and some are just a plain ole cookie. 

However they are made, let’s just say they are addictive.

What Do They Taste Like?

Traditional cream cheese cookies and these keto cream cheese cookies are not an overly sweet cookie. They are lightly sweetened, which when on keto you tend to not be a huge fan of overly sweet desserts. 

When you take a bite of a cream cheese keto cookie you are not going to taste an overwhelming cream cheese flavor, but rather there will be a slight hint of cream cheese. 

Also as many of you know, erythritol can have a cooling effect when used in baked goods, and I found that the small amount of cream cheese helps to counter that effect.

Can You Have Cream Cheese on a Keto Diet?

Yes, you absolutely can have cream cheese while on a keto diet. In fact, there are so many keto and low carb recipes that have cream cheese in them. It’s pretty much a staple when eating low carb. 

• 1 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese has only 1 NET CARB. 

This recipe has a total of 4 oz of cream cheese which means it adds only 4 NET CARBS. When divided into multiple servings, it’s practically nothing.

How Many Carbs are in Keto Cream Cheese Cookies?

Keto cream cheese cookies are such a great low carb dessert. 

• For just 1 almond flour cream cheese cookie it’s only 0.9 NET CARBS. Which is just fantastic! 
• Compare that to a regular cream cheese cookie which has about 7 NET CARBS per cookie. 

What a difference?!

Cream Cheese Cookies are Super Easy to Make!

When looking for an easy keto cookie recipe look no further. This keto cream cheese cookie recipe is one of the easiest recipes there are. 

With ingredients that are most likely in every single one of your kitchens, it literally takes 10 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to bake. So in just 20 minutes, you can have delicious low carb cream cheese cookies!

What Ingredients are in Keto Cream Cheese Cookies?

• Cream Cheese – Can’t have cream cheese cookies without the cream cheese. I used 4oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese. 
• Butter – Make sure the butter is softened, it will make it easier to work with. 
• Low Carb Sweetener – I chose to use Lakanto Monkfruit – granular. But you can use whatever one you prefer. 
• Egg – 1 egg. (I’m so sorry but I forgot to add the egg in the photo with all our ingredients…my bad.)
• Almond Flour – 2 cups superfine almond flour, not almond meal. I always buy Costco’s Kirkland Almond Flour. 
• Coconut Flour – ½ cup coconut flour, I like to use Bob’s Red Mill brand. 
• Baking Powder – Makes our cream cheese keto cookies rise. 
• Xanthan Gum – Helps to bind the ingredients together, since there is no gluten. 
• Vanilla Extract – Adding just a little vanilla takes this to the next level.
• Almond Extract – This was a nice little added ingredient I chose to add. You can leave it out, or add another extract like orange, or lemon. 
• Salt –  I add this to most of my baked goods.

Almond Flour vs Coconut Flour for Cream Cheese Cookies

Both almond flour and coconut flour are great to use when eating low carb. In different recipes, people chose to use one or the other, but sometimes they are combined. 

In fact, in this keto cream cheese cookie recipe we ended up using a combo of both coconut and almond flour. 

When using both flours, I tend to always use more almond flour. Coconut flour is highly absorbent and will absorb a lot of moisture. This can be kinda tricky as it tends to dry out baked goods.

If you are a true baker and you like to play around with quantities then feel free to, but the combo I used, worked out perfectly in my opinion.

Sweetener Options

My a big fan of Lakanto Monkfruit both granular and powdered, and Swerve powdered. I tend to use them in most of my baking, they are pretty much always my go-to sweeteners including for these cream cheese keto cookies. 

Other options could be liquid stevia or liquid monk fruit. Another one people tend to use is Xylitol, but be careful if you have any pets, because it’s toxic to them.

Can You Use Cream Cheese Instead of Butter in Cookies?

Cream cheese can replace butter in most cookie recipes. By using cream cheese it will produce a cookie that is less buttery, and less crispy but you can still get a good texture. 

Some people choose to sub in only half the amount of butter with cream cheese, but you can also swap it out for the full amount. 

If any of you guys have had success using cream cheese instead of butter in your cookies please let me know in the comments.

Best Cream Cheese for Cookies

When it comes to our low carb cream cheese cookies, I only use Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Well to be more precise, it’s the only cream cheese I use for all of my recipes. 

I’ve grown up using it on my bagels and in my recipes…it’s basically the cream cheese of my childhood. The taste and texture I find to be better than other store brand cream cheeses. 

