Italian Almond Paste Cookies, also known as almond macaroons, are a soft, chewy, and highly addictive delight perfect for Christmas or Passover. Only four ingredients are required to make this flourless cookie recipe!
Ingredients NEEDED
This almond cookie recipe only requires a few simple ingredients to make lovely tasting macaroon. Top them with sliced almonds, dust with powdered sugar, or for a Christmas treat (just like gluten-free pizzelles), drizzle with melted chocolate and add holiday sprinkles!
- Almond Paste – Sold in the baking aisle, but be sure NOT to grab marzipan or almond filling, which will not work for this recipe. SOLO brand is recommended over Odense because the batter and cookies hold shape better. To offset the runnier batter when using Odense, add 2-4 tablespoons almond flour to the dough.
- Sugar
- Egg Whites
- Almond Flour – Adding a small amount of almond flour adds structure to the dough, helping the cookies from becoming flat during baking. If you do not have almond four on hand, easily make your own using extra almonds! See my almond flour recipes post to see how simple it is!
- Optional – sliced almonds and powdered sugar for decorating
How To Make almond paste cookies recipe
- First beat the egg whites until frothy and white.
- Break up the almond paste in smaller pieces and add to the egg white with sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined, then mix in almond flour.
- For best results, refrigerate the dough for 1-2 hours or freeze for 30 minutes. (See below for difference between refrigerating and baking immediately.)
- Use a small cookie scoop or roll into 1 inch balls. Place a on parchment-lined baking sheet.
- If desired, gently press sliced almonds in the top and dust with powdered sugar.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for 16-18 minutes or until edges and bottoms are golden brown.
refrigerating vs baking immediately
Some almond macaroon recipes call for refrigerating the cookies before baking and some do not. I tried the cookies both ways to see if there was a major difference.
THE VERDICT: If you are pressed for time, refrigerating does not make any difference in taste or texture. However, chilling first does make a slightly more aesthetically appealing cookie, with a rounded, uniform shape.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can you freeze these cookies?
Yes. These cookies are very freezer-friendly. Either freeze after baking and cooled, or portion out into balls and freeze before baking. If baking from frozen, a few minutes will have to be added to the baking time.
Either baked or unbaked cookies may be frozen, well wrapped, up to three months.
How to store
To be fair, these cookies usually don’t last long enough to actually store, but once they have cooled store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.
If you need to store opened almond paste, wrap securely and store in the refrigerator up to three months or freeze up to six months.
Where to buy almond paste
Almond paste can be purchased in the baking section of your grocery store. However, make sure you purchasing ALMOND PASTE and not almond filling, which is a different consistency and will not work in these cookies.
For these cookies, I highly recommend using SOLO brand. Another popular brand, Odense will work, but the batter will be a little runny. To offset this, add an additional 1/4 cup almond flour, or until the dough becomes thick enough to scoop and hold shape.
If you cannot find SOLO brand almond paste at your local store, it may also be purchased online through Amazon.
Are these cookies gluten free?
Yes. Almond cookies made with almond paste are flourless, so they are naturally gluten free, grain free, and perfect for Passover. If you love the ease of baking without flour, check out my top flourless cookie recipes!
Decorating ideas
Like other ethnic desserts, financiers and gluten-free biscotti, these cookies are perfect as is or with some of these flavor enhancers!
- Press sliced almonds in the tops and sprinkle with powdered sugar before baking
- Drizzle melted chocolate over the tops and add sprinkles (Perfect for Christmas!)
- Use your finger to form an indentation in the middle and add a halved maraschino cherry before baking
- Dip half the cookie in melted chocolate for a “black and white”
- After baking immediately make an indentation in the middle using a small spoon. Fill with Nutella or jam.
Click here to see the step-by-step web story instructions for this recipe!
More flourless Recipes
For more naturally gluten free recipes, check out some of these favorites!
- Gluten-Free Monster Cookies
- Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
- Flourless Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches
- Gluten-Free Waffles
- Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Cookies
SAVE THESE CHEWY ALMOND MACAROONS RECIPE TO YOUR PINTEREST BOARD!
Let’s be friends on Pinterest! I’m always sharing great recipes!
Italian Almond Paste Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- 8 ounces almond paste (NOT almond filling) (SOLO brand almond paste recommended over ODENSE brand, but see recipe notes for modifications)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup almond flour
- powdered sugar, for dusting
- sliced almonds, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a baking sheet, line with parchment paper, or a silicone baking mat.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Use a hand mixer instead of stand mixer. Using a stand mixer makes the batter too runny.
- In a medium bowl beat the egg whites until frothy and opague white.
- Break up almond paste in smaller chunks and add to the beaten egg whites with sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined. Mix in the almond flour.
- For best results, cover the dough and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or freeze for 30 minutes.
