This Spanish Almond Cookie recipe is almost too good to be true. With just almonds, sugar, eggs, and lemon zest you can create these melt-in-your-mouth almond cookies in under 30 minutes. They're naturally gluten-free and dairy-free and have an irresistible chewy texture and toasted almond flavor.
Whether you're looking for a healthier cookie, a great gluten-free dessert, a flourless and non-dairy cookie for Passover, or you're simply craving a quick and delicious treat, these Spanish Almond Cookies are destined to become a new favorite.
What I love about these almond cookies
These cookies are a revelation! Made primarily from almonds, almendrados are naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, and surprisingly simple to whip up. They're a treat you can feel good about—packed with protein, relatively low in carbs, and free of unhealthy fats. But the best part? They're absolutely delicious!
They bake up crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, with fresh toasted almond flavor and a hint of lemon zest - yum!
Let me show you how to make them.
Ingredients
Let's make these Almond Cookies!
Here's a walk-through of the recipe with photos.
Add the blanched almonds to the bowl of a food processor and process for 15-20 seconds, until you have a coarse flour. Then add the rest of the ingredients - sugar, lemon zest, egg and salt and pulse several times, until the dough forms.
Once the dough becomes sticky and holds together, transfer it to a bowl and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
To form the cookies, pull out about a tablespoon of dough at a time, roll it into a ball and place it on the cookie sheet, keeping some space between the dough balls. Gently press a roasted almond into each dough ball.
Bake the cookies for 14 minutes or until lightly colored on the undersides but still slightly soft. They will harden as they cool and you actually want them to be a little soft and chewy.
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Allow the cookies to cool completely and then enjoy them!
I've had lots of commenters curious about how to use almond flour in this recipe so here's the scoop.
Frequently Asked Questions About Almond Flour Cookies
Almond flour is made from pure almonds that are blanched (boiled in water) to remove their skins and then ground into a fine flour. Almond flour is a popular substitute for wheat flour in baking. It's gluten-free, low in carbs, packed with fiber, protein and nutrients, and has a mild sweet flavor.
While almond meal and almond flour are both made from ground almonds, they differ in texture. Almond flour is made from blanched almonds with skins removed, ground into a fine, light texture. Almond meal uses whole almonds, skins included, ground to a coarser textured flour with visible brown flecks.
You can technically substitute almond meal for almond flour in a 1:1 ratio, however the texture of your baked goods will differ depending on which you use. Almond flour, made from blanched almonds (skins removed), gives baked goods a smooth, delicate texture. Almond meal, made from whole almonds (skins included), imparts a coarser, more rustic texture, similar to whole-grain flour.
If you want to take these cookies to even higher heights of delicious, make homemade toasted almonds and use them to top your Almendrados!
These delightful Spanish almond cookies have a beautiful chewy texture and are bursting with toasted almond flavor. Because they're gluten-free and dairy-free, they're a treat everyone can enjoy. If you make these I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and comment. I'd love to know what you think!
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Spanish Almond Cookies (Almendrados)
- Total Time: 26 mins
- Yield: About 24 cookies 1x
Description
These melt-in-your-mouth Spanish Almond cookies are almost too good to be true. They have just 4 ingredients, they're ready in under 30 minutes, they're naturally gluten free and dairy free, and their toasted almond flavor with a hint of lemon is irresistible!
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched slivered almonds (note 1)
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- Zest from 1 lemon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 24 roasted salted almonds to top cookies (note 2)
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Instructions
- Set an oven rack in the center position. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Put almonds in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Process for 15-20 seconds or until they are finely ground. Add the sugar, egg, lemon and salt to the bowl of the food processor and pulse 20-25 times, until the mixture becomes sticky and holds together.
- To form the cookies, pull out about a tablespoon of dough at a time. Squeeze it in your hand and then roll it into a ball and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough. You should get about 24 balls. Gently press a whole roasted almond down into the center of each ball.
- Bake for 14 minutes or until cookies have a hint of color on the underside. Don't worry if they're soft to the touch. They will harden as they cool and you actually want them to be a little chewy. Cool cookies on pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and store in an airtight container.
Notes
- If you want to make these cookies with almond flour, substitute 2½ cups of almond flour for the 2 cups blanched slivered almonds.
- For extra special flavor and crunch, make these homemade roasted almonds and use them to decorate your almond cookies.
- Nutrition Disclaimer: We do our best to provide accurate nutrition values using an online nutrition calculator; however our nutrition information should be used only as an approximation.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 16 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Spanish
This recipe post was first published on March 24, 2014. I have reviewed this recipe and retested it using almond flour in place of blanched almonds. I updated this recipe to include how to make these cookies with almond flour. I've enhanced the post with process shots to illustrate the steps of this recipe, and I added an FAQ section to address questions about how to use almond flour in baking. Same delicious recipe!
My favorite cookies are sugar cookies. I have begun to make them with honey instead of white sugar to be a little healthier.
I love shortbread cookies and they are not really healthy and I feel if I am going to eat a treat it should be a good one.
I like Oatmeal and Raisin cookies as well as gingersnaps and sugar cookies. I can't think of a particularly healthy cookie right off ....
my fav cookies are snickerdoodles!
Maybe not the healthiest cookie but we love Oatmeal Raisin
I love shortbread cookies made from real butter. I was quite intrigued with this recipe because it's flourless. And the 'from Spain' entices me too. A little teeny mini-vacation---
My favorite cookies are my own recipe for oatmeal cookies with diced dried apricots, dried cranberries and toasted pecans.
love my oatmeal cookies, just halve the sugar in recipe.
toooo many favorite cookies. They're the easiest things to make for last minute company! I like these almond pillow cookies that are made with almond paste (yum). I also like just making brown sugar cookies with walnuts- basically chocolate chips minus the chips. And i sub in half whole wheat flour/half almond flour instead of all purpose, and switch out the white sugar for honey
lOVE this for my glutten free hubby
Can you use almond meal instead of grinding up almonds?
Yes! Almond meal, almond flour and ground almonds are all the same. Check the ingredients on your bag of almond meal to make sure, but the almond meal I've used, such as Bob's Red Mill, are simply ground almonds.
How much almond meal would you use? 1 Cup?
I would use 1 3/4 cups almond meal.
Thank you that is what I was looking for. Going to start straight away- have lunch with friends, need something nice! Lost my own recipe whilst moving house.
I love these cream cheese cookies my mom makes that are filled with cherry preserves and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
I make my daughtet oatmeal "cookies" with just a couple of ingredients: Oats, banana and raisins, almonds or chocolate chips mix them all up, drop them into the oven and then bake. super healthy and delish for a 4 year old, and better than from a box or bag 🙂
I love my mom's chocolate chip cookies!!!! Classic and hard to beat with a glass of ice cold milk!
These look wonderful! They sound like just the thing for my son-in-law. They don't sound too sweet either. I already subscribe to your post via email, and I don't do tweets, Pinterest, etc. I don't see how to enter your contest by just commenting.
I have made several of your recipes, and can't wait to try the pain au chocolat. I went to Trader Joe's to buy the puff pastry and they only carry it during the holidays, so I'll have to go to another store to get some.
Thanks for your intriguing recipes.
Hi Eileen, I just added a "leave a comment" option for entering the contest. Thanks for your kind words and I really appreciate your suggestion regarding the contest. Lisa
AND Gluten free!!! Awesome:))