These Italian Almond Cookies are a soft cut out cookie, fast and easy to make. Made with only 6 ingredients they make a nice addition to your Holiday Cookie tray.
Italian Almond Cookies
Italian Almond CookiesItalians love two things in their sweets, lemons and almonds. And a dusting of icing sugar doesn’t hurt either.
This year I decided to share one of the Italian’s favourite Christmas Cookies, Almond Cookies, plain and simple.
These cookies are a little like a buttery shortbread but with that extra taste of almond.
The perfect cut out cookie. And the best thing? You need just one bowl and a fork. And don’t forget to knead, this dough doesn’t come together in two seconds. A few minutes of kneading time is required!
Or you could always use a Food Processor!
Dough Ingredients
Cut out Cookies ready for baking
How to make Italian Almond Cookies
- In a large bowl whisk together the all purpose flour, almond flour (please note almond flour not ground almonds or chopped) and sugar.
- then add the egg yolk, butter and vanilla, mix together with a fork.
- When almost combined move to a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball, you may need to knead a bit to bring it together, but it does come together.
- Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.
- Remove the dough from the fridge, again on a lightly floured surface, roll into a 1/4 inch rectangle.
- Cut out cookies using your favourite cut outs.
- Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for approximately 6 minutes.
- Do not let the cookies brown!
- Let cool completely and then sprinkle with a generous amount of powdered sugar.
How to freeze Almond Cookies and How long will they keep
I would reccommend freezing the cookies without the powdered sugar. Place the cookies in a single layer between parchment paper, be sure to store in an air tight container or a freezer bag.
Cookies will last up to 3 months in the freezer.
If you aren’t going to freeze the cookies then store them in an airtight container and they should last up to 5 days.
Almond Cookies
How to make Almond Flour
I use blanched almonds to make my Almond Flour, place about 1/4 cup of almonds at a time in a food processor and pulse until powdered (like flour), remove to a clean jar and continue until all almonds are ground.
The Almond Flour should be stored in a cool dark place and in an air tight container (a Mason Jar for example). It will keep for up to a year.
Almond flour isn’t a type of milled flour, it is just finely ground almonds.
More Delicious Almond Recipes
Panettone Italian Christmas Sweet Bread
So if you are starting to bake your cookies for the Holidays or just thinking about it I hope you give these Italian Almond Cookies a try. Enjoy!
Italian Almond Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon almond flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoon butter* (softened)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla**
*I use salted butter, if you use unsalted then add 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
**You can substitute with almond flavouring or use both, if you like a stronger flavour add 1 teaspoon.
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together the flours and sugar then make a well in the middle and add the egg yolk, butter and vanilla, mix with a fork until almost combined. This dough is also very easy to make with a Food Processor.
- Move to a lightly floured flat surface and knead into a compact ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 F (180C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and on a lightly floured flat surface roll into a 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick rectangle, with your favourite cookie cutter cut out cookies (I used mini cutters and got a lot of cookies, the first photo I used a medium round cutter and I got 15 cookies).
- Place cookies on prepared cookie sheet and bake for approximately 6 minutes (for mini cookies) approximately 8 - 10 minutes for larger. Do not let the cookies brown. Let cool on cookie sheet, then dust with powdered / icing sugar. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Dorinda says
Made these in a food processor and it comes together beautifully. I used both almond and vanilla extracts. Very good flavor. I’m sending them as a gift. I’m sure they will enjoy them!
Rosemary says
Hi Dorinda, thanks so much, I hope they enjoy them also. Take care.
Allison says
These were great! I did almond instead of vanilla and loved the flavor! My only issue was they are fragile/break easily. Is there someway to combat that? Thanks!
Stephie Scaturchio says
Sooooo good!!! And easy to make. Another great recipe. Thank you !!
Rosemary says
Thanks Stephie, glad you like them.
Elsa says
Just made these for a cookie party and they are pretty and delicious! They do take a little longer to knead than your average sugar cookie but it’s a relatively easy cookie to make. I didn’t taste too much of almond, but that could be because of the brand of flour I used. Thank you for sharing!
Rosemary says
Hi Elsa, thanks so much, next time try adding a 1/2 teaspoon of almond flavouring it you want. Glad you enjoyed them. Have a wonderful Holiday Season.