- Use a small cookie scoop to portion out 1 inch balls, placing on prepared baking sheets about 1-2 inches apart. Dust balls with powdered sugar. If desired, gently press 2-3 almonds into the tops of the cookies.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until edges and bottoms start to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for 10 minutes before transporting to a wire rack to cool completely.
- DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?? DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE FEEDBACK AND RATE BELOW!
Equipment Needed
Recipe Notes
Important note about Almond paste
Almond paste can be purchased in the baking section of your grocery store. However, make sure you purchasing ALMOND PASTE and not almond filling, which is a different consistency and will not work in these cookies. For these cookies, I highly recommend using SOLO brand. Another popular brand, Odense will work, but the batter will be a little runny. To offset this, add an additional 1/4 cup almond flour, or until the dough becomes thick enough to scoop and hold shape. SOLO brand almond paste may also be purchased online through Amazon.FREEZing / storing
Either freeze after baking and cooled, or portion out into balls and freeze before baking. If baking from frozen, a few minutes will have to be added to the baking time. Either baked or unbaked cookies may be frozen, well wrapped, up to three months. Once they have cooled, store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week. If you need to store opened almond paste, wrap securely and store in the refrigerator up to three months or freeze up to six months.decorating ideas
- Press sliced almonds in the tops and sprinkle with powdered sugar before baking
- Drizzle melted chocolate over the tops and add sprinkles (Perfect for Christmas!)
- Use your finger to form an indentation in the middle and add a halved maraschino cherry before baking
- Dip half the cookie in melted chocolate for a “black and white”
- After baking immediately make an indentation in the middle using a small spoon. Fill with Nutella or jam.
Nutrition
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Judi says
These are perfect! Quick, Easy to make and sooooooooo good!
Melissa Erdelac says
Completely agree, Judi! Thanks for sharing!
Best,
Melissa
Linda Teske says
I used Bob’s Red Mill recipe for almond paste and added 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut. I cut the sugar amount in half and they were delicious.
Melissa Erdelac says
Thanks for sharing, Linda. That sounds wonderful!
Best,
Melissa
Ken says
I made the Italian almond paste cookies today using my homemade almond paste and followed the recipe as written, the cookies came out so very delicious in fact my wife who seldom eats cookies or cake had 3 of them. I’m sure she will have more over time.Thank you for a great recipe.
Melissa says
So glad to hear, Ken! Thank you for taking the time to let me know!
Best,
Melissa
Madeleine says
My 20 year old son described these cookies to me. A customer for which he is remodeling a kitchen made them. I found your recipe and VOILA! I will buy lots of almond paste when on sale. I can’t believe I made these and everyone, including me, love them! I always thought only a professional baker could make them! Thank you!
Melissa says
Yay! Thank you Madeline! They are very hard to describe, but so amazing! That’s why I wish EVERYONE would make them so they knew my incessant raves were warranted!
Best,
Melissa
Anonymous says
This is the first time I’ve made these and they got rave reviews from friends and family.
Next time I will try freezing the dough because it is very sticky.
Melissa says
Thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know!
Best,
Melissa
Elaine says
I’ve noticed, Melissa, that in your comments, your measurements are not consistent with those shown in the ingredients list – doubling the 8 oz almond paste, using 1 egg white instead of two as shown in the recipe. My batter came out runny following the recipe. I said to myself, it should have had only 1 egg white instead of two. But, I, of course, couldn’t remove it at that point! So, I added more almond paste to almost double it. Then I mixed in more almond flour. Batter thickened, but I thought not quite enough. So, now it is sitting in the fridge to see how/if it firms up well enough to shape the cookies. I had made my own almond paste (definitely paste!) and almond flour.
Melissa says
Hi Elaine,
Yes I recently changed the recipe because people were writing about runny batter. So the information in the recipe card is now correct, but some of the info in the comments may not be. To be honest, I haven’t tested the recipe with homemade almond paste. Perhaps that had something to do with the consistency? I’d love to hear how they turned out.
Best,
Melissa
Christine says
These are delicious! I have never had an almond macaroon before, but was happy to find a recipe that was naturally gluten and dairy free. I followed the recipe as written and they turned out great! I love that they can easily be made in my large pyrex with just a hand mixer – makes for easy clean up. A bit of crunch on the the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, with great almond flavor. My only issue is that they don’t make that many, and my kids like them, too, so I guess I will be making a second batch 🙂
Melissa says
Hi Christine,
So glad the fam loved them! Yes, I wish the recipe did make more because they go fast!
Best,
Melissa
Marianne Wingfield says
Sorry, in my review below, meant to say that Solo almond paste sells on Amazon.ca for $74.35 for a 4 pack; Odense is $ 8.99 for a single 200 gram tube
My cookies were perfect (thanks for your advice to add extra almond flour when baking with Odense👍)
Marianne says
These are fabulous Melissa – reminiscent of cookies we enjoyed in Bella Italia (where gluten free is available everywhere!). I baked them with Odense almond paste, which sells for $8.99 vs $74.35 for Solo on Amazon in Canada!!!
