Almond Cookies
Almond Cookies are a melt in your mouth almond cookies with an almond glaze made with simple ingredients. My mother-in-law makes this dessert every year and we always look forward to eating them right out of the oven.
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ALMOND COOKIES
My mother-in-law introduced me to these Almond Cookies which are a recipe from her good friend.
When I think Almond cookie recipe, I have to admit I am not immediately jumping for joy but these suckers proved me wrong. These are similar but not quite the traditional Chinese almond cookies cookies made for the Chinese New Year for good fortune.
They melt in your mouth. They are supposed to be smaller and thicker almost like a thick Checker but this batch was a bit larger.
They’re kind of almond shortbread cookie with a sweet almond glaze. They are addicting with lots of almond flavor. You know I love almond anything like these Almond Roca Bars.
The secret to these Almond Cookies is to follow the instructions exactly (adding the flour 2 tablespoons at a time). Also add a sliced almond on top and then drizzle the glaze.
WHY ISN’T THERE AN EGG IN THE RECIPE?
As with most shortbread cookies, an egg is not part of the ingredients.
TROUBLESHOOTING
Why do I have flat cookies?
- This could be because your butter is not cold enough. If you use room temperature butter they will be flat. One of the main ingredients is butter so if it’s not at the right temp, the cookies won’t be right.
- Make sure to add 2 tablespoons of flour at a time in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. This allows the dough form to come together.
OTHER COOKIE RECIPES:
- The Best Snickerdoodle Recipe
- White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
- Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
- My Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Monster Cookies
- No-Bake Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- S’mores Cookies
- Soft Sugar Cookie
Almond Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, soft but cold (you can make a thumbprint in it)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 degrees f and line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer cream the butter, sugar, and almond extract. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients: the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture 2 Tablespoons at a time to the butter mixture until completely combined (important!!)
- Roll cookie dough into small 1-inch balls and flatten slightly. They should look like a thick checker. Cook for 7 minutes (they will not look done) at 400 degrees on a parchment lined pan. Cool cookies until they are just warm and place a few almond slices on top of each cookie.
- For the glaze: Combine powdered sugar, almond extract, and water. Drizzle a spoonful of glaze on top of the almonds and cookie.
These cookies are the bomb. They are addicting.
Thank you!
I was so excited to make these and was disappointed unfortunately 😞
The cookies spread even though the butter was quite cold, the glaze was too thin and soaked into the cookies which weren’t crispy and made them soggy (I guess I could have added more powdered sugar but it was already a lot of glaze and it felt wasteful).
I was hoping the cookies would have a satisfying crisp when you bite into them but unfortunately this wasn’t the case. Not sure what I did wrong but I see that I’m not the only reviewer to have problems with the recipe, although I was hoping to be successful.
I’m considering maybe workshopping a bit, adding some cornstarch into the batter to make the dough more similar to an alfajores dough. Might help with the spreading but will likely make a softer, more crumbly cookie as opposed to crisp. Thoughts?
Shoot! I’m so sorry. Usually spreading is due to butter not being cold (but yours was) or not enough flour.
these came out very good! left in oven for 8.5 min instead of 7 min.
soft, slightly crumbly and very tasty!
i’m curious to try making these next time with the shaved almonds in the dough and with on top for more texture but so good. thank you for sharing!
i think creaming the butter & sugar is a very important part of this in the mixer!
Do the almonds go into the batter..?
Nope. They go on top!
I’ve made these in the past, and they are indeed wonderful. But my question is my dough is very loose (almost crumby). I just popped it in the fridge but I’m not sure if that will work.
It is a shortbread dough so crumbly is right
These are the best almond cookies I’ve ever tasted! Thank you for the recipe!!!
Thank you!
My cookies also came out mushy.
So easy to make. Such a delightful flavor! It’s now my favorite cookie.
A great cookie to take to shut ins that are yearning a homemade treat.
Thank you!
The cookies are very tasty.
Thank you!
Have you tried making the dough into a roll, to slice and bake when ready to bake?
I haven’t! But it would be worth a try.
Can these cookies or the cookie dough be made ahead?
Yes, absolutely!
What to do if you don’t have a paddle attachment
You can just use a regular mixer.
These were a new crowd favorite last Christmas and I cannot wait to make them again this year!! Such a simple recipe but so so good!
Thanks Kelly!
