Shortbread is a staple party cookie during the holidays. But who needs that sugary, high-carb cookie, then you could have these sugar free shortbread cookies around!? They will far from disappoint with their buttery taste, the creamy texture, and finally the perfect aftertaste of shortbread flavor.
Usually, it takes quite a few tries before a recipe becomes fully perfected, but I knew I had a winner when this cookie turned out nearly the first time!
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Cranberries during the holiday season just seem right. I love making cranberry wassail and letting the smell permeate the house! I recently pre-ordered the Trim Healthy Future cookbook and am eager to make the Sparkling Cran-Ginger found on page 43!
But what are the benefits of adding cranberries to our holiday treats? Cranberries are a Rockstar superfood that can really boost your healing and nutrient count.
These little red fruits have been linked to a lower of urinary tract infections, the prevention of cancers, boosted immune system, and even thought to lower blood pressure!
Cranberries have a high content of vitamin C, which can lead to better iron absorption from other plant sources! You will need iron to absorb vitamin C, and you need vitamin C to absorb iron. Vitamin C will also produce collagen for skin healing and health.
Are you convinced yet to add more cranberry to your holidays? I'll add one last fun fact to seal the deal. Cranberries have 2 grams of fiber per serving. Adding more fiber to your diet can help with weight loss, insulin sensitivity, and bring down cholesterol levels.
I've prattled on enough by now about how good these sugar free shortbread cookies are going to be! It's almost time to just grab that recipe. These are going to be a Trim Healthy Mama S recipe, but man are they close to a fuel pull. These would be great to bring to a THM family gathering to keep you on plan!
These sugar-free shortbread cookies are rocking my world this holiday season. Let me know what you think of them over on the gram. I love hanging out over there.
You can find my Wassail recipe as well as other healing recipes in my free Healing Harvest Cookbook. Download today!
Ingredients
Almond flour
Fresh cranberries
Gentle sweet or stevia blend
Butter
Vanilla
Orange extract
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Place cranberries in a blender and pulse until they are in small pieces.
Cream together the soft butter and Gentle Sweet.
Add vanilla extract and orange and blend again.
Fold the almond flour into the creamed butter ½ cup at a time.
Fold the cranberries into the mixture.
Line baking pans with parchment paper. Roll batter into 1-inch balls and with a spoon or other utensil press down slightly to make it into a cookie shape.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Gently transfer over to a cooling rack. Best stored in the refrigerator.
Equiptment
- Measuring cups and measuring spoons
- Cooling racks
- Parchment paper
- Blender or food processor
- Spatulas
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Storage
These store well in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I tend to find that after one week, they start to dry out.
You can also freeze them between sheets of parchment paper in an airtight container.
FAQ
What makes a good shortbread?
Traditionally, shortbread is made with one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour. Rice flour is often recommended because it brings out the sandy texture that the shortbread is so famous for. These sugar free shortbread cookies are going to come fairly close to delivering the same traditional flavors without the high sugar and carbohydrate content.
What is the best sugar for shortbread?
I have heard that caster sugar is the best for a traditional shortbread cookie, however caster sugar has a high glycemic index of about 65. Whereas the stevia we will be using for these sugar free shortbread cookies has a glycemic index of a big fat zero.
Can you make shortbread cookies low carb?
Being a low-carb shortbread cookie, these will come awfully close to the traditional flavor or shortbread, but they might not have quite that sandy texture that is so renounced. Instead, you will notice these are going to be most moist. If you keep them in the refrigerator, they will also have an almost chewy first bite experience.
If you love your Baking Blend from Trim Healthy Mama and want to try the baking blend with this recipe, you will need to make some adjustments. Almond flour is much more absorbent than Baking Blend, so you will want to decrease the amount of flour used. The Baking Blend will also make this an even moister cookie and take away that lovely shortbread flavor. So, you may want to call it a cranberry-orange cookie instead!
What are the best low carb flours?
If you are living the keto or Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle, low-carb flours are a staple in your thought process when you are baking. "Which one will work best?" is often a question I am asking myself. Unfortunately, there is no cut-and-dry answer. Different low-carb flours are going to work better for different recipes. In this case, for these low carb shortbread cookies, almond flour is going to taste most close to a traditional shortbread cookie.
Other low carb flour options include:
- Baking Blend from Trim Healthy Mama
- Coconut flour
- Bake Good Paleo Flour
- Oat Fiber
- Almond Flour:
- Chia Seed Flour
- Chickpea Flour
- Hazelnut Flour
Each of these options will have a specific purpose and are none of them are a perfect one-for-one ratio replacement for high-carb flour recipes. Delish has a nice article about Keto flours, if you are struggling to understand how each of them differs. If you follow Trim Healthy
Sugar Free Shortbread Cookies - Cranberry and Orange
Shortbread is a staple party cookie during the holidays. But who needs that sugary, high carb cookie, then you could have these sugar-free shortbread cookies around!? They will far from disappoint with their buttery taste, the creamy texture, and finally the perfect aftertaste of shortbread flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups almond flour
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- ½ cup gentle sweet or stevia blend
- ½ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon orange extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- Place cranberries in a blender and pulse until they are in small pieces.
- Cream together the soft butter and Gentle Sweet.
- Add vanilla extract and orange and blend again.
- Fold the almond flour into the creamed butter ½ cup at a time.
- Fold the cranberries into the mixture.
- Line baking pans with parchment paper.
- Roll batter into 1-inch balls and with a spoon or other utensil press down slightly to make it into a cookie shape.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.
- Gently transfer over to a cooling rack.
- Best stored in the refrigerator.
Notes
- You want your cranberries in small pieces, but not so pulsed that they become mush!
- Cookies will be crumbly until they cool. Be careful not to break them!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 104Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 31mgCarbohydrates: 6.9gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 3g
Online nutritional facts are estimates. Please use your best judgement when consuming.
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Candi Frost says
Do you think I could substitute dairy free butter in this recipe?
RachaelBelle says
I think it would work, but it is not something that I have tried yet. The thing I would wonder is how a dairy free butter would absorb the almond flour. The almond flour is a bit more dense so it needs more butter to absorb everything. Give it a try and see what happens! I think it would work.
Pam Anderson says
is there a misprint in the recipe? I could only get 1 and 1/2 cups of baking blend to work into the creamed butter and sweeterner....and then it was super crumbly.
RachaelBelle says
I have never tried baking blend in the recipe, if you love your Baking Blend from Trim Healthy Mama and want to try Baking Blend with this recipe, you will need to make some adjustments. Almond flour is much more absorbent than Baking Blend, so you will want to decrease the amount of flour used. The Baking Blend will also make this an even moister cookie and take away that lovely shortbread flavor. So you may want to call it a cranberry orange cookie instead!
RachaelBelle says
I am sorry that the recipe didn't work correctly with the Baking Blend. I hope you'll try again with either the almond flour or the decreased amount of Baking Blend. ~Rachael
Christine fanning says
I made these tonight for the first time...they are amazing. I wouldn't change a thing. I'm not big on baking but was in the mood. Had 2 cookies with a cup of coffee after dinner tonight. My husband loved them also.
RachaelBelle says
I'm so glad! Thank you for trying them!
Amy says
These are really good. I have been baking different sugar free treats. Most were dry or gummy with little flavor. This is a winner.