Name: Paleo Zebra Cookies
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 cup almond flour; 3 tbsp. granulated monk fruit; 3 tbsp. coconut oil, melted; 1 tbsp. water; 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract; 1/8 tsp. sea salt; 1/8 tsp. nutmeg; 3/4 cup almond flour; 3 tbsp. cocoa powder; 3 tbsp. granulated monk fruit; 3 tbsp. coconut oil, melted; 1 tbsp. water; 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract; 1/8 tsp. sea salt

Paleo zebra shortbread cookies made with low carb keto ingredients & the perfect balanced buttery vanilla chocolate flavor combination.

A delicious, super fun version of paleo shortbread cookies! I love making paleo zebra cookies not only for their striking good looks but also the perfect balanced chocolate & vanilla flavor combination.

What are Zebra Cookies?

Zebra cookies are simply a rich chocolate shortbread cookie fused with a buttery vanilla shortbread. Although it’s a very simple concept, I still can’t believe I haven’t heard of zebra cookies until very recently when I was casually browsing the Bon Appetit You Tube channel. Turns out, zebra cookies deserve every bit of hype they’re given. Especially if you were anything like me and loved getting a soft serve twist at the ice cream stand every summer.

There’s something almost addictive about pairing chocolate & vanilla together. These paleo zebra cookies are no different, I could easily eat the whole batch! Who doesn’t love a sweet buttery shortbread cookie marbled with sweet dark chocolate?! To make zebra cookies, all you need to do is stack vanilla shortbread cookie dough with chocolate shortbread cookie dough. By simply rolling the stacked rectangle into a giant cookie dough log and slicing, you get the perfect zebra effect!

Paleo Shortbread Cookies!

Paleo shortbread cookies are one of the few “healthy” alternatives to the traditional shortbread cookie recipes that truly hold up. Paleo shortbread seems to turn out to be just as sweet, buttery, melt-in-your mouth delicious as their regular counterpart. By simply making a few simple paleo ingredient swaps, you’ll still get perfect shortbread cookies out of the oven, trust me!

I might even argue that almond flour is better than traditional wheat flour in shortbread cookies. Not only does almond flour add a delicious slight nutty flavor, but almond flour also adds to the light buttery mouthfeel that make shortbread cookies so delicious. I also really love making these cookies with paleo coconut oil instead of butter.

Not only does coconut oil add an incredible flavor, but I also love how it doesn’t brown as easily in the oven! I LOVE a light shortbread cookie. Monk fruit is another paleo ingredient swap I made in this recipe. Although several paleo shortbread cookies use paleo sweeteners like maple syrup or coconut sugar, I still prefer to make these paleo shortbread cookies low in sugar as well. Monk fruit is my favorite natural non-nutritive sweetener to use in recipes. Not only is it sweeter than sugar so you don’t need to use as much, but monk fruit also doesn’t seem do have any weird after taste that some other zero-sugar sweeteners have. Its a win-win!

What You’ll Need

How to Make Paleo Zebra Cookies

Step 1: In a large food processor, combine all of the ingredients needed for the vanilla shortbread cookie dough. Mix on High for about 45 seconds, until a cohesive cookie dough forms. Transfer to a bowl, wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Step 2: While the vanilla dough chills, combine all of the ingredients needed for the chocolate shortbread cookie dough in the large food processor. Mix on High for about 45 seconds, until a cohesive cookie dough forms. Transfer to a bowl, wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Step 3: After both dough mixtures are chilled, divide each cookie dough in half. Transfer to a sheet of parchment paper and roll each half into long rectangles about 12″ by 3″ in size.

Step 4: Stack the rolled sheets of shortbread cookie dough on top of each other alternating between the vanilla and chocolate mixtures. Use the parchment paper to help roll the cookie dough rectangle into a sphere.

Step 5: Slice the giant sphere of cookie dough into 24 evenly sized sections of cookie dough about 1/2 inch thick with a sharp knife. Place each slice of cookie dough on to a prepared cookie sheet lightly sprayed with coconut oil. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the bottoms are slightly golden-brown. Let them cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet & enjoy!

More of My Favorite Paleo Cookie Recipes