Keto Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Cookies

Hey guys! I’ve seen a few recipes for Keto Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Cookies, but none were as close to the OG as I wanted. Mostly inspired by ketodietforhealth.com, I whipped up these keto samoas that have real, gooey caramel, chocolate bottoms, and toasted coconut on top. Two non-keto friends loved them, so I feel like they pass the taste test.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups Almond Flour

• 3/4 cup allulose

• 6 tbsp Cold Butter, diced into chunks

• 1 Egg

• 1 tsp. Vanilla

• 1 tsp. Baking Powder

• 1 tsp. Xanthan Gum

• 4 tbsp Butter

• 6 tbsp. Heavy Cream

• 1/2 cup Allulose

• Pinch of Sea Salt

• 2 cups Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

• 9 oz Melted Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate (I used 3 Lily’s bars)

Instructions:

Toast the coconut:

Heat oven to 400 F. Places 2 cups of the coconut onto a sheet pan lined with a Silpat or parchment paper. Place in the oven for 6 minutes, shake the pan around for a bit, then place back in the oven for 4 or 5 minutes or until the coconut is toasted and fragrant. Take out of the oven and let cool.

Make the cookies:

1. In a food processor, combine the almond flour, low carb sweetener, baking powder, and xanthan gum together by pulsing until mixed.

2. Add in the diced cold butter and the vanilla. Pulse again until the mixture is no longer dry but resembles bread crumbs. Then add in the egg and pulse again until the mixture looks like thick cookie dough.

3. Dump the dough out on a long piece of parchment paper. I use the rubber spatula to create a more rectangular shape to the dough. Roll the dough up into the parchment paper for a log. Create a log that is 10″ long and twist off the sides tightly so that the dough will take the shape of the parchment paper. Place in the freezer for 45-50 minutes. If you plan on baking later (within 24 hours) refrigerate until ready to bake, then follow the freezer directions prior to baking.

4. Place in the freezer for 45-50 minutes or until solid to the touch, If you plan on baking at a later time, keep in the fridge and then place in the freezer prior to the actual bake time.

5. Once solid, remove from the freezer and with a sharp knife, slice 1/4″ cookie dough rounds off of the log. I got about 28 cookies.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place parchment paper or a Silpat onto the cookie sheet. To get the signature hole to Samoa, I used the base of a piping tip (for frosting) to cut out a 1/2″ size hole.

7. Bake for 11-13 minutes. They will just get slightly brown right at the edge and will still be soft when you remove them from the oven. You need to let them set and fully cool for them to become crispier like a classic shortbread. Cool these on the sheet pan you baked them on.

8. While they are cooling, make the caramel. In a pot over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Once the butter is lightly browned, add in the allulose and the heavy cream. Whisk until it is all combined and add a pinch of sea salt. Let it cook and bubble on medium-low heat until it reaches 235 F or is very sticky and deep caramel color, about 10 minutes (for me).

9. Melt 6 oz of the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second increments at half power until smooth and fully melted. Dip cooled cookie bottoms into the melted chocolate and place the cookies back on the sheet pan and put in the freezer for a few minutes until set.

10. Once the chocolate is set, dip the tops of the cookies into the caramel and then immediately into the toasted coconut. Shake off the excess coconut and place back on cookie sheets.

11. Melt the remaining 3 oz of chocolate and place it in a piping bag. Pipe squiggle-lines of chocolate over the tops of the cookies in the common girl scout fashion. Let set and serve!