Thanks for another excellent recipe – made your GF cranberry pistachio biscotti yesterday- yum😋. My husband prefers them to non GF recipe (Martha Stewart) that I’ve made in my pre gluten intolerance days
Melissa says
Thank you so much for writing, Marianne. Ouch! No one should have to pay that much for almond paste! I’m glad the adaptation with Odense worked well. And thank you for letting me know about the biscotti! I love when the recipe overcomes even a non-GF one!
Best,
Melissa
Michelle says
Same issue as many others- liquid batter, trouble forming balls.added a lot more almond flour, Refrigerated overnight….the cookies flattened completely, but were tasty. Other similar recipe direct to whip egg whites until soft peaks form… so maybe I’ll try that next
Gal says
I wonder if it’s ok to add orange or lemon juice/zest before baking, has anyone tried this?
Melissa says
This would absolutely work and a great suggestion!
Best,
Melissa
Katie says
Just commenting to say I had the same issue. I used Odense almond paste, so perhaps this paste is less dry than the one used in the recipe? I added almond flour and a bit more sugar to get it to the right consistency
Melissa says
Hi Katie,
Thanks for the follow up. I added a note to the recipe card to use Solo brand or add additional 2-3 tbsp. almond flour to offset the difference in consistency.
Best,
Melissa
Jerri says
I made them and was very disappointed. The batter was sticky but I had no trouble dropping onto parchment and shaping into balls. After they cooled they got hard. I cooked them in two batches. The first I cooked for 20 minutes and the second for 18. Same results.
Melissa says
I’m sorry to hear that, Jerri. Do you happen to have one of those cheap thermometer gauges in your oven? I’m wondering if you oven is running hot?
Best,
Melissa
Maureen Deam says
Same issue with a liquidy batter. Don’t try to make in a Kitchen Aid mixer, it doesn’t reach the egg white.
Melissa says
Hi Maureen,
I made these again the other day to double check everything, but I did not have the liquidy batter at all. It looked just like the pictures. However, you may be on to something with using a stand mixer. Since it’s a smaller amount of ingredients I just use my hand mixer vs. the Kitchen Aid. I’m wondering for those that had a liquidy batter, if they are 100% certain they were using almond paste, not filling, and how they mixed it?
Best,
Melissa
Sue says
Same issue here — there must be a reason??
Melissa says
Hi Sue,
What brand of almond paste did you use? Also, just to double check, you only used one egg white, regular granulated sugar, and almond paste, not almond filling? As you can see by the picture, almond paste is pretty solid and the only liquid added is from an egg white, so I’m not sure why it would be liquidy. I will make them again this weekend with a different brand almond paste to see if that makes a difference. I typically use Solo brand.
Best,
Melissa
Ben says
I tried the recipe and had issues
The recipe calls for 4 ounces of almond paste but I had to use a full 8 ounce box to get it to the right consistency
And I used solo almond paste
Marianne says
This was a syrupy batter. I couldn’t form a 1″” ball at all. I made one cookie from this batter, it burned. Rather than waste my ingredients I added 1 and 1/2 cups of almond flour. Also, increased almond extract to 1 teaspoon. I shaped my dough into 3″ fingers, rolled in sliced almonds and put in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking. The cookies then turned out the way I had hoped.
I used Odense Almond Paste.
Debbie says
Marianne- fantastic modification !!!! They came out great!
Thank you
Stacy says
My dough came out more like cake batter, and I have no idea why. Waiting to see how the first liquidy batch comes out!
Melissa says
Hi Stacy,
Are you sure you used almond paste and not almond cake filling? The cans look almost identical so they can be easily confused!
Best,
Melissa
Carly says
I had some almond paste (definitely paste) that I needed to use up, so I tried these and had the same issue. I ended up with more of a liquid-y batter that left me wondering if this recipe is supposed to include flour?
Melissa says
Hi Carly,
No definitely no flour is needed. To be honest, I’m stumped with why it would be liquidy. Almond paste is pretty solid (as soon in the recipe pic) and the only liquid is one egg white, which is beaten slightly so it has even more structure. The only thing I can think of is big variance in the size of the egg white. If anyone else has any ideas, I’d love to hear them!
Best,
Melissa
Barry says
I had the same issue with the :mix coming out too soft, so that when the ball were placed on the cookie sheet parchment they spread out. I refrigerated the mix for 90 minutes before baking and cut the baking time to about 18 minutes as they flattened out. They came out like thin cookies, but very tasty. I used one extra large egg white. Perhaps a bit of almond flour might tie it together better.