Italian Almond Cookies are a twist on the Italian Pine Nut Cookies I fell in love with last year. These cookies are naturally dairy free and gluten free, with just three basic ingredients; almond paste, sugar and egg whites. The end result is truly greater than the sum of its parts.
These Italian Almond cookies are like nothing else I have ever tasted. Words hardly do them justice.
Almond Paste Cookies
Using almond paste instead of any kind of flour gives these cookies their unique texture and nutty flavor. If you’ve never cooked or baked with almond paste before you might be surprised by how thick it is at first. Before using it in this almond paste cookie recipe, you first have to break the almond paste up with a food processor. The pulse feature works great for this. Pulse it a few seconds at a time and scrape down the sides as needed. You’ll know the almond paste is ready to use in the cookie recipe when its reached a granular texture. It should resemble fine sand before you add the sugar. Look for almond paste (in a can vs in a tube) in the baking section of your favorite grocery store. Just be sure not to accidentally get marzipan or almond cake filling!
Italian Almond Cookies
Like I mentioned earlier, this cookie recipe was inspired by the Pignoli Cookies {a.k.a. Pine Nut or Pinon Cookies} I adore so much. That recipe uses a dough with an almond paste base and tops it with toasted pine nuts. I decided to take the almond paste cookie dough from that recipe, add even more almonds on top along with melted chocolate. This turned out to be an excellent idea, indeed. If you like chocolate covered almonds then I promise you will love this Italian Almond Cookie drizzled in dark chocolate. To make these cookies, take the granulated almond paste and gradually mix it with sugar. The almond mixture gets folded together with beaten egg whites then chilled. I dropped the dough by the teaspoon onto a baking tray and added slivers of sliced almonds by hand. The almond slices on top add such a delicious crunch to these cookies. Once baked and slightly cooled, each cookie gets a generous drizzle of melted chocolate. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips melted in the microwave to make this step super easy. Bittersweet and dark chocolate chips will taste excellent as well. Italian Almond Cookies are begging to be included on your holiday cookie trays. With their melt-in-your-mouth texture and incredible chocolate drizzle, these cookies are the perfect balance between light and decadent. I’ve yet to serve these cookies to anyone who’s been able to resist a second (or third . . . or fourth. . . ) cookie. Every bite of these almond cookies is better than the last. I cannot wait for you to try them! For another terrific almond treat, you’ll want to check out how easy it is to make Bostock (a.k.a. Brioche with Almonds).
Gluten Free Cookies
I’ve had wonderful success making many of my favorite baked goods gluten free over the years. Thanks to the right flour substitutes and a little tinkering, everything from my Old Fashioned Apple Crisp to my Old Fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookies have seen a delicious wheat free iteration. While I firmly believe that gluten free substitutes can be just as delicious as the “traditional” versions, I get excited when I discover a naturally gluten free dessert recipe. Italian Almond Cookies don’t require any flour at all making them safe for anyone who avoids gluten. While lots of gluten free recipes require a lengthy list of ingredients, these cookies use just FIVE. No substituting required. For more naturally gluten free recipes, check out these Monster Cookie Dough Bites and these Flourless Chocolate Turtle Cookies. On my list to try soon are these Fudgy Toffee Flourless Brownies from Mom on Time Out. You might also want to check out all of the Gluten Free Dessert Recipes on this website! {Recipe originally published 2/12/14 – recipe card updated 7/11/22}
