2 egg whites, from extra-large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons honey
3-4 drops almond extract
For the almond coating:
1 egg white, from an extra-large egg, room temperature
1½ cups almond slices
Optional:
icing sugar
Takes ,
serves 24.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper. Whisk the single egg white for the coating until foamy. Place it next to your work surface along with the almond slices.
Prepare the cookies: Place ground almonds, sugar, lemon zest, cherries and salt into a medium bowl. Toss to combine, then rub mixture between your fingers to break up the clusters of cherries. Set mixture aside.
Place egg whites in a medium-sized bowl with honey and almond extract and beat on high to form soft peaks.
Gently fold egg whites into the almond mixture.
Shape cookies: Take a small bit of dough in your hand and gently form the cookie mixture into small 1-inch balls. Drop the ball into the foamy egg white to coat, then drop into bowl with almond slices. Roll to coat.
Transfer cookie onto baking tray. Repeat until all cookies are formed, 24 total between the two trays.
Bake cookies: Transfer one tray at a time to oven and bake for 15 minutes or until almonds are a golden colour. Rotate tray halfway through for even baking.
To serve, present them as is or with a light dusting of icing sugar.
Note: Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Italian Almond Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
2 cups ground almond
½ cup superfine granulated sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup sun-dried cherries, finely chopped
2 egg whites, from extra-large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons honey
3-4 drops almond extract
For the almond coating:
1 egg white, from an extra-large egg, room temperature
1½ cups almond slices
Optional:
icing sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper. Whisk the single egg white for the coating until foamy. Place it next to your work surface along with the almond slices.
Prepare the cookies: Place ground almonds, sugar, lemon zest, cherries and salt into a medium bowl. Toss to combine, then rub mixture between your fingers to break up the clusters of cherries. Set mixture aside.
Place egg whites in a medium-sized bowl with honey and almond extract and beat on high to form soft peaks.
Gently fold egg whites into the almond mixture.
Shape cookies: Take a small bit of dough in your hand and gently form the cookie mixture into small 1-inch balls. Drop the ball into the foamy egg white to coat, then drop into bowl with almond slices. Roll to coat.
Transfer cookie onto baking tray. Repeat until all cookies are formed, 24 total between the two trays.
Bake cookies: Transfer one tray at a time to oven and bake for 15 minutes or until almonds are a golden colour. Rotate tray halfway through for even baking.
To serve, present them as is or with a light dusting of icing sugar.
Note: Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Italian Almond Cookies
5 / 5. 1
Almond-flavoured cookies dotted with sun-dried cherries, rolled in sliced almonds and baked golden brown…
These ITALIAN ALMOND COOKIES will become the highlight of your holiday baking tray, guaranteed!
Every once in a while a cookie comes our way that leaves us smitten from the very first bite. That’s the case with these heavenly ITALIAN ALMOND COOKIES; prepare to be absolutely taken with their toasted nutty surround, soft marzipan-like centres and memorable almond flavouring. These cookies are like no other.
Here’s why we love them so:
The standard almond cookie flavour profile is enhanced with sun-dried cherries, lemon zest and honey.
They have a soft chewy texture on the inside, reminiscent of marzipan.
Rolling the soft cookie dough in egg white and sliced almonds imparts a crunchy toasted nut taste.
And finally, wait for it… this stellar homemade cookie recipe is 100% gluten-free!
What else can we say? Here are a few additional tidbits and tips about making ITALIAN ALMOND COOKIES:
INGREDIENTS
This holiday cookie recipe gets top marks for its unusual, somewhat unexpected combination of ingredients. No need to pick up butter, flour or granulated sugar for this homemade cookie recipe. Instead, add ground almonds, sun-dried cherries, honey and sliced almonds to your shopping list. You’ll also need almond extract and superfine sugar. Despite being uncommon in a cookie recipe such as this, we were able to find them all at a local bulk food shop. Pro tip: Sometimes ground almonds are labelled in the store as almond flour or almond meal; they’re all the same.
SUN-DRIED CHERRIES
We better come clean now and let you know there are two finicky moments in this recipe, the first being chopping the sun-dried cherries. They’re sticky and thus cling to the blade of the knife, so you may need to pause and carefully run a finger along the flat of the knife to remove the stuck cherry clusters before continuing. It’s a bit tedious, but chopping the cherries into tiny bits is important.
