Spanish Almond Cookies Recipe - Almendrados

By Lisa & Tony Sierra

Updated 12/08/17

Almendrados
Isidre Torres / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
Ratings
  • Total: 25 mins
  • Prep: 10 mins
  • Cook: 15 mins
  • Yield: 24-30 cookies (24-30 servings)
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
133 Calories
9g Fat
12g Carbs
4g Protein
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

The Spanish have used almonds in desserts and sauces or centuries. Everything from St. James cake, and bienmesabe (Spanish almond cream), to polvorones and panellets cookies.

Almendrados are Spanish almond cookies, which are very simple to make and make a light, sweet dessert, or snack. Many Spanish prepare them at Christmas, too. Egg whites are beaten to a stiff peak, then sugar, egg yolks, and ground almonds are mixed together and baked.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb almonds (ground)
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • zest of 1 lemon

Steps to Make It

  1. Heat oven to 360F (180C) degrees.

  2. Grate the lemon peel, avoiding the white part of the peel because it is bitter.

  3. Separate the yolks from the egg whites.  In a small glass or ceramic mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to a stiff peak.

  4. Place the egg whites into a medium mixing bowl, and gently stir in the egg yolks. (No need to mix thoroughly.)

  5. Add the granulated sugar, lemon zest, ground almonds, and optionally the cinnamon, mixing thoroughly.

  6. Using your hands, shape the cookies into mounds or pyramids and place on a greased cookie sheet, or one covered in ​parchment paper.

  7. Bake in ​an oven on center rack for approximately 15 minutes until cookies turn a golden color.

  8. Remove from oven and gently loosen the cookies using a spatula. Allow to cool on a rack.

Note: Remove quickly from baking sheet. Do not allow cookies to cool completely on the cookie sheet because once cooled, they will harden and become brittle (and  will crumble when you attempt to remove them.)

Store in a tightly covered container or tin.

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