Low-Carb Pecan Shortbread Cookies are made with only 7 ingredients. This no-fuss recipe calls for almond flour, pecans, honey, butter, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. As you can see, these cookies are made with wholesome ingredients. What you don’t yet know is that they taste incredible!
While these are an amazing gluten-free Christmas cookie, we enjoy Pecan Shortbread Cookies all year long. Made with a base of almond flour, these gluten-free cookies are a quick and easy low-carb dessert. They’re fantastic for those on special diets because they are not only gluten-free, when made with honey and butter they are SCD and GAPS compliant.
These cookies are so good fans tell me they’re addictive. Go ahead, bake these buttery treats and see for yourself!
Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 2½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
- 5 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
- ½ cup salted butter or palm shortening , melted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, and pecans
- In a small bowl, mix honey, butter, and vanilla
- Mix wet ingredients into dry
- Place dough in center of a piece of parchment paper
- Form into a log approximately 2½ -inches in diameter
- Place in freezer for one hour, until firm, unwrap and cut into ⅛-inch thick slices
- Place slices on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Bake at 350°F until lightly golden, 7-10 minutes
- Cool for 1 hour
- Serve
Since Pecan Shortbread Cookies do not contain chocolate they are a wonderful cookie for your little ones if you’re trying to keep them off caffeine. My children and their friends love eating this egg-free cookie dough raw whenever I make a batch. Here are more paleo cookie recipes for you.
This post is an oldie but goodie from the archives, I first published this recipe in 2007.
Susan says
I’m newly diagnosed as diabetic and am searching like crazy for recipes that I can use instead of the things I’ve been making for years that got me to this point, especially baking. This site looks wonderful and I’ve already ordered The Almond Flour Cookbook.
My question: why are people opposed to agave? What research I’ve done seems to be very positive about the use of this low-glycemic sweetner. What am I missing?
Sarah says
I don’t use agave because it gives me headaches; same with cane sugar. But probably many people don’t use it because of the cost. (I know… when you’re so limited in what you can eat anyway, it would be nice if price were a non-issue.)
Shannon says
Susan ~ there is much debate about agave nectar. Research has shown that agave nectar is high in fructose and elicits the same insulin response in the body that sugar does. I have Lyme disease and cannot have grains or sugar because the Lyme bacteria feeds on sugar. I can use stevia, which is a very safe, natural sweetener. I wish we would see more recipes with stevia….thank you, Elana, for your yummy recipes!
Ana says
Can’t quite figure out how to lower the agave in my recipes. I am needing less carbs. We love agave, but if I want a special treat for me I need something with less carbs. Any wisdom? I notice some of you use stevia with the agave, that is a great idea, but when you say you used 1/2 agave 1/2 stevia that didn’t seem right. Maybe I read it wrong?
Karen L says
above, Jamie wrote:
August 30, 2010 at 7:02 pm
…I am not supposed to have Agave on my diet but I cheated just a little ;) I took your recommendation and used 3T Stevia and 2T agave.
Karen
Trish B says
I just discovered organic coconut (nectar) syrup, harvested in a similar way to maple syrup. It’s quite gelatinous in texture but it’s a good substitute for agave nectar. According to the label, it’s easier on the endocrin (insulin) system.
Coco says
I don’t use agave because of the process. It also raises blood sugar much like cane sugar. I use raw honey or stevia.
Aura says
This cookie is my family’s new favorite!
Lynne says
We just made our first almond flour recipe… the Pecan Shortbread Cookies. They are delicious. We substituted grade B Organic Maple Syrup for the agave nectar. No problems… just yummy!
locarbjen says
These cookies were delicious. I too don’t want to use agave so I used 1/2 xylitol and agave. Also used 1/2 vanilla and 1/2 almond extract. Crumbled cookies make a great crust for pumpkin cheesecake bars.
locarbjen says
These cookies were delicious. I too don’t want to use agave so I used 1/2 stevia and agave. Also used 1/2 vanilla and 1/2 almond extract. Crumbled cookies make a great crust for pumpkin cheesecake bars.
Jamie says
Thanks locarbjen,
I am not supposed to have Agave on my diet but I cheated just a little ;) I took your recommendation and used 3T Stevia and 2T agave. Needless to say I got sick because I ate way too many cookies. They are great! Thanks for the recipe Elana!
Jenna,
Thanks for the peanut butter tip. I will be sure to try it next time!
Donna says
The coconut sugar I ordered came in yesterday and I decided to test it out today.
I made this recipe and substituted toasted chopped almonds for the pecans and the coconut sugar for the agave nectar. I wasn’t sure they would turn out because of using a dry sweetener in place of the liquid but they came out GREAT!
I don’t follow Elana’s directions, just the ingredients list. This time I rolled the batter into 24 balls and flattened them on my parchment paper to about 1/4 inch thickness, baked for 12 minutes. The batter held together well and was just the right texture to roll. They came out dry and crispy just like shortbread but the cookies are not crumbly and I didn’t have to let them cool on the sheets before removing to the racks. They worked just like a “regular flour” cookie.
Best of all is, even 2 hours after eating some, I still don’t have heart palpitations or racing heart! No negative effects like with real sugar, honey, and other stuff for me. I hope this continues and in a few days I can say I have finally found a sugar substitute I can use!
I post as “bakingfool” in the forums as my name was already taken.
Donna says
I came back to edit but this is the best I can do.
Just wanted to say that I also received my pure ground vanilla beans and used that in place of the liquid vanilla.
bakingfool
Nichole says
Hey ,I was wondering where you found ground Vanilla Beans? I would love to try those !
beingconformed says
I know sometimes it takes time for people to reply, so just wanted to say that MRH sells a high quality vanilla bean powder.
https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/products/vanilla-bean-powder/profile
beingconformed says
Wanted to add, especially since it’s been almost 5 years since that person had posted their comment!
Donna says
Love the taste of pecans in cookies but hate making cookies so always find short cuts. Made these with quite a few shortcuts but they still came out delicious, chewy instead of crisp.
Had to skip the vanilla (doesn’t work for my body).
Creamed my room temp. butter with 1 1/2 c. almond flour. Stirred the rest of the dry ingredients into another bowl. Added the agave to the creamed mixture and blended well. Then added in the dry mixture. Scooped onto parchment lined sheet. 10 minutes at 350 degrees was perfect. 24 cookies exactly.
Getting them off the sheet without crumbling was a bit of trouble. They wanted to fall apart. So..I let them cool on the parchment and the pan for 2 minutes, then carefully slid the parchment onto a rack for 2 minutes, before removing from the parchment. Saved them from any more crumbles. They can now be picked up whole.
Will try these the proper way some time because I love shortbread too!
Mondo says
wow! I had my doubts about this cookie, but I was soooo wrong. delicious. thanks so much.
Gail says
I added 1 tablespoon each of orange peel and orange extract, doubled the pecans, and substituted 2 tablespoons of the agave with brown sugar. Sprinkled lightly with cinnamon sugar. This is such a yummy basic recipe that lends itself to all kinds of possibilities, depending on what ingredients are on hand. Thank you for your great inspirations.
Jenna says
I made these last weekend and they are delicious! I made half the batch the weekend before last and kept the other half of the dough in the freezer. I was able to just take the rest of the dough out and let it sit for a few minutes then pop them into the oven this weekend for a quick treat! I used half Agave and half stevia powder and they were perfectly sweet!
Thank you so much for all of your fantastic recipes, Elana! You have helped me feel as though I can eat like a ‘real person’ again! :)
Jenna says
I made these again this week to cure my sweet tooth :). This time I doubled the vanilla, added an extra pinch of salt, used only 3 TBS of Agave and 3/4 tsp Stevia powder and added 1/2 cup of creamy salted Whole Foods brand peanut butter instead of butter. They are so yummy! I haven’t had a peanut butter cookie in at least 6 years! What a treat!
Celeste says
For those of you who want a great gluten free peanut butter cookie, try this
1 c peanut butter
1 c sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
mix all together in a bowl. roll dough into balls the size of walnuts. place on baking sheet lined with parchment. with fork dipped in sugar make crisscross on top of each cookie. bake at 350 for 12 minutes. cool slightly on pan before removing. makes great ice cream sandwich cookies.
Enjoy!!
Jane Bowen says
that sounds yum!