Italian Almond Paste Cookies, also known as almond macaroons, are a soft, chewy, and absolutely irresistible delight perfect for Christmas or Passover. Only four ingredients are required to make this flourless cookie recipe. These 5-Star naturally gluten-free cookies have earned hundreds of rave reviews. See for yourself!
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Ingredient Tips
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 homemade 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
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How To Make Almond Paste Cookies Recipe
(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)
Brief egg white mix
Place the egg whites in a bowl large enough to add all the other ingredients. Use a hand mixer to beat the whites just until they are frothy. No stiff peaks here! Just enough to loosen the eggs and make some bubbles.
Beat in other ingredients
Here’s a quick, yet essential tip. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment is the way to go here. Some readers said their batter was too runny, and turns out, a paddle attachment was the culprit! Break up your almond paste into the bowl and add the almond flour, sugar, and salt.
Scoop, chill, bake
There’s more on this below because I went full-sleuth on deciding which was the best method for baking. But, for best results use a small cookie scoop to portion out the macaroons quickly and evenly, or just roll into 1-inch balls. Dust with powder sugar, press a few almonds on top and you are almost to homemade Italian cookie heaven!
You could pop them in the oven straight away, but for a puffier, airy shape, I recommend chilling for 1-2 hours before baking. Then bake at 350°F for 16 minutes and try your hardest to not take down the whole pan in one sitting. Seriously.
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. I recommend at least chilling 1 hour.
UPDATE (11/2025): I recently tested the recipe again and found chilling doesn’t make such a difference now that almond flour is added to the recipe. Good news – you can skip the chilling!
Storage and Freezing Tips
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.
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.
Where Do I Get 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.
Decorating Inspo
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.
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Did you make this recipe? I love hearing from you! Leave a star rating and comment below the recipe card. It helps others when searching for recipes and I appreciate feedback from our community. You will always hear back from me! -Melissa
Airy, Chewy Italian Almond Paste Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- 8 ounces (227 g) almond paste (NOT almond filling), SOLO brand almond paste recommended over ODENSE brand, but see recipe notes for modifications
- ⅔ cup (134 g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, or almond extract
- ½ cup (52 g) 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 opaque white.2 egg whites
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.8 ounces almond paste (NOT almond filling), ⅔ cup granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ cup almond flour- For best results, cover the dough and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or freeze for 30 minutes. (See UPDATE in recipe notes.)
- 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.
Notes
Update (11/2025)
I recently tested the recipe again and found chilling doesn’t make such a difference now that almond flour is added to the recipe. So you can skip the chilling!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.Note about original recipe:
(12/21) I received a lot of reader comments about the batter being too runny. I discovered when using a stand mixer the dough becomes significantly thinner. I added the note about using a hand mixer instead, which helps the dough have a better consistency. A more significant change is the addition of almond flour. I also started to have problems with the batter consistency! I’m haven’t found evidence that SOLO changed their almond paste formula, but something seems to have altered. Therefore, adding 1/2 cup almond flour brings the dough back to how it was when I originally posted the recipe, and yields great results. Without the almond flour, the cookies spread and become very thin and chewy. Also, originally the recipe made half the amount. Since the almond paste I recommend is now only sold in 8 ounce packages, I doubled the recipe to use the whole package.This post contains affiliate links. My opinions are always my own. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, I make a small commission – at no cost to you. Read full disclosure policy here.
This post contains affiliate links. My opinions are always my own. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, I make a small commission – at no cost to you. Read full disclosure policy here.
Melissa, you are my almond cookie goddess! I’ve made your recipe twice and added lots of orange or lemon zest. The mist recent batch is dusted with confectioner sugar and cardomon. Wicked yum! These are perfect for gluten free chums and all my cookie adoring friends.
Yay, Lily! I have never been called that before, but I’ll gladly take the title!
Best,
Melissa
These are delicious, very rich…. but I was worried because the dough wasn’t stiff enough; as in the comments I added more almond flour about a heaping 1/4 cup plus another 1/8 c. (could still take another bit more) but they did turn out nice and had a nice chew and great flavor. They are a bit too sweet though (my opinion) so I would cut back the sugar by about 1/8 c. or so. Easy to make and delicious but not sure how they would’ve been without that extra almond flour.
Thanks for sharing, Denise. I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe with the adaptations. The good thing is adding more or less almond flour, depending on what your batter looks like, doesn’t seem to affect the recipe!
Best,
Melissa
Only change I would make or do differently would be to increase flour amount by half a cup? Make the mixture stiffer so cookies stand taller during the baking period. Mine flattened out in the oven but still tasted good.
Thanks for your comment, Bruce. You’re right, adding a little additional almond flour won’t hurt the recipe because AF contains so much moisture, so you don’t have to worry about drying them out. It could help with structure!
Best,
Melissa
Oh my! These are so good! I made them for a friend who has celiac disease, but; I intend to make them again, and again for my family. This is my favorite cookie, and I’m so happy to have found this recipe. I followed your directions. and they came out very good. They are very easy to make too. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Wow, love this! Thanks so much for sharing Lynn. You made my day!
Best,
Melissa
They are very good cookies and your directions were spot on, I love using the almond paste
I made these today but i used ap flour and almond extract, YUM
Thank you, Annette! I appreciate you taking the time to let me know!
Best,
Melissa
I followed the recipe exactly including refrigerating the dough for 90 minutes. They came out flat, like a chocolate chip cookie, rather than plump as shown in the recipe photos. Also, the powdered sugar sprinkled on before baking just melted into the cookies, so I put more on after they were completely cooled. Good flavor, nice chew.