COOKIE DOUGH
Making the cookie dough for this recipe is easy, albeit different from other recipes. To begin, we gently toss the ground almonds, chopped sun-dried cherries, lemon zest and superfine sugar together. We also suggest rubbing those ingredients together by hand, as if you’re making PIE DOUGH. This will “un-stick” the dried cherry bits. Those four ingredients give the centre of the cookies their distinctive marzipan-like flavouring. Love!
The next step is to gently dissolve honey in egg white with a few drops of almond extract, then whip the whites to soft peaks using a hand mixer. The final step is to gently fold the egg white into the almond mixture, creating a light, crumbly cookie dough. We then shape small 1-inch balls of dough either gently by hand or using two spoons. Don’t squeeze the dough to shape the balls; just gather the quantity and gently form it into a ball shape. It’s a sticky dough, so go slow.
ALMOND COATING
The second finicky part of the recipe happens when we take the balls of dough, dip them in egg white and then roll them in the sliced almonds. We tested the recipe using spoons to toss the dough balls in the egg white and then the nuts, but couldn’t get enough pressure to get the nuts to stick to the dough balls. Doing these steps by hand works better, although it is somewhat messier. You may need to wash and then go back to this step with clean hands.
OVEN-BAKED
Baking the cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheets is a simple step, but watch the cookies closely to reach the goal of a toasted rich golden brown nut coating. For best results, we suggest baking these ITALIAN ALMOND COOKIES one tray at a time. Cooling them on the trays also works; no need to transfer them to a wire rack.
SUGAR-COATED
There’s only one way to sugarcoat the ending of this cookie story; a simple dusting of icing or powdered sugar once the cookies have cooled does the trick. If baking ahead, store the cooled cookies in containers lined with parchment paper, then add the dusting of icing sugar right before you assemble them onto a Christmas cookie plate or holiday baked goods platter.
ENJOY!
These cookies are included in our HOLIDAY BAKING & CONFECTIONS COLLECTION. Click HERE to see all of the recipes we’ve deemed holiday-worthy, but truth be told, these cookies and sweets will still be well received no matter what time of year they’re served. So make and enjoy them anytime!
If you’re looking for suggestions on what cookies might go well together on a holiday baking tray, we love presenting these ITALIAN ALMOND COOKIES with our CHOCOLATE SALAMI, these vegan ORANGE BALLS, our oat-enhanced HOLIDAY SHORTBREAD COOKIES, some RUM BALLS, and of course, these fun and festive GINGERBREAD COOKIES. We know everyone will love them.
Because these cookies are so tasty, we suggest you PIN the recipe to a favourite dessert or baking board on PINTEREST or BOOKMARK this tab for easy access. SHARE it with friends so they can make it too. We’d also appreciate seeing pics of all the scrumptious baking you’re making these days. Use #weekendatthecottage when you post those pics on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks!
ITALIAN ALMOND COOKIES are a scrumptious holiday baking dream come true!
2 egg whites, from extra-large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons honey
3-4 drops almond extract
For the almond coating:
1 egg white, from an extra-large egg, room temperature
1½ cups almond slices
Optional:
icing sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper. Whisk the single egg white for the coating until foamy. Place it next to your work surface along with the almond slices.
Prepare the cookies: Place ground almonds, sugar, lemon zest, cherries and salt into a medium bowl. Toss to combine, then rub mixture between your fingers to break up the clusters of cherries. Set mixture aside.
Place egg whites in a medium-sized bowl with honey and almond extract and beat on high to form soft peaks.
Gently fold egg whites into the almond mixture.
Shape cookies: Take a small bit of dough in your hand and gently form the cookie mixture into small 1-inch balls. Drop the ball into the foamy egg white to coat, then drop into bowl with almond slices. Roll to coat.
Transfer cookie onto baking tray. Repeat until all cookies are formed, 24 total between the two trays.
Bake cookies: Transfer one tray at a time to oven and bake for 15 minutes or until almonds are a golden colour. Rotate tray halfway through for even baking.
To serve, present them as is or with a light dusting of icing sugar.
Note: Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