This is a fabulous, simple recipe! these cookies were a crowd pleaser. Perfect for afternoon tea!
Thank you!
The flavor is really good but cooking them for seven minutes is just not long enough. Since they’re a shortbread base, they should have a nice crumble when you bite them and instead, it’s just mushy.
mine aren’t mushy after 7 minutes
I love this recipe and am so thankful for it! I am constantly baking these cookies (almost once a week or every two weeks) for myself, my friends, even the concierge of my building! They love them too. I love the glaze so I make extra and I put it on both the bottom and top of all the cookies- it makes them extra addicting, delicious, and melt in your mouth.
Thank you!
In my case, I must have done something wrong, but I can’t figure out what. They taste amazing, so that’s not the issue; my problem was that they didn’t hold their shape in the 7-minute baking time. I pulled them out, and they had mostly flattened out; they were a little brown around the edges to boot. They actually looked sort of like mini fried eggs that had been left in the pan a couple minutes too long, lol.
The butter was cold but not hard, and I creamed the combined butter/sugar/extract for a good 4-5 minutes. I then added in the dry ingredients little by little and rolled them into 1″ balls (flattening them slightly, as instructed).
Any idea what I could have done wrong? The only thing I can think of is that, I suppose I could have used the wrong amount of baking powder, but to the best of my recollection I used the specified 1/2 tsp amount.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Shoot I’m not sure. Usually flat cookies means your butter is too soft or not enough flour
Can you freeze either the dough or cookies for a few weeks?
Yes. You totally can
A little too much almond flavoring in the glaze. Otherwise, they are delicious!
I’ve made these numerous times and everyone loves them.
Thank you Jessie!
Best cookies ever!
Easy to make and the family loved them
Thank you
So good!
Thank you!
Fabulous cookies. Really fabulous. I did color the glaze with red food coloring , green food coloring and left some white glaze to give that Christmas appearance.
I would sincerely recommend these to everyone.
yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
So good!!!!!
Thank you!
Yum!
Thank you!
I made these cookies for the first time this week. I literally had to make two more batches! Oh my, but they are delicious!! The first batch I brought to a driveway party. And the 2nd and 3rd to card nights as the cookies were the talk of the neighborhood. I did manage to save two cookies from each batch for myself. Thanks!!
So glad you liked them.
Nice, light, but very flavorful!
Thank you!
Hi Christy. I love this recipe. I can’t find how many sliced almonds to use in the ingredients list. What do you suggest?
It’s personal preference but you probably need about 1/2 cup. I just put a few almonds on each cookie.
I’ve made these before and they are absolutely delicious! I’ve recently had to cut out gluten in my diet- is it possible to substitute almond flour for the regular flour in this recipe?
Very good melt in your mouth cookie.
Very easy to make , I used a stand mixer and followed your instructions
I kept the dough in the fridge while the oven came to temperature
And used a candle votive to slightly flatten
I cut the glaze in half and drizzled on the cookies, just because I’m not a huge sweet cookie fan
These turned out great
Thanks for the recipe
You’re welcome!
Could you make this without a stand mixer? I don’t have one and the adding two tbsp at a time being so important is making me second guess if it’s a good idea to try without one
Yes you can do it with a hand mixer just fine.
OMG! Your glazed almond cookie is the absolute best. Thank you for sharing.
So glad to hear that!
I have made these many times now. The are perfect each time. My granddaughters favorite. Thanks soooo much. PJ
I made these a few days ago. They were delicious. I didn’t expect my husband to like them very much but he said they were some of the best cookies I’ve made.
Thank you!
These cookies are dangerously delicious! Followed the recipe and they turned out well! I will probably have to make more soon because they are being consumed quickly at our house!
Thank you!
These are great cookies, and a wonderful alternative to chocolate. Wonderful almond flavor and good cookie texture. Note: Almond slices should be added to the ingredients list.
Thank you!
Light buttery and just enough almond flavors. The glaze puts these cookies over the top! My husband and friend loved them!
Follow the recipe to the T
Thank you!
Light buttery and just enough almond flavors. The glaze puts these cookies over the top! My husband and friend loved them!
Can I roll the cookies into balls and freeze them? I’m making cookies for a wedding and would like to make the dough in advance.Also I’ve made these and found the dough worked better if the balls were refrigerated.
