Looking for a delicious and easy-to-make gluten-free cookie? Try these delightfully crunchy almond cookies made with almond flour!
It’s that time of year again, its cookie time! The holidays give me just the excuse I need to hole up in my kitchen and indulge in some baking and cookie making so hopefully you’ll join me as I make some crunchy almond cookies this week.
Although there’s clearly no shortage of delicious cookie recipes floating around the web this time of year, I’d like to call your attention for a moment to these crisp and crunchy almond cookies that make an excellent addition to the holiday cookie tin. Perfect for family gatherings, cookie exchanges, gifting or just everyday snacking, they’re easy to make and keep their crunch.
Flecked with toasted bits of almonds these gluten-free almond cookies are crisp through and through, with a melt in your mouth quality after the initial crunch. Dunked in a cup of tea or packaged up in a tin for giving they keep well for a long time making them ideal for the season. Light and not too sweet, they make a perfect end to a meal or accompaniment to an afternoon cup of tea. They’re also easy enough to make with kids who will enjoy rolling and flattening the cookies. Best of all you hardly need anything to make them.
Ingredient Notes:
(Here are a few notes about the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe. As always find the full list of ingredients and directions in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)
- Butter – Use either regular butter or palm shortening for a vegan version.
- Maple Syrup – We are using maple syrup as the sweetener for these cookies.
- Almond Extract – A hint of almond extract gives these almond cookies great flavor but you can also use vanilla if you’d prefer.
- Almond Flour – Use a blanched almond flour, not almond meal for these cookies.
- Tapioca Flour – Tapioca flour gives these cookies their light, airy and crunchy texture.
- Baking Soda – Baking soda keeps these cookies crisp.
- Sliced Almonds – Finley chopped sliced almonds are for rolling the cookies in before baking.
How to Make Crunchy Almond Cookies:
(Here are the basic steps and some helpful tips on how to make the recipe. Find the full directions in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)
- The dough comes together quickly in the food processor, just add all the ingredients except for the chopped almonds and pulse until a dough forms.
- Chill the dough for a few minutes until its firm enough to handle, then roll the dough into 12 balls.
- Roll the balls in the finely chopped almonds, coating them on all sides and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Gently flatten the balls into disks and bake until lightly golden around the edges.
Let cool completely and enjoy!
Variations:
- Use palm shortening instead of butter for a vegan version.
- Use vanilla extract or lemon extract instead of almond.
- Roll the cookies in colored sprinkles instead for a more festive look!
More Almond Flour Cookies:
Crunchy Almond Cookies
Crisp and crunchy gluten-free almond cookies that are light as air.
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons/45g butter (or palm shortening for a dairy-free, vegan version)
- 3 Tablespoons/45g maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
- ¾ cup/84g almond flour
- ½ cup/60g tapioca flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup/60g sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place all the ingredients except for the sliced almonds into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a dough forms, scraping down the sides as necessary.
- Chill dough for 10-15 minutes or until easy to handle.
- Roll dough into 24 1-inch balls.
- Finely chop sliced almonds and roll dough balls in crushed almonds. Evenly space balls onto prepared sheet pans. With a lightly greased hand gently flatten each ball into a disc.
- Place sheet pans in oven and bake for 15-17 minutes until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges.
- Let cookies cool completely on sheet pan. Cookies will harden as they cool.
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Notes
Variations:
Use vegan butter for a vegan version.
Use vanilla extract or lemon extract instead of almond extract.
Roll cookies in sugar or sprinkles instead of almonds.
Storage:
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Dietary Info:
Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Vegetarian, Egg-Free, Paleo, Refined Sugar-Free
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 100Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 50mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 1g
Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
Karen B says
I needed to use Swerve instead of the coconut sugar to stay on my diet. I don't know if this made a difference. I had trouble folding my almond flour in. It didn't mix well without deflating my egg whites. So needless to say my cookies don't look anything like the picture and they didn't quite have the texture that the recipe was going for. I probably should have beat them longer. However, they are indeed crunchy! BIG WIN! I love crunchy cookies and all the almond flour recipes I've found are more cake-like. Also, the almond flavor is very nice. I didn't have the sliced almonds. My diet doesn't allow for almonds that aren't blanched so I skipped those. The only change I would make to these to suit my own personal taste is to lower the sweetener and up the almond extract. I typically like to lower the sweetener in recipes and I LOVE almond extract.
Jasmin says
Can you think of any reason that my egg and coconut sugar didn't go thick and ribbony? I'm on my third attempt and I can't figure out why it's not working for me!
Sylvie says
If some egg yolk gets into the mix accidentally it could prevent the whites from whipping up correctly or if the bowl or utensils have any leftover oil on them that could happen as well. The only other thing I can think of is that the egg white wasn't at room temperature or that the beaters weren't reaching the mixture properly since there's not very much of it in order to beat it correctly. Were you using a hand mixer or a stand mixer?
Carrie says
I know if I get a recipe from your site, it will be great. This recipe did not disappoint! In fact, it was amazing. Not even as a paleo recipe, but as a recipe, PERIOD. These cookies were amazing. Simply delicious and so easy. Easily my new absolute favorite cookie recipe. Thank you so much!
Sylvie says
Thanks Carrie, that's the best kind of compliment!
Erica says
Hello! Your cookies look great! I am a trying out gf and almond meal cookies and they tend to get soggy after a few hours and not stay crisp. Do yours stay crisp? Thanks so much!!
Sylvie says
Yes these are crunchy and stay crunchy thanks to the beaten egg whites.