A three-ingredient cookie with a fun story to boot! This almond cookie recipe hails from medieval times and is the forebear of the popular French macaron. Crunchy, sweet, and perfect with tea or your favorite cuppa, old-fashioned macaron cookies take less than thirty minutes to whip up from start to melt-in-your-mouth finish.
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The Story
Creating a by-the-book batch of French macarons can prove any home baker's Everest. But while modern-day macarons are quite a feat, old-fashioned macarons are the opposite. Based on one of the first recorded cookies from medieval times, the almond cookie recipe here is the original macaron. And the recipe is incredibly approachable.
A thick mixture of ground almonds, sugar, and egg whites, it's basically how ancient Sicilians used to make macarons before the French got involved. The dough is essentially a bare-bones, thick, sweet almond paste or marzipan. Which when baked, creates a warm soft cookie that turns crunchy after cooling. Similar to an Italian amaretti cookie, old-fashioned almond macarons are brimming with subtle, delicious almond flavor and a satisfying crunch.
The Ingredients
So simple! You truly could buy almond paste and thin it out with raw egg whites, but I find starting from scratch a bit easier and more affordable.
- ground, blanched almonds or almond flour
- granulated sugar (honey and coconut sugar also work)
- fresh egg whites (make ice cream or vanilla sauce with the yolks)
The Ratio
The ratios for almond cookie recipes - the ingredients by weight in relation to one another - will vary. Here is a basic formula for classic, old-fashioned macarons. It's a great starting point for experimentation!
Almond Cookie Ratio
1 part egg whites + 2 parts granulated sugar + 3 parts almond flour
*Ratio for measurements by weight
On Eggs. In the recipe below, one part equals four ounces. So two egg whites are needed, as one large egg white is slightly more than one ounce. If you are baking with extra-large eggs, you will need a little less than two egg whites.
On Sugar. Old-time recipes called for equal parts almonds and sugar. But if you want to dial it back, you can certainly use less. Just be aware doing so will create thicker, chewier cookies (less spread in the oven).
The Method
At the risk of approaching redundancy, I'll elaborate a little on how to make this almond cookie recipe. But truly, a kindergartener could do it if you solely gave him the measured ingredients.
If you own a food processor, the dough comes together in thirty seconds. First pulse the almonds or almond flour briefly with the sugar, then add the egg whites and pulse until the mixture comes together.
- If working with whole or slivered blanched almonds, grind them in a food processor with the granulated sugar. If you're using purchased almond flour, simply whisk the almond flour with the granulated sugar in a large bowl.
- Add the egg whites and almond extract, if using. Mix with a flat spatula or wooden spoon until the ingredients become a thick paste.
- Scoop or pipe the dough onto a parchment-lined baking pan. Be sure to keep the dough mounds about the same. If they look the same, they'll bake the same!
- With wet fingertips or a pastry brush dipped in water, slightly smooth down the tops of the piped batter to even out the heights.
- Bake the cookies at 325° F for 10 to 15 minutes, until they turn a light golden brown. If the bottoms of your cookies are browning faster than the tops, add another baking pan underneath the first one.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and cool them halfway before removing them from the parchment paper.
Dietary Variations
These cookies are naturally gluten-free and contain no dairy. If an almond allergy is at hand, you can certainly swap out the almond flour for other ground nuts such as pistachios, cashews, walnuts, or pecans. For a darker cookie with a flavor more like a graham cracker, substitute coconut sugar (it's also a bit less glycemic).
Storage
Most almond cookie recipes that are derived from this ancient formula are soft right out of the oven, then crunchy once cooled. Depending on your climate and storage choice, the cookies may soften over the next couple of days, or get crunchier.
To keep almond cookies crunchy, store them in an air-tight container. For cookies that become chewy in the center after several days, allow a bit of air to enter the storage container by leaving one corner or side cracked. Or store the cookies uncovered or loosely wrapped in plastic wrap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Almond flour lends texture, color, and flavor to cookies and baked goods. Due to the protein and fat content of almonds, baking with almond flour can also aid in tenderness and longer-lasting freshness.
Depending on the brand almond meal can be ground almonds with or without the skins. Coarseness will vary with almond meals, and the color will be darker if the meal is from skin-on almonds.
Almond flour is a finer, lighter grind of blanched almonds. Blanched almonds are briefly boiled to remove the thin, brown skins. For the smoothest flour, look for almond flours labeled "finely-ground" or "superfine."
Almond cookies are known by different names around the world. In Europe and the United States, almond cookies can be called macaroons, macarons, and amaretti. Ricciarelli is a crackly, Italian almond cookie with dried cherries and honey. Traditional Chinese almond cookies are akin to sugar cookies baked with a portion of almond flour.
Chinese almond cookies are sugar cookies where almond flour is substituted for a portion of the all-purpose flour. Traditionally, many bakers placed a sliced almond in the center of each cookie before baking. The main ingredients for Chinese sugar cookies are butter, sugar, all-purpose flour, almond flour, eggs, and often baking powder or baking soda for a little lift and lighter texture.
If you'd like to experiment with your own Chinese cookie recipe, it can help to first understand the basic 1-2-3 cookie dough formula. Replace half the flour in the recipe with fine-ground almond flour.
Edible Epilogue
Old-fashioned almond macarons are best enjoyed within the first few minutes (or days) of baking. Nice and crisp, the macarons are perfect for dipping in coffee or your afternoon Earl Grey. The testing of this almond cookie recipe was, after all, simply an excuse for a sweet afternoon snack.
📖 Recipe
Simple Almond Cookies AKA The Original Macaron
Chewy, crunchy, crackly, almond cookie goodness! These original almond macarons are a sweet, gluten-free, dairy-free treat that comes together in two simple steps. Even faster if you happen to have a food processor.
Save yourself the frustration of attempting to bake 21st-century French macarons by mixing up their predecessor, instead. These almond macaron cookies date back to the middle ages and are a fun baking project kids can even do with little help.
The baked almond cookies are perfect for dipping in coffee or tea. Or crushing up as topping for an ice cream sundae.
If it's homemade French macaron infamy you're after, here's how to make French macarons.
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 15-18 cookies, depending on size 1x
Ingredients
- 4 ounces or 110 grams or about 1 heaping cup of almond flour
- 7 ounces or 200 grams or ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
- 2 raw egg whites (about 2.4 ounces or 68 grams, from two large eggs)
- pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract, optional
Instructions
Measure out all of your ingredients before beginning, gather your equipment and preheat your oven.
- Line two baking pans with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (or bake in batches). Preheat your oven to 300° F.
- In a medium-size bowl, whisk together (or stir well) the almond flour and sugar.
- Add the egg white and almond extract, if using, to the bowl. Mix until the ingredients come together like a thick paste.
- Transfer the dough to a piping bag or use a large plastic food baggie, cutting a half-inch wide opening at one of the corners. If you don't have either, you can use your hands, a tiny ice cream scoop with a release, or a couple of small spoons.
- Pipe or drop and shape one-inch dollops of the dough onto the parchment-lined baking pans. For uniform cookies, trace same-size circles onto your paper with a round object about an inch or so in diameter. Or print a free macