A crisp and crunchy almond cookie that’s lighter than air.
I’ll admit to having a sweet tooth and the thought of having a little treat each day gives me something to look forward to. While most of the year I’ll happily reach for a piece of chocolate, the holidays give me just the excuse I need to hole up in my kitchen and indulge in some baking and cookie making. Hopefully you’ll indulge me as I post another cookie for you to try 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 crackly cookies with the delicate taste of almonds.
Inspired by Amaretti cookies, the traditional Italian cookies made from bitter almonds and apricot kernels that make an appearance during the holidays in festive red tins or on homemade cookie platters, these thins make an excellent addition to the holiday cookie tin.
Pale brown, flecked with toasted bits of almonds on top, these almond cookies call to mind a flatter version French macaron shells but with the heartier crunch of Italian Amaretti cookies. The whipped egg white base gives them a delicate and crisp texture through and through, creating that melt-in-your-mouth quality after the initial crunch.
Best of all, you hardly need anything to make them. Egg whites are beaten with coconut sugar until pale and creamy and then a splash of almond extract and almond flour are stirred in to create a loose, buff colored batter that that you drop by the teaspoonful onto baking sheets before hitting the oven for a long slow bake.
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.
Gluten-Free Crunchy Almond Cookies aka Amaretti Thins (Paleo)
Crisp and crunchy gluten-free almond cookies that are light as air.
Ingredients
- 1 large egg white, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup/66g coconut sugar
- ½ cup/60g blanched almond flour
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract (optional, you can also replace the almond extract with ¼ tsp of vanilla extract for a milder flavor)
- 2 Tablespoons/14g sliced almonds, light crushed with your hands
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Line two or more baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whisk together the egg white and coconut sugar in a metal bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water until the sugar dissolves and the mixtures is just barely warm to the touch. Remove from heat and continue to beat the egg and sugar mixture either with a handheld mixer or stand mixer until it increases in volume and is pale, ribbony and thickened. The mixture should be light beige and look shiny. Add in the almond extract if using.
- With a rubber spatula, fold the almond flour into the egg white mixture in three times; do this gently until well incorporated and the consistency of peanut butter.
- Use a teaspoon to spoon the batter into small rounds on the prepared baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between as the batter will spread. Top with the crushed sliced almonds.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden.
- Remove from the oven and transfer the entire sheet with the cookies to a cooling rack. Do not attempt to remove them immediately, the cookies will harden as they cool. When completely cool, remove them from the parchment and store in an airtight tin.
Notes
Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Paleo, Refined Sugar-Free
NOTE: Recipe can be doubled
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 35Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 3mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 3gProtein: 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.