I buy the 8 oz block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese. I actually try to only buy it when it goes on sale because it lasts quite a while in the fridge without going bad. 

This is a true keto cream cheese dessert and I hope you really enjoy it.

Butter vs Coconut Oil in these Cookies

Oftentimes, butter and coconut oil can be substituted for each other in cookies and other dessert recipes.

However, I personally haven’t tried making these low carb cream cheese cookies with coconut oil yet. I used butter, mostly because I pretty much always use butter in my cookie recipes. 

If you have a dairy allergy you could try using coconut oil instead, but I’m not 100% sure how they will come out. Let us know in the comments section below.

Can I Substitute the Egg in these Cookies?

If you can’t eat eggs, then what you can do is increase the amount of cream cheese instead. The cream cheese cookie dough will get the moisture it needs from the higher amount of cream cheese. I would up the amount from 4oz to 8oz. 

Anytime you are dealing with substitutions in recipes, especially when baking it tends to be tricky and sometimes it’s just trial and error, so try it out.

Different Variations of Low Carb Cream Cheese Cookies

Some different ways to make variations you can make are: 

• Sprinkling them with cinnamon sugar, powdered swerve, or topping with chocolate chips. 
• Adding peanut butter to the dough.
• Cocoa Powder = Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies.
• Using different extracts such as lemon, orange, or even butter extract. 
• Chopped nuts like pecans, walnuts, or almonds for some added crunch. 
• Instant Espresso for a delicious coffee flavor. 
• Frost them with any kind of low carb frosting.

Frosting Options

Feel like frosting these keto cream cheese cookies? Sure! Anytime you are baking with little kids, they tend to always want to frost everything and these cookies are perfect for that. 

Some frosting options are: 

• Keto Cream Cheese Frosting 
• Keto Vanilla Icing 
• Keto Chocolate Buttercream (Cause why not? Chocolate goes with basically everything.)
• Drizzle with melted Sugar-free Chocolate Chips

Tools to Use

Cookie recipes like these cream cheese keto cookies are easy and don’t require a lot of tools to make them. 

Here’s what you need:

• Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
• Cookie Scoop
• Baking Tray
• Silicone Mat or Parchment Paper
• Cooling Rack

How to Make Keto Cream Cheese Cookies from Scratch 

Follow these simple instructions to make this Keto Cream Cheese Cookie Recipe.

Mixing the Batter

STEP 1: Start off by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. 

STEP 2: In a medium-sized bowl combine the almond flour, coconut flour, salt, xanthan gum, and baking powder.

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STEP 3: Grab a larger bowl, and add the softened butter and the sweetener. Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, mix the butter and sweetener together until creamy.

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STEP 4: Now add the softened cream cheese and mix again.

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STEP 5: Add the egg and the vanilla, mix until creamy.

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STEP 6: Combine the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients together and mix again until fully combined.

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Do I Need to Chill the Dough?

This is an optional step. Some people have found that chilling the dough ahead of time has helped with the cream cheese cookies from crumbling.

I have found there is no need to chill the dough because I let my cookies cool completely after they come out of the oven. 

However, if you make the dough ahead of time and don’t plan on baking them for a while, you should place it in the fridge until you are ready to bake the keto cream cheese cookies.

Baking

STEP 7: Use a 1” cookie scoop and scoop out cookie dough balls on the tray. You should be able to fit about 15 cookies per tray.

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STEP 8: Once the balls are on the tray, roll them into smooth balls.

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STEP 9: Using the palm of your hand, flatten each ball slightly.

These keto cream cheese cookies will not spread much on their own, so you need to flatten them a bit.

Optional Step: Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or top with a few sugar-free chocolate chips. 

STEP 10: Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

How to Tell When Cream Cheese Keto Cookies are Done?

When you open the oven door, you will see that the cookies look like little round pillowy cookies. They will be light in color, but the bottoms will have started to brown.

In my oven, 10 minutes was absolutely perfect! Keep an eye on them and don’t let them get too crispy.