Hi Bridget,
I’m glad you still enjoyed the taste and texture. I’m wondering which almond paste you used?
Best,
Melissa
This recipe is perfect! My son was craving the pistachio cookies he had in Italy. So since i love to bake, I tried a few different recipes. Some were close but no dice. After i made these he said “mom you hit it!”
These are great. so soft in the middle (from the paste)!! I know i will be making these often!!
Thank you!!
Yay! So excited! Did you make them with the almond paste or did you make your own pistachio paste?
Best,
Melissa
Hi! I love almond cookies but I can’t have them now that I’ve been diagnose as a pre-diabetic. The fact that they are gluten free is great but I would like to know if the recipe would work if I use Splenda instead of sugar.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Maria,
I wish I could tell you with certainty, but I haven’t tried it with a sugar-free substitute. I worry about the structure of the cookies not holding up, since there is no flour in the recipe and sugar makes up a sizable portion of it. Since almond paste is not the cheapest, I wouldn’t want you to waste ingredients!
Best,
Melissa
I wanted to let you know that I made these with monk fruit sweetener as well as making my own almond paste with monk fruit sweetener. They turned out perfectly!
Oh, wow, Renee. That’s great to know and so helpful for others! Thanks for taking the time to share.
Best,
Melissa
I had 4oz. of almond paste left over from another recipe and I wanted to use it. I made half of your revised recipe and it’s delicious. I only have a stand mixer and did not want to do this by hand, so I used my 4 cup food processor and pulsed it to mix the ingredients. It worked just fine. I did not chill the batter and it still worked. I will make these again.
Thanks for sharing the tip about the food processor. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Best,
Melissa
Is this cookie similar to the cookies you find at Passover time that come in the containers similar to the coconut macaroons?
Hi Leah, I can’t be 100% sure, but I think so! When I first had them they reminded me of cookies I’ve had before. They are very light, yet chewy.
Best,
Melissa
Yum! Thank you. Would you mind if I recorded a video of me making them and then posting them to my social media accounts? I could tag you if you have an account. @sciencegirl83 😁
Sure, sounds good Leah!
I made these by making my own pistachio paste and keeping all the other ingredients the same. I had to add at least a whole extra cup of almond flour because the dough was very runny and the result tasted like pistachio marzipan in a crispy crust which was actually really lovely!
What a great idea making a pistachio paste! That sounds so good! Thanks for sharing!
Best,
Melissa
Well, these are delicious and the recipe was fine. Crispy outside, chewy inside! 5 stars, highly recommend!
Thank you, Katie! I appreciate it!
Best,
Melissa
I made them again with 2-1/2 cups of sweetened coconut and added 1/2 tsp. coconut extract and a few drops of almond extract. I had to mix it with a wooden spoon, although, I think that would have been less of an issue, had I added the coconut before the almond flour. One more egg white might not have been a bad idea, but I have egg issues.
They were absolutely delicious, crispy and chewy.
Thanks so much! I love that adding coconut works. Thanks for sharing!
Best,
Melissa
These were very good. I made them with some homemade almond paste that was a little softer than Solo. I added a little more almond flour, and a half-teaspoon of almond extract, then chilled the dough in the bowl before forming the the one-inch balls with my fingers. I chilled them again on the cookie sheet for three hours. Baked, they were plump and delicious.
Sounds incredible! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know!
Best,
Melissa
These are definitely delicious, but for anyone making them, taken into account that the number of cookies it makes is incorrect in the recipe. I have made these several times using a 1-inch cookie scoop (leveled, not heaping), following the ingredients as listed (weighing both the egg whites and my homemade almond paste to make sure I get the right amounts), and I have never gotten more than 25 cookies out of the batch (and this is with scraping everything out of the bowl for the last, 25th cookie). Not a big deal if you’re just making them for yourself, because they are delicious; however, if you are doing a cookie count for a party, be sure to take this into account.
These are delicious! The insides are chewy and moist, and the outside is lightly crunchy. It has a delicate almond flavor that is scrumptious!
Completely agree, Peter! So glad you enjoyed them as well!
Best,
Melisa
These are perfect! Quick, Easy to make and sooooooooo good!
Completely agree, Judi! Thanks for sharing!
Best,
Melissa
I ran out of almond flour. Can I add all purpose flour to thicken it up
Hi Dayne, I haven’t tried this, but if it is a small amount I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!
Best,
Melissa
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.
Thanks for sharing, Linda. That sounds wonderful!
Best,
Melissa
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.
So glad to hear, Ken! Thank you for taking the time to let me know!
Best,
Melissa
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!
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
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.
Thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know!
Best,
Melissa
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.
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
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 🙂
Hi Christine,
So glad the fam loved them! Yes, I wish the recipe did make more because they go fast!
Best,
Melissa
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👍)
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
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
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
I wonder if it’s ok to add orange or lemon juice/zest before baking, has anyone tried this?
This would absolutely work and a great suggestion!
Best,
Melissa
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
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
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.
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
Same issue with a liquidy batter. Don’t try to make in a Kitchen Aid mixer, it doesn’t reach the egg white.
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
Same issue here — there must be a reason??
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
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
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.
Marianne- fantastic modification !!!! They came out great!
Thank you
My dough came out more like cake batter, and I have no idea why. Waiting to see how the first liquidy batch comes out!
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
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?
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
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.