Keto Gingerbread Biscuits (Easy Low-Carb Biscuits)
These keto gingerbread biscuits are spiced gingerbread men made with Groovy Keto Gingerbread Mix, an egg and butter, then piped with a simple powdered monk fruit and erythritol icing. Each biscuit has 1.0g net carbs and no added sugar. A batch of 14 takes 57 minutes, including 20 minutes chilling, plus cooling and setting time.
If you've been looking for easy keto biscuits for Christmas, or a sugar free gingerbread alternative the whole family can decorate, these are for you. They follow the method behind the most popular keto gingerbread men recipes: a spiced almond flour dough, rolled between baking paper, cut into shapes and finished with piped white icing. Our twist is to start from our ready-spiced gingerbread mix, chill the dough so the shapes stay sharp, and make the icing with just powdered sweetener and lemon juice, so there's no meringue powder to hunt down. To find out more about the sweeteners we bake with, see our guide to erythritol vs stevia.
What we used: Groovy Keto Gingerbread Mix for the biscuits and Groovy Keto Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener for the icing. Short on time? Our Keto Gingerbread Mug Cake Mix gives you a warm gingerbread treat in 60 seconds.
Keto Gingerbread Mix
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Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener
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Keto Gingerbread Mug Cake Mix
View productKeto Gingerbread Biscuits (Easy Low-Carb Biscuits)
- Prep time25 min + 20 min chill
- Cook time12 minutes
- Total time57 min
- Makes14 gingerbread biscuits
- Net carbs1.0g per biscuit
Ingredients
- 1 pack (255g) Groovy Keto Gingerbread Mix
- 1 large egg
- 80g unsalted butter, melted
- 40g Groovy Keto powdered monk fruit and erythritol sweetener, for the icing
- 2 tsp (10ml) fresh lemon juice, for the icing
You will also need two baking trays, baking paper, a rolling pin, a 10cm gingerbread man cutter and a piping bag (or a freezer bag).
Method
- Melt the butter. Melt the butter in a small pan over a low heat or in the microwave, then leave it to cool for 5 minutes so it doesn't scramble the egg.
- Mix the egg and butter. Crack the egg into a large bowl, pour in the melted butter and whisk with a fork or a small whisk until smooth.
- Add the gingerbread mix. Tip in the whole pack of gingerbread mix and stir with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a soft dough, then bring it into a ball with your hands.
- Chill the dough. Flatten the ball into a thick disc between two sheets of baking paper and chill it in the fridge for 20 minutes, so it rolls out cleanly. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas mark 4) and line two baking trays with baking paper.
- Roll it out. Keeping the dough between the two sheets of baking paper, roll it out to about 6mm thick.
- Cut the gingerbread men. Peel off the top sheet of paper and cut out shapes with a 10cm gingerbread man cutter. Lift them onto the lined trays with a palette knife, leaving about 2cm between each one. Gather the scraps, roll them out again between the paper and keep cutting until you have 14 biscuits.
- Bake. Bake on the middle shelf for 10–12 minutes, until golden brown at the edges and firm to the touch. Thinner biscuits bake faster, so check them after 9 minutes.
- Cool completely. Leave the biscuits on the trays for 10 minutes, as they are soft while hot, then move them to a wire rack and leave them for about 30 minutes, until completely cool.
- Make the icing. Sift the powdered sweetener into a small bowl and stir in the lemon juice ½ tsp at a time, until you have a thick, smooth icing that holds its shape when piped.
- Decorate. Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a small round nozzle, or a freezer bag with a tiny corner snipped off. Pipe on eyes, a smile, buttons and zigzags, then leave the icing to set for 30 minutes.
Tips for the best keto gingerbread biscuits
- Don't skip the chill. Made with melted butter, the dough is soft at first. Twenty minutes in the fridge makes it much easier to roll and helps the gingerbread men keep their arms and legs in the oven.
- Roll between baking paper. Almond flour dough sticks to worktops and rolling pins, so keep it between two sheets. If it gets soft while you're cutting, slide the whole sheet onto a tray and chill it for 10 minutes.
- Watch the colour. Almond flour bakes brown quickly, so take the biscuits out as soon as the edges are golden. They firm up as they cool.
- Get the icing thick. Add the lemon juice slowly. The icing should be about as thick as toothpaste, as runny icing spreads and won't hold neat lines. Our guide to what to use instead of icing sugar explains why erythritol-based powdered sweeteners set best.
- Make it your own. Add the finely grated zest of half an orange with the egg for a festive citrus note (not included in the nutrition), or cut stars and hearts to hang on the tree with a ribbon through a hole made before baking.
- Biscuit and a brew. These are lovely dunked in a cup of tea or coffee, or put them on a Christmas plate with our keto shortbread and keto mince pies.
Storage
Keep the iced biscuits in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 5 days. The icing can turn slightly more crystalline after a day or two, which is normal for erythritol-based icing. To freeze, layer un-iced biscuits between sheets of baking paper in a sealed container for up to 1 month, then defrost at room temperature and decorate.
Nutrition
Per iced gingerbread biscuit (one of 14):
| Nutrient | Per biscuit |
|---|---|
| Energy | 116 kcal |
| Fat | 10.5g |
| of which saturates | 3.6g |
| Carbohydrate | 8.9g |
| of which sugars | 0.7g |
| of which polyols | 7.9g |
| Net carbs | 1.0g |
| Fibre | 3.2g |
| Protein | 2.6g |
| Salt | 0.06g |
Net carbs are carbohydrate minus polyols. On UK labels, fibre is already listed separately from carbohydrate, so it isn't subtracted again. Figures are calculated from the per-100g values on the Groovy Keto pack labels and UK (McCance and Widdowson's CoFID) food composition data, so they may differ slightly from the per-piece figure printed on the gingerbread mix pack, and will vary with the brands you use and the size of your biscuits. Excessive consumption of polyols, such as erythritol, may produce laxative effects.
Allergens: this recipe contains nuts (almonds, in the gingerbread mix), eggs and milk (butter). The gingerbread mix and powdered sweetener packs say they're made or packed in a facility where there may be traces of gluten, other nuts, cereals, milk and eggs. Always check the current pack labels before baking for anyone with an allergy.
FAQ
Are biscuits keto?
Most shop-bought biscuits are not keto, because they are made with wheat flour and sugar. Keto biscuits like these use almond flour and fibre instead of wheat, and erythritol and stevia instead of sugar, so each gingerbread biscuit has 1.0g net carbs.
How many carbs are in a keto gingerbread biscuit?
Each iced gingerbread biscuit has 1.0g net carbs, worked out as 8.9g carbohydrate minus 7.9g polyols from the sweeteners. It also has 3.2g fibre and 116 kcal.
Is this gingerbread sugar free?
It has no added sugar, but it is not completely sugar free. The almonds in the mix, the butter and the lemon juice contain natural sugars, which come to 0.7g per biscuit. If you have been searching for sugar free gingerbread, this is a low-sugar way to make it.
How do you make keto biscuits crunchy?
Roll the dough a little thinner, to about 4mm, and bake for the full 12 minutes. Then let the biscuits cool completely on a wire rack, because keto biscuits are soft while warm and only crisp up as they cool. Storing them in an airtight tin keeps them crunchy.
How long do keto gingerbread biscuits keep?
Iced biscuits keep in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 5 days. Un-iced biscuits can be frozen for up to 1 month, then defrosted at room temperature and decorated.
Can I make keto gingerbread without the mix?
Yes. Popular homemade versions use almond flour, a little coconut flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, an erythritol sweetener, butter and egg. The mix simply saves you weighing out the spices and sweetener, and gives a consistent result every time.
