A combo of all purpose flour + whole almond flour ensures these almond shortbread cookies are tender, nutty, and not too crumbly. Dip them in a mug of hot tea for a cozy-moment-treat.
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Don't Tell the Others - These are My New Favorite Cookies
These almond flour shortbread cookies are what cookie dreams are made of: crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and oh-so-buttery. I was inspired by traditional German shortbread called Heidesand, that I ate (ok, devoured) growing up in Germany. But I chose to leave out the traditional brown butter, since almond flour already adds such a rich nutty flavor. This way, we can save a ton of time without sacrificing on that depth of flavor. However, if you just can't survive another day without brown butter shortbread (hey, I get it), try my peanut butter shortbread cookies!
Now let's talk about the star of the show real quick - almond flour. As with many of my almond flour bakes, I prefer using almond meal which is made from finely ground whole almonds. I think it gives the cookies a much stronger flavor compared to blanched almond flour. And it makes these almond meal cookies look a little more rustic, which as you may know, is right up my Straße.
Let's Gather Our Ingredients: all purpose flour, almond meal, baking powder, salt, cornstarch, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and almond extract.
Let's Make Almond Flour Slice and Bake Cookies Together!
For the full step-by-step directions and ingredient quantities, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. Whisk flour, almond meal, baking powder, salt & cornstarch.
2. Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar until it's creamy.
3. Mix in the almond extract.
5. Press into a log, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour.
7. Arrange on a baking sheet & bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
4. Mix dry ingredients into the butter.
6. Slice the chilled dough into ½-inch rounds.
8. Optional: dip in melted chocolate & chopped almonds.
Carissa's Baking Secret
Since we're adding two sticks of butter and almond flour for the best texture + flavor, I add a little cornstarch to the dough to balance the fat. This way the cookies don't spread or flatten as they bake.
Tips for Shaping Shortbread Dough
If your dough log isn’t completely round, your cookies won't be perfectly circular. I say perfect is overrated, but here are a few of my tips to get it as close as possible.
- Round Shape: Take your time and gently press the dough into a long cylinder. To help round the bottom edge, I use the plastic wrap to roll it over, then press it.
- Flat Cookies: I like to cut off the two short, rounded edges of the dough log before slicing my actual cookies so they all lay flat on the baking sheet.
- Perfect Size: I tested these cookies by slicing them into thinner ¼-inch slices, but they baked way too quickly and spread a lot faster.
- Fixing Mistakes: Sometimes I notice that after cutting my cookie dough, they cracked or aren't perfectly round. If that happens, I gently press the edges to form them into perfect little circles.
Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies with Almond Meal
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1½ cups almond meal (also called whole almond flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt (use table salt or fine sea salt)
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 16 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (2 sticks)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla extract)
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the all purpose flour, almond meal, baking powder, salt, and cornstarch. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer or in a stand mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar until it's creamy. Mix in the almond extract until it’s well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, and gently mix with a large spoon or silicone spatula just until it forms a crumbly mixture. It should be able to hold its shape when you squeeze some in the palm of your hand.
- Dump the dough onto a large piece of plastic cling wrap. Firmly press the dough into a log, wrap it up tightly, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Unwrap the cookie dough log and slice it into ½-inch rounds. Arrange the cookies spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges start to turn a light golden color. They’ll be really soft when they first come out of the oven, so allow them to cool for a few minutes to firm up, then enjoy!
Notes
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a few days or in the fridge for up to one week.
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