Best Tips

• Instead of almond extract, you can use orange or lemon extracts. 
• Egg-Free: Add 8oz cream cheese instead of 4oz. 
• Dairy-Free: Use vegan cream cheese and vegan butter. 
• For sliced cookies: Roll the cookie dough into a log, wrap in plastic wrap, chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. Slice into even cookies. Then bake. 
• Use a cookie scoop for even-sized cookies. 
• Cookie Press: Add the dough to a cookie press. Press down on a cookie sheet to get fun shaped cookies.
• Use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper on the cookie tray. 
• Let the cookies fully cool before eating to prevent cookies from crumbling. 
• Store on the counter for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. 
• Keto cream cheese cookie dough can be stored in the fridge for a few days before baking. 
• Freeze for up to 3 months. 
• Add a tablespoon of sour cream for even softer cookies.
• Decorate the cream cheese cookies if you would like.

My Cookies are Too Hard

If you end up with low carb cream cheese cookies that are hard….it means you probably overcooked them. Do not leave them in the oven too long after the 10 minutes recommended.

Once you take them out of the oven they will firm up, so it’s ok if they are still soft when first out of the oven.

My Cookies Fall Apart Easily

When baking with low carb flours there is a higher risk of your cookies crumbling, and these cream cheese cookies are no exception.

To prevent the keto cream cheese cookies from crumbling, make sure you allow them to cool on the counter fully before gobbling them up. 

Some people have found that chilling the dough can help your cookies from falling apart, I personally haven’t found it necessary because as long as I let them cool fully, they were perfect.

How to Stop Cream Cheese Cookies from Going Flat?

Keto cream cheese cookies don’t spread out much on their own when baked, so that’s why you need to flatten them with your palm or a spoon. 

Just make sure not to flatten them too much, otherwise, they won’t be sweet little pillowy cookies.

Other Diets This Recipe is Good For?

• Gluten-Free: Fantastic gluten-free keto cream cheese cookie recipe! 
• Dairy-Free: Seeing that the recipe is called cream cheese cookies, it doesn’t exactly make it dairy-free. But you can use vegan cream cheese, and vegan butter instead. Problem solved. 
• Egg-Free: This recipe has one egg in it. But to make it egg-free, add 8oz of cream cheese instead of 4oz.

What to Serve with Cream Cheese Cookies?

Hmmm….what should we serve these low carb cream cheese cookies with? 

Well, I believe the correct answer is….anything and everything. Hahahaha! 

I’m a big fan of any kind of cookie with my morning coffee. I think it’s the influence of my sister-in-law from Italy, she always loves to have her cookies for breakfast. 

You can add a small dollop of sugar-free preserves to your keto cream cheese cookie too, that makes it even better for breakfast.

Making these Cookies Ahead

Sure thing! You can make the dough for low carb cream cheese cookies ahead of time and store it in your fridge for a couple of days if you need to. 

Or if you want to bake them, they can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, or you can freeze them and pull them out when they are ready to be served.

How to Store Cream Cheese Cookies?

Our almond and coconut lour cream cheese cookies can be stored in two ways:

1. On the Counter – In an airtight container or Ziploc bag and left on the counter for about 2 days. 
2. Refrigerator – You can also store them in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Do Cookies Made with Cream Cheese Need to Be Refrigerated?

This keto cream cheese cookie recipe actually does not require refrigeration. You may be wondering how is that possible since cream cheese should always be refrigerated? 

Recipes that have a large amount of cream cheese, like our Keto Cheesecake has to be refrigerated for sure, in order to prevent bacteria from growing or food poisoning. 

However, other recipes that have only a small amount of cream cheese, like these delicious cream cheese keto cookies, or cheesecake brownies don’t need to be refrigerated, because the flour and sugar absorb any excess moisture. 

These keto cream cheese cookies can be stored in the fridge to help them last longer. They will last up to 5 days in the fridge.

Can I Freeze Low Carb Cream Cheese Cookies?

Almond Flour Cream Cheese Cookies are just like any other cookie and can absolutely be frozen! Wrap them well and keep in an airtight container. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. 

A friend of mine prefers freezing his cookies in a tin container so you can also try that.

Defrost at room temperature when you are ready to eat them.

Other Keto Desserts with Cream Cheese

If you are looking for other keto desserts with cream cheese then try these out: 

• Best Keto Cheesecake
• Low Carb Pumpkin Cheesecake 
• Healthy Keto Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting 
• Keto Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Swirl
• Easy Keto Cheesecake Bars 

Other Low Carb Cookie Recipes

If you’re in the mood for some other Keto-friendly Cookies, check out our:

• Easy Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
• Low Carb Pumpkin Cookies
• Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies
• Keto Sugar Cookies
• Keto No Bake Cookies

All of them are Keto-friendly and low carb, and will have your friends raving!

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