Almond Cookies

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

I have this terrible habit of buying the same items of clothing when I’m shopping. I walk in with the intent to get something new and my brain goes into robot mode. MUST FIND STRIPED SHIRTS/BLACK & WHITE ANYTHING/PERFECT BLACK DRESS.  Can one ever have enough striped shirts? (NO) How about the perfect black scooped-neck shirt?  I have to stop myself when I’m about to buy another black dress…It’s just that I can’t help it. I know exactly what I like/want.  If only stores carried nothing but black denim wide leg pants & striped shirts year round, I’d be all set.

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

I suppose my food cravings are pretty much the same. I love anything almondy. Here on this site you’ve seen me make granoladanishes, bars, cookies,vegan cookiest, raw cookies, caramel cornappetizers loaded with almonds. I feel like I have the same issue with almonds as I do with my striped shirt collection. NEED MORE. ALWAYS. Thank goodness almonds are good for you.

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

We enjoyed these cookies a little too much at my house. I had to freeze some and give some away because there wasn’t much stopping me from eating one after another after another. They’re nutty, sweet & fragrant with vanilla. They’re perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack with tea. I wouldn’t mind a few broken over ice cream with fresh berries. Let’s make that happen! I think on my next go-around, I’m going to add a bit of almond extract because I can’t get enough of almonds.

And we’re off!

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

First! You pulse the almonds in a food processor to make almond meal.

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

You’re supposed to go super fine, but I wanted a little almond chunks in my meal.

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

Melted butter & sugar get stirred together. An egg goes in.

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

Flour gets stirred in.

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

Flour & almond meal.

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

Here’s a weird thing. Vanilla extract at this point. I would have put it in during the egg mixture, but I followed the recipe. I wonder if they forgot about it and then when they went to stir they were like…CRAP. Vanilla. Maybe that’s just my imagination. Maybe I speak from experience…

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

Scoop out a cookie into the palm of your hand. Flatten the cookie. Put the cookie on a greased baking sheet.

REPEAT. Like… a lot.

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

Original recipe calls for three sliced almonds on top of each cookie. I got through three cookies and was like……NOOOOO WAY AM I DOING THIS FOR 20+ cookies.

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

So I took the slivered almonds and smooshed them in the center. Done deal. Time saver. Yeah baby.

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

They get baked in the oven. They cool on a rack.

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

Confectioner’s sugar enters the picture…

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

COOKIE PARTY COOKIE PARTY (Sarah Silverman reference)

Almond Cookies // shutterbean

Now…I’m off to find my next almond recipe!

Almond Cookies

makes about 36 cookies

recipe adapted from This Is A Cookbook: Recipes for Real Life

  • 1 1/2 cups whole almonds, plus sliced almonds for garnish
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
  • 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 375F. Put the almonds in a food processor and process until coarsely ground, 15-20 seconds. Stop the machine and pulse carefully until nuts are finely and uniformly ground, stirring in between pulses as needed. Work carefully, as you don’t want the nuts to turn to paste. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and melted butter and stir to mix well. Beat in the egg, then add the flour and ground almonds and mix well. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Scoop out 1 tablespoon of dough, roll it into a ball between your palms, and flatten into a round cookie. Place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart on the pan. You will need two baking sheets.

Press about a tablespoon of slivered almonds into the center of each cookie. Bake until lightly golden brown, 9-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a baking rack. Place confectioner’s sugar in a sift and sift sugar on top of cookies. Cookies will keep stored in an airtight container for up to one week.

  • Sini

    Oh yes. Yes, yes, yes.

  • Averie @ Averie Cooks

    I bet they are so fabulously addictive! I recently made a French almond cake with almond extract, too, and I wish I could have bottled the scent of that cake as perfume and I bet the same is true of your cookies!

  • Myra

    When you want more, you just want more!

  • Michelle @ FullyBellyWornSoles

    These look delicious! The minute I have a bigger kitchen, I’m investing in a food processor,

  • Jane M

    Freezing these cookies wouldn’t even help me because I’m a glutton! Wow these look so good!

