Almond cookies

Buttery with crunchy edges, these almond cookies with chocolate glaze are made with almond extract and sweet almonds. These delicious slice-and-bake cookies are perfect for satisfying your sweet tooth.

Why you should try these almond cookies

• Prominent almond flavor. The combination of almond extract and slivered almonds in the dough creates a deliciously nutty and aromatic flavor that you will love.
• Made with crunchy almonds. The almonds add texture to the soft and buttery cookie base, creating a perfect balance between smoothness and crunchiness. 
• Make the dough and freeze it for later. One great advantage of this almond cookie recipe is that you can make the dough in advance and freeze it for later use. Simply shape the dough into a log, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, and store it in the freezer. When you're ready to bake, there's no need to thaw the dough! Simply slice it into individual cookies and pop them in the oven. This allows you to enjoy freshly baked almond cookies whenever you desire. And if you’re looking for more recipes like this one, you should check out my Strawberry shortbread cookies.

How to make slivered almonds at home

If you can't find slivered almonds in your local store, you can easily make them at home. In fact, it's quite simple! All you need to do is soak whole almonds in boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Then, peel off the skin and cut each nut into thin slivers. For my almond cookie recipe, I typically cut each nut into 3-4 slivers, but you can make them thinner if desired.

Other ingredients you will need

• Flour – Use all-purpose flour or pastry flour to make this easy cookie recipe.
• Salt
• Butter 
• White granulated sugar
• Light brown sugar
• Egg yolks – If you don’t know what to do with egg whites, try to make my Meringue cookies or challenge yourself with this Mini pavlova recipe.
• Almond extract
• Chocolate – I switch between semi-sweet chocolate and milk chocolate when it comes to cookie decor. You can also drizzle the chocolate over the cookies like I did with my Valentine cookies.

Cooking tips

• Weigh all ingredients using a kitchen scale. I always recommend using a digital kitchen scale to weigh ingredients for your baking projects, and this almond cookie recipe is no exception. Too much flour or too few egg yolks or butter will make your cookie dough too dry to come together, so make sure you use reliable measuring equipment.
• Chill the dough well. After shaping the cookie dough into a log, it's important to chill it thoroughly. This step allows the butter to solidify, resulting in cookies that maintain their shape and prevent excessive spreading during baking. It's ideal to refrigerate the dough until it becomes firm, which can take anywhere from 30 minutes in a freezer to one hour in the fridge.
• Use a serrated knife to slice through the dough. When it's time to slice the chilled dough into individual cookies, using a serrated knife is the key to beautiful-looking cookies. The serrated edge helps to cleanly cut through the dough without pulling out the silvered almonds. This ensures that each cookie maintains its shape and appearance.
• Apply chocolate on completely cooled cookies. If you choose to add a chocolate decoration to your almond cookies, it's crucial to apply the chocolate only when the cookies have completely cooled. This prevents the chocolate from melting excessively and helps it to set properly. 

Step by step directions

Making the cookie dough

1. In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Set aside.
2. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter, white and brown sugar. Beat until smooth.
3. Add the egg yolks and almond extract and beat to combine.
4. Add the dry ingredients and almonds, and mix just until no dry ingredients are left. The dough will be crumbly, but it will come together when you start shaping it.

Shaping and baking almond cookies

1. Shape the dough into an 8” (20cm) log, wrap it with plastic wrap, and chill until firm. You can also store the dough in the fridge overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 355F (180C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Slice the log with a serrated knife into 16 slices approximately ¼” (⅔ cm) thick. Make sure you slice through the almonds without pulling them out of the dough.
4. Place the slices on the baking sheet leaving 1” in between (bake in two batches if needed) and bake for 10 -12 minutes or until the cookies are slightly golden around the edges.
5. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool down for 10 minutes on a baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Decorating the cookies

1. Melt ⅔ of the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. 
2. Fold the rest of the chocolate and mix until it has melted and the mixture looks homogenous.
3. Dip each cookie halfway in the chocolate and shake off the excess. Place them on parchment paper to set. 