Laurie says
These cookies are magnificent!! They are very easy to make and are truly delicious. The dough was not crumbly for me and seemed to be very easy to work with. I am not usually a fan of powered sugar but a light dusting worked well.
Rosemary says
Hi Laurie, thanks so much, yes I make them often and it comes together, I think you just need a little elbow grease as they say. Have a wonderful Holiday Season.
Tonya says
Hello!
I made these today and they are delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Rosemary says
Hi Tonya, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed them.
Claudia Phillips says
I made these cookies today and they were really good. Not too sweet which is what I like. I used almond extract instead of vanilla because I love almond flavor. After reading the other comments I decided to use my food processor to make the dough. It worked really well. Although the dough was somewhat crumbly it was not hard to work with. These cookies would go really well with a cup of coffee or tea. I’ll make them again.
Rosemary says
Hi Claudia, thanks so much so glad you like them, and the crumbly is interesting, since it is never crumbly for me, I am going to have to investigate this. Happy New Year.
Becky says
They turned out great for me! Might be one of my favorite new Christmas cookie recipes. Thank you! Oh and I used Krusteaz brand almond flour. A little pricey, but worth it I think! Merry Christmas! 🎄
Rosemary says
Hi Becky glad to hear it worked and you like them. Merry Christmas.
Ellen says
Hello Rosemary, I must say this recipe is definitely not for the inexperienced baker.I’m not sure they should be titled as fast and easy. The dough was not very easy to work with, it takes some time and patience getting it together into a ball to refrigerate. I was concerned about flavor so I added 1/8-1/4 tsp. of almond extract and am very happy I did. I really do like the cookie but am not sure if I will make them again. Rosemary would you consider posting a video of you making the dough, it may help everyone with making it.
Rosemary says
Hi Ellen, just to let you know I posted a video and it came together fine for me. Sorry you had a problem with it.
Janice says
Could we frost these using a sugar cookie icing?
Rosemary says
Hi Janice, that sounds like a good idea. Let me know how it goes.
LaLa says
The dough was crumbly, never congealed fully after 8 hours in the refrigerator. I used the warmth of my hands, but it was a mess. Little to no taste and were extremely fragile. Disappointing.
Rosemary says
Hi Lala, Im sorry the cookie didn’t work for you, but when I got your comment, the first thing I did was remake the recipe, because I take my recipes and my blog very seriously and I need to make sure that it does in fact work. And if you look at the first photo in the post those are the cookies I remade. So the dough works and comes together perfectly. I think that you used ground (finely chopped) almonds and not almond flour. 🙂
Christine says
Hi,
I had the same experience as LaLa. I used almond flour, not crushed almonds. I added more butter and it was better but still more difficult to work with than I’d like.
Rosemary says
Hi Christine, well I have no idea why, I did a video I have made them numerous times, unless you all aren’t kneading it long enough. 🙂
Cheri says
Hi Lala, my experience with crumbly dough was similar to yours. I added an egg white and it became soft and sticky. Also added almond extract and some lemon zest. This batch I rolled into a ball. Next one I’ll roll and cut out shapes. Hope this helps.
Rosemary says
Hi Cheri, I am at a total loss on why there is so much trouble with this dough, I have made it a number of times and it always comes together. Are you measuring your flour by spooning it into the cup measurement and then levelling it off with a knife? Because if you scoop it, you usually end up with more flour. Let me know.
Rose K says
Hi Rosemary, I am confused by the flour measurement. You list 1 cup AP flour at 140 grams which is consistent with the dip & sweep method, but in the reply above you advise to measure the flour by the spoon & level method which yields a lighter amount between 120 to 125g. Do you measure the flour by volume & if so, which method or do you weigh the flour using 140 grams as listed?
Rosemary says
Hi Rose, I just reweighed it right now, using the spoon and level method and I got 138 grams, I have never ever gotten a weight of 120-125 grams for a cup of flour. So I don’t know.
Elsa says
Cheri, how long did you bake them for when you rolled them into balls?
Nicole says
Should almond flour or all purpose flour be used for this recipe? I saw instructions on how to make almond flour, but the recipe calls for all purpose. They look delicious!
Rosemary says
Hi Nicole, there’s actually both all purpose and almond flour in the recipe. Thanks I hope you like them. 🙂