    • Tracy

      And the worst part? Frozen cookies are AMAZING.

      • Kristen

        Any baked good tastes better straight from the fridge or freezer. My dad taught me this. Fig newtons from the refrigerator….Change your life.

  • Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar

    I’m happy you have an almond obsession, because I totally do too!! These look awesome!

  • Tieghan

    Love these! I bet the are so addicting and I bet the smell amazing! I would make them just to smell them!

  • Sarah

    I read your blog and listen to your podcast. We have a lot in common down to the almond-love and stripes (and batard legs but I don’t want to talk about that). The cookies look great!

    • Tracy

      Batard legs!! Let’s hope they’re fashionable one day… am i right?!

  • biobabbler

    Not only is smooshing slice almonds faster and less tedious, YOU GET MORE ALMONDS PER COOKIE!

    Went to some fancy French bakery in S.F. & the ONE thing I HAD to have was an almond croissant. Oh my HAPPINESS!

    Gotta go write “sliced almonds” onto my grocery list…. =)

    • Tracy

      I LOVE ALMOND CROISSANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      • Jenny

        Miss Tracy,
        Have you tried the Almond Croissants from Trader Joes? They come frozen. My favorite thing in the whole store. Crazy town good.

        • Tracy

          I’ve had their Almond Danish Ring. AMAZE!!! But in general…I try not to buy such things as I will each such things AND NOT SHARE.

  • Maria Tadic

    These look really good. I was surprised at how much almond is actually in there. That’s awesome! I totally can’t wait to try these…i, mean, its a healthy cookie right?!

  • Heidi

    These look delicious! I already have some almond meal in my freezer from making almond milk, how many cups of almond meal would you say go into this recipe? Would it be about the same?

  • tiffany han

    Making these tomorrow! I had something similar on a train in Italy once – they’d given one to each of us. At the end of the trip, I went through the train and picked up all of the cookies (they were individually wrapped) that the figure-conscious Italians had left behind. Yep, I was *that* girl. And I didn’t care at all!

  • Abby @ The Frosted Vegan

    I LOVE almondy things, so I’ll just eat this whole batch please and thank you!

  • Kali

    I totally bought a black and white stripped shirt yesterday and thought, “This is a Tracy Shutterbean shirt.” Totes excited about it.

  • Amy

    Our shopping woes, they are the same. Can you imagine the black striped madness if we shopped TOGETHER?

  • jamie @ green beans & grapefruit

    I’m an almond fiend as well, although never been a huge fan of the extract…has to be used in the right way (but I can tell it works in here). I’m the same way with clothing too, especially grey sweaters! I keep trying to remind myself that now I’m back in CA, color isn’t a bad thing! Thanks for posting!

  • Francesca

    COOKIE PARTY! Ha! I love that I just found the second season of her show at the $1 store. I cannot wait to make these for my mom, we’re almond fanatics over here.

  • Nelly

    May I say what a fabulous recipe! I’m making this tonight. Yes, tonight! Coz I’m an almond freak!

  • Kasey

    First of all, you can never have too many striped shirts. Second, these are my favorite, favorite kind of cookies! xo

  • Juliette

    These look great! I love that they only use 1 cup of flour, so I can pretend they’re like a protein bar. Did you use raw or roasted almonds? Do you think it would make a difference?

    • Tracy

      I used raw. I don’t think they’re make a huge difference…maybe might be a little dryer?

  • Kay

    Can you put the cookies on parchment paper or does it have to be a greased pan?

    • Tracy

      I think they should be fine on parchment. Let me know! I followed the directions cuz I’m most usually a rule follower.

  • Katie

    I too love almondy anything. If you were to add almond extract into the equation, would you substitute it for the vanilla or just add in a tsp?

    • Tracy

      I was thinking that adding 1/2 teaspoon in addition to the vanilla would be great.

  • Kay

    Oh well, the parchment paper worked just fine. Since I’m allergic to the milk protein, casein, I used vegan butter which worked OK. And for the sliced almonds on top, I used Trader Joe’s Honey Roasted sliced almonds. Wow!