Fixing crumbly cookie dough

If it's difficult or you can't bring the dough together at all, or it falls apart completely when you slice it, you may have used too much flour or too little egg yolk and/or butter. Additionally, different brands of flour may require varying amounts of hydration to achieve the right consistency for this almond cookie recipe.

Fortunately, this problem is easy to fix by adding more butter to the dough. Start by adding one tablespoon of melted butter and mix the dough again. Check if it comes together more easily this time by squeezing a small amount in your hand. When you open your palm, you should have a piece of dough that can be lifted without falling apart. If needed, add one more tablespoon of butter and repeat the process.

Usually, 1-2 extra tablespoons of melted butter are enough to bring the dough to the right consistency.

Possible variations

• Replace almond extract with vanilla. If you like the crunch of almonds in your cookies but you are not a big fan of the almond extract flavor, you can replace it with a safe option – vanilla extract.
• Sprinkle sea salt on top of the chocolate. To add a touch of flavor complexity to your almond cookies, consider sprinkling a pinch of sea salt on top of the chocolate glaze before it has set.
• Add dried cranberries. For a fruity twist, incorporate dried cranberries into the cookie dough. Simply chop the dried cranberries into smaller pieces and mix them into the dough before shaping, slicing, and baking the cookies.

FAQ

More cookie recipes you may like

Matcha cookies

White chocolate macadamia nut cookies

Chocolate oatmeal cookies

Recipe card

Almond cookies

Buttery with crunchy edges, these almond cookies with chocolate glaze are made with almond extract and sweet almonds. These delicious slice-and-bake cookies are perfect for satisfying your sweet tooth.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Chilling: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 16 cookies

Calories: 160kcal

Author: Anna

Equipment

• Digital kitchen scale
• Stand mixer or hand mixer and a large mixing bowl
• Plastic wrap
• Serrated knife
• Parchment paper

Ingredients

• 200 g all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 90 g unsalted butter softened but not melted
• 75 g white granulated sugar
• 75 g light brown sugar
• 2 large egg yolks 40-45g of egg yolks at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 70 g slivered almonds
• 100 g milk chocolate optional

MetricUS Customary

Instructions

For the cookies

• In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Set aside.
• In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a bowl and a hand mixer, or a bowl and a metal whisk), add the butter, white and brown sugar. Beat until smooth.
• Add the egg yolks and almond extract and beat to combine.
• Then, add the dry ingredients and almonds, and mix just until no dry ingredients are left. The dough will be very crumbly, but it will come together when you start shaping it.
• Shape the dough using your hands into an 8” (20cm) log and wrap it with plastic wrap. Let it chill until firm. You can also store the dough in the fridge overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 355F (180C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• When the dough is hard enough to cut with a serrated knife, remove from the freezer and slice it into 16 slices approximately ¼” (⅔ cm) thick. Make sure you slice through the almonds without pulling them out of the dough.
• Place the slices on the baking sheet leaving 1” in between and bake in two batches for 10 -12 minutes or until the cookies are slightly golden around the edges.
• Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool down for 10 minutes on a baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Decoration (optional)

• Place ⅔ of the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in short increments, mixing well in between, until 90% of the chocolate has melted.
• Fold the rest of the chocolate and leave it to sit on the kitchen counter for 1 minute. Then, mix until all chocolate has melted and the mixture looks homogenous.
• Dip each cookie halfway in the chocolate and shake off the excess. Place them on parchment paper to set.

Video

Notes

Store the cookies at room temperature for up to one week or freeze them for up to 2 months.

Store the cookie dough in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze it for 2 months.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Almond cookies

Serving Size

 

1 cookie

Amount per Serving

Calories

160

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

8

g

12

%

Saturated Fat

 

3

g

19

%

Trans Fat

 

0.2

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

3

g

Cholesterol

 

37

mg

12

%

Sodium

 

152

mg

7

%

Potassium

 

66

mg

2

%

Carbohydrates

 

21

g

7

%

Fiber

 

1

g

4

%

Sugar

 

10

g

11

%

Protein

 

3

g

6

%

Vitamin A

 

179

IU

4

%

Vitamin C

 

0.1

mg

0

%

Calcium

 

29

mg

3

%

Iron

 

1

mg

6

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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