Soft almond sugar cookies with icing are buttery with a strong almond flavor, crisp edges, and a chewy texture. These are easy cookies to make in one bowl, with 5 main ingredients, dairy free and ready within 15 minutes.
These soft almond sugar cookies with icing use a simple white frosting or use my egg-free vegan royal icing. This easy, buttery holiday cookie made with only a few ingredients in minutes and has a melt-in-your-mouth texture.
If you love almond flavored desserts, like my marzipan chocolates or my homemade marzipan recipe, I think you'll love this almond cookies recipe. The recipe measurements are easy to double, and it's dairy free and perfect for all diets.
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Why You'll Love These
Simple to make. You only need apple sauce, sugar, flour and a few more ingredients to make these almond cookies in just 15 minutes. No chilling required.
Delicious almond flavor. I use almond extract and almonds to impart a powerfully delicious almond flavor to these almond cookies.
No eggs, no dairy. I use apple sauce instead of eggs - pectin in apples acts as a binder as eggs do so these cookies are awesome for those on a vegan or dairy free diet. Use a gluten free flour for your gluten free friends.
Ingredients
Apple sauce - Use unsweetened. This ingredient binds the dough thanks to pectin in apples and replaces the egg traditionally found in sugar cookies. It also makes the cookie texture melt-in-your-mouth.
Flour - All-purpose flour will create the softest almond sugar cookie. Gluten free baking flour also works.
Sugar - Organic cane sugar tastes best but regular granulated sugar also works.
Butter - Use butter sticks instead of butter from a container as the latter contains more moisture. I used dairy free and vegan butter.
Leaveners - baking powder and baking soda are both needed to create the rise and fall reaction that leads to a chewy texture.
Almond extract and salt. Both are essential for these almond cookies.
Step by Step Instructions
Specific directions and measurements can be found in the recipe card in the bottom of this post. But here are the general steps:
Step 1. Use a hand mixer to cream butter and sugar for about 2 minutes. Add the apple sauce and almond extract and mix another minute.
Step 2. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture using a strainer over the bowl or just add the flour and baking soda and powder directly, either way is fine.
Step 3. Mix the batter until just combined, about 30 seconds. Don't over mix this step in the process or the cookies may come out hard.
Step 4. Scoop 1-2 tbsp-sized balls of dough, hand-roll them and line them on the prepared pan about 3 inches apart.
Bake 10-11 minutes. The middles will look soft and underdone, while the edges will be faintly browned.
Step 5. Cool the almond cookies on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Step 6. Make the frosting by mixing powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and milk. Frost with a spoon or knife, or dip. Dust with almond flour or crushed almonds!
Recipe Tips
1. Make sure the butter is at room temperature or microwave it for 10 seconds to soften.
2. Replace 2 teaspoons of all-purpose flour with almond flour if you have it for a stronger almond flavor.
3. Remove the cookies from the oven when the edges are brown but not the tops to avoid hard cookies.
4. If they are uneven circles, run a round cookie cutter around them while they are still hot.
Storage
Room temperature. Store unfrosted cookies at room temperature in a sealed container for two days.
Refrigerator. Store frosted almond cookies in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Freezer. In a sealed container, store uncooked almond cookie dough balls or baked unfrosted cookies for up to a month.
FAQS
Yes, you can freeze the unbaked cookie dough rolled in balls in a sealed container for about a month. Save unfrosted cookies in the refrigerator for two weeks or freezer for up to 3 months in a sealed container.
These almond cookies are vegan. They use apple sauce instead of an egg, and I used dairy free milk and butter. Be sure to use organic powdered sugar for the glaze because it will not have bone char and thus is vegan.
Home baked cookies often turn out too hard because of too much flour or over cooking. Measure the flour with a scale or use the fluff-and-level method - fluff the flour with a fork in the bag, spoon it into measuring cup, level with a knife.
Yes, you can eat them plain, they are delicious and full of flavor, just like an almond butter cookie!
Other Healthy Cozy Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Soft Almond Sugar Cookies with Icing
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup all purpose flour or use gluten free baking flour
- ¼ cup apple sauce, unsweetened
- ½ cup butter, softened I used dairy free
- ⅓ cup organic cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt
Frosting
- ¾ cup organic powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract* or almond extract
- 1 ½ tablespoon milk
Optional dusting top
- 1 tablespoon almond flour or chopped almonds
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Instructions
Prep
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- If butter is not at room temperature, microwave it in a bowl, paper off, for 10 seconds.
Make almond sugar cookies
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the sugar using a hand mix for about 2 minutes. Then add in the apple sauce and almond extract. Mix another 1 minute. You want the sugar to dissolve so test this by pressing the mixture with a rubber spatula or spoon against the side of the bowl for a crunch-feeling. If so, keep mixing until it's diminished.⅓ cup organic cane sugar, ¼ cup apple sauce, unsweetened, ½ cup butter, softened, 1 teaspoon almond extract
- To a strainer, add the flour, baking soda and salt and add those to the wet mixture using a spoon to work the dry ingredients through the strainer.1 cup all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, pinch salt
- Put the strainer full of dry ingredients over the bowl, and use a spoon to work the ingredients through.
- Mix the batter until just combined. Don't mix more than a minute.
- Scoop out balls of dough with a medium cookie scoop or 1 ½ tablespoon of batter. Line them up on a baking sheet 2 to 3 inches apart.
Bake cookies
- Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges just start to turn golden. Use a round 2-inch cookie cutter to even out the circle shape on warm cookies.
- Cool the cookies on the pan for 10 minutes, then on a wire rack for 20 more minutes or until cool. Make the frosting.
Make frosting
- In a bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk, and remaining almond extract and beat the frosting until it appears smooth.¾ cup organic powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract*, 1 ½ tablespoon milk, 1 tablespoon almond flour or chopped almonds
- Drizzle the frosting on the top of each cookie. Let the cookies sit until the frosting is set.
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