  • Sarah @ The Cyclist's Wife

    These remind me of the little Asian almond cookies that came in a pink box that my mom used to buy when I was a kid! Does anyone else remember those?

  • Katy @ Katy's Kitchen

    LOL “no way am I doing that for all these cookies” – totally have done the same thing. Why oh why must recipes get to finicky sometimes? we need our cookies FAST, people! Love these little almond clouds!

  • Tara

    My problem with shopping is I find one thing I like, and then buy it in every color they have, so I pretty much wear the same outfit everyday in different color combinations.

  • Jenny

    I have some almond extract too. That would be lovely in these cookies. Bookmarking for later!

  • Jayne

    I would have done the same. Smoosh them almond slices over. Ain’t got no time for pretty! 😛

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  • Patricia Scarpin

    I’m a complete sucker for all things almondy, too, so high five! 🙂
    There must be half a dozen almond cake recipes on my blog, and I have a couple more to post (just giving the readers a breather).

    These cookies look fabulous, Tracy! I can’t wait to bake them.

  • Alison

    Made these last night. SO GOOD! And so easy! I packaged some up to bring to my co-workers today and everyone was thrilled. One person accusingly asked me why I hadn’t made these for the bake sale we had a few weeks back. (That was a weird compliment.)

    I added about 1/8 teaspoon salt to the batter to balance out some of the sweetness.

  • Stefanie @ Sarcastic Cooking

    I recently fell in love with a gluten free cookie that uses almond meal so you better believe I cannot wait to try these.

  • Aleks

    I feel strongly attracted to lemon and stripes the way you feel about almonds and stripes. I have lemon sugar in my fridge, lemon extract in my cabinet and a bowl of lemons on my counter. You’re not alone! 🙂 I rather be obsessed with my classics than moving on the next big it thing that will just be trendy.

  • Christina

    I love actual almonds but don’t really care for almond extract. Weird, right? But these cookies are def on my radar since I have some raw almonds lying around. And really, who has the time to place almond slices on dozens of cookies? Ain’t nobody got time for that!

  • Kim

    Hi Tracy,
    I think the cookies look better with the crumpled almonds on top. They are much more approachable. The three slices arranged perfectly on top remind me of the exclusive girls in high school who wore too much makeup. (Is that weird?) By the way… I’m noticing that I have been using your blog more and more these days to put together menus for dinner parties I’ve had or even just menu planning for the week So thank you! Your hard work is making my job as party planner/ dinner maker easier!!

  • Jessica

    Love, love, love almond flavor! One thing I really love is almond poppyseed, but recipes are hard to find as they’re usually always lemon poppyseed.

    Can’t wait to make these!

  • Emily

    I’m literally sitting in my kitchen about to make these however I’m sans a food processor, and using almond meal. It’s going to be a rough estimated of hopefully unfailer. If you knew how many grams your almonds came to that would be wicked!
    These cater to my almond addiction I started exactly 8.75 days ago.

    X

  • Jenny

    These cookies just came out of the oven! I tend to underbake things so my first 6 were underbaked at 8 minutes but 9-10 minutes is perfect. Be sure to flatten them more than you think. My first ones were a little raw because I did not flatten them enough so the middle was undercooked. I actually made these bigger and got 24 cookies out of the batch.

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  • Emily

    I thought you might be interested to know that I made these cookies! I photographed them here and linked you!
    http://emilyjmarthick.blog.com/2013/07/01/almond-cookies/
    I hope you like, they were positively delicious!

    Emily
    x

  • Mareike

    These are UNREAL! I never baked 36, only 28 made it out of the oven 😉

  • Caroline

    Hi,
    I found your blog and I fell in love with it. I love the receipts the photos. It’s all simple, straightforward and soooo tasty!!!
    I made last night the almond cookies together with my fiancé. They are absolutely amazing! I shared some of them with my work mates – I am a hero today!! Thank you!

  • Donna

    I’ve been making these for years at gatherings. People always rave about them and ask for the recipe. Easy to throw together and well worth all the compliments!

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