Please let me know.
Thanks,
Rita
Yes, that should work!
Waste of time. I made the batter twice- measured flour with cups the 1st time; by scale/Grams the 2nd time. Same results. Sand.
It’s a shortbread so it should have a crumbly teture.
I made this recipe. Just as written. The people who said it fell apart probably didn’t follow the directions. My butter was room temperature and I added the flour 2 tablespoons at a time which, according to the recipe, was important. If I did it again I will try it without the glaze. Bit too sweet for me but my husband loved em.
The first time I made these it was crumbly too. Turns out I accidentally used 125 grams of butter instead of 225.
i measured correctly and used cold soft butter and I put two Tablespoons in at a time but when I went to press a sugared bottom glass on them they fell apart. Now what?
They are shortbread so will kind of crack but should be baked anyway
Has anyone tried substituting gluten free flour?
I use King Arthur 1to1 gluten free flour. They turn out great. I think any gluten free 1to1 flour would work.
After I put the almonds on top do I put the glaze on while they are warm?
Yes while theyre warm
How many cookies does this recipe make?
This makes 2 dozen
My dough was a fine powder. Impossible to make into a ball. What did I do wrong?!
Same!!! The butter was “soft but cold” but the batter did NOT come together at all.
It sounds like the flour was overmeasured. Don’t pack the flour
Same here. I added more butter and they turned out cakey. Disappointing.
I love these cookies! And so does everyone I share them with. I add a 1/4 tsp of rasp jam in the center before adding the almonds and glaze. They are beautiful too. I used them for valentines day!! YUMMY 😋
Ooh delicious!
These cookies are almond perfection! I love all the almond in every part of this recipe. I served them at a holiday party and they were gone instantly. They are my new favorite. I have been asked for the recipe multiple times. Best almond cookies ever!
Awesome!
These almond cookies are delicious….my granddaughter has an egg allergy so I was thrilled to find a easy good eggless recipe.
yay!
Hi! I love these cookies and make them every year! This year I moved from Seattle to New Mexico and the elevation makes baking a little difficult. Here is the high altitude adjustment. It took me so long to figure it out that I wanted to share. Everything not listed is the same as above.
11.5 tablespoons sugar (1/2 tablespoon less than the original recipe)
2 cups and 2 tablespoon flour
Thank you!
These are hands down the best tasting cookies I have ever made!! Almond flavoring is my favorite and the amount it calls for is perfect! I definitely use a small glass to flatten and dip the bottom in sugar for each one otherwise it sticks to the glass!
I highly recommend!!
I have not made these but they look yummy! Can they be mailed and hold up?
Yes of course!
I absolutely LOVE these cookies! They are easy to make and so tasty!
These cookies are so delicious and delicate. All my neighbors and friends look forward to them as a part of our holiday cookie box each year. I do make with salted butter and then cut back on the salt in the recipe. I have found that a small shot glass or votive candle holder is perfect to flatten them out. I dip that in sugar and then flatten out the disk. I sometimes drizzle thin ribbons of dark chocolate over half of the batch to add variation. Easy and scrumptious!
Do you think I could use these for my Linzer tart as the cookie base?
Sure!
Hey I’m having trouble with these cookies. They’re not bad but are they not supposed to be crunchy? Or have some kind of crunch to them? (Aside from the almonds ofc) I follow the recipe and they always turn out chewy. Or when I mix the flour mixture to the butter mixture the dough at the end is still a little sticky and smooth. Not “dry” or however it’s supposed to be. I’m new to baking and I’m just trying to learn. Any tips or help I can get here?
Can you use salted butter and leave out the salt in the recipe?
Yes!
Does the glaze harden. I’d love to make for a cookie exchange.
Yes. It hardens. I’m making them for my cookie exchange.
Can you freeze these cookie’s
I just put a batch of these in the freezer after I ate a few of course. Delicious. I followed the recipe exactly and they came out perfect. Will be using these cookies for our library cake walk this year.
Thank you!
Yes!
Can almond flour be substituted in this recipes?
Oh my gosh these are heaven! So easy and SO delicious!!!
Thank you!
Hands down the best cookie I’ve ever made
Oh my freaking gosh! This is the best cookie I have ever made. They literally taste like I bought them from a high end bakery. The flavor of the almond is exquisite. Highly highly recommend.
Yay!!