Buttery, nutty, soft cookie goodness, these almond sugar cookies have a wonderful flavour and an almost melt-in-the-mouth texture. Adapted from my classic sugar recipe, I’ve added almond extract to the dough and an almond glaze to the top of the cookies. They’re sweet and deliciously addictive.
Try these glazed lemon cookies too.
❤️ Why you’ll love them
- Sweet, buttery and nutty.
- Very quick to make – Just mix together a simple cookie dough, roll, chill and cut.
- Great for gifting and Christmas cookie boxes.
- Make-ahead friendly – the dough can be made up to 3 days before baking.
- Freezer-friendly – in fact you can store the dough for up to 3 months in the freezer.
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Ingredients
The ingredients for these nutty cookies are few and simple. They start with a very basic sugar cookie dough and have a good hit of almond extract.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter.
- Sugar: I use caster sugar for the cookie dough but white granulated sugar will work fine. You’ll need icing sugar (powdered sugar) for the almond glaze.
- Almond extract: The nutty flavour comes from almond extract and you can add it to your taste.
- Flour: Just plain flour (all-purpose flour).
- Baking powder: This gives the cookies a little lift and texture without allowing them to spread too much.
- Meringue powder: While not absolutely necessary, meringue powder, if you can get hold of it, helps the icing dry out nicely.
How to make almond sugar cookies
These iced almond cookies are super easy to make. I use a stand-mixer for the dough, however it could be done in a mixing bowl with a handheld mixer and wooden spoon.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Butter, sugar, egg
Cream the butter and sugar together until lightened and fluffy (takes 3-4 minutes) then add the egg and almond extract and beat until combined. You’ll need to scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time.
2. Add the dry ingredients
Now add the flour and baking powder and beat until just combined into a thick but soft dough.
3. Chill the dough
Cut the dough into two portions and roll each one out between two sheets of baking paper (a little flour dusted on top of the dough keeps the dough smooth once you peel away the paper). Chill the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge (or up to 3 days if you want to make it in advance).
4. Cut the cookies
Use a cookie cutter to cut the shapes. Try to work quickly so the dough doesn’t soften – this means you can bake straight away.
5. Bake the cookies
Arrange the almond cookie dough rounds about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet and bake for around 9 minutes or until just beginning to turn the lightest shade of golden on the sides. You can bake them longer until they’re truly golden around the edge if you want a cookie with a crispy edge and more buttery flavour.
6. Ice the cookies
Once the cookies are cool, simply mix the icing ingredients and dip each cookie top into the almond icing, scraping away any excess. Place them on a wire rack until the tops have dried out a bit.
Tips and Tricks
- Room temperature ingredients: Ensure the butter has softened and the egg is at room temperature before you start.
- Weigh ingredients like flour and sugar for the best results. The way you measure into cups may be different to me and it can result in too much, giving you a dry dough.
- Don’t overmix the cookie dough or you’ll end up with tough biscuits.
- Don’t skip chilling: Chilling is needed so the dough is firmer and the cookies will keep their shape better in the oven.
- All ovens vary, so I always recommend just baking off 1-2 cookies as a test, then adjust your timing to suit the results.
Storage
The dough for these almond cookies can be made and chilled for up to 3 days before baking. It also freezes well, either as a block of dough or cut into cookie shapes, for up to 3 months. If freezing it as cut cookies, first place them on a single layer on a tray in the freezer until solid, then transfer to an airtight freezer-safe container.
Store your baked iced almond cookies in an airtight container in the pantry for 4-5 days. They can be frozen too and retain a lovely texture after they’ve thawed. Freeze for up to 3 months.
More recipes you’ll love
- Almond coconut cookies
- Orange almond crescent cookies
- Baci di dama (Italian almond shortbread)
- Glazed lemon cookies
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Ingredients
- 225 g unsalted butter softened (1 cup / 2 sticks)
- 1 cup caster sugar or white granulated sugar (200g/7oz)
- 1 large egg room temp
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 325 g plain flour (all-purp flour) (2 ½ cups)
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- flaked almonds to decorate
FOR THE ROYAL ICING
- 2 cups icing sugar (powdered sugar) (260g/~9 ¼oz)
- 2-2½ tablespoons water (notes 1)
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 teaspoons meringue powder optional
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- stand mixer or electric handheld beater
- cookie cutters
- Baking sheets.
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium for 3-4 minutes until it looks light and creamy. Scrape down the sides a couple of times during the process.
- Add the egg and 2 tsp almond extract and beat on low speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides if you need to help it come together.
- Add the flour and scatter over the baking powder evenly. Pulse until it starts to come together so the flour doesn’t fly up everywhere, then beat on low, until it’s just incorporated. Careful not to overmix.
- Take the dough out of the mixer and shape into two flat disks.
- Place one piece of dough onto a sheet of baking paper, dust with a little flour and place another sheet of baking paper on top. Roll out to about 6mm thick (¼ inch). You can repeat this step with the other portion of dough or freeze that one for another time, wrapped well in plastic wrap.
- Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes (or up to 3 days) or freeze for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan forced) / 350F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
- Working quickly to prevent the dough from softening too much, peel the top layer of baking paper away from the dough and use a 5cm round fluted cookie cutter to cut out as many cookies from each piece of dough as possible.You can reroll and chill the dough as you need to. You can use any shape or size cookie cutter you like.
- Transfer the shapes to the lined baking sheets. You can bake straight away as long as the dough still feels cold and firm or chill for another 10 minutes.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes until just beginning to turn the palest golden on the edges and underneath. The tops will still be very pale but matt and they’ll firm up a little as they cool.
- Let them cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before icing.
- FOR THE ALMOND ICING: Add the icing sugar, meringue powder (if using) and almond extract to a medium mixing bowl.
- Add 1 tablespoon of water and whisk a little. Add more, 1 teaspoon at a time, mixing after each addition, until the mixture has a consistency where it settles smoothly in 10-12 seconds.
- Dip the top of each cookie into the icing, scrape a little on the side of the bowl, then turn, icing side up, onto the wire rack. Lift and drop the cookie gently (only about 1cm) to smooth out and level the surface of the icing. You can also just drizzle the icing over the top. Let them set a little before serving. If the icing isn't sticking to the cookies, just mix in a few drops of water and try again.
- After icing 6-8 cookies, top them with a couple of flaked almonds.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- Meringue powder helps the icing to set a bit firmer / drier but is not necessary if you can’t get it.
- All ovens vary, so I always recommend just baking off 1-2 cookies as a test, then adjust your timing to suit the results.
- This recipe makes 48 cookies but if you don’t want to make them all at once, you can freeze some of the batch for later. An easy way to do this is to freeze one half of the dough once it’s made. Or go ahead and cut all the cookies, then freeze half of them. To freeze the already cut cookies, cover a baking tray with baking paper then lay the cookie dough shapes in a single layer on top. Freeze until solid, then transfer to an airtight container or ziplock bag. You can then bake them at will.
- You can roll the dough thinner if you’d like to get more cookies from one batch but take care with the baking time. You might also need additional icing.
- You can use any shape or size cookie cutter however the quantity, baking time and nutritional information here is based on getting 48 cookies from the dough each around 21g (¾ oz) each.
- You can add sprinkles to the top of each cookie after you’ve added the icing if you like. Or you can colour some icing to add a decorative icing topping.
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2 Comments on “Almond Sugar Cookies”
Made these as my Christmas biscuits, great hit (actually had to ration them as some family members a little too greedy :))
Oh Jan, I’m so happy you all love them. Thanks so much for dropping back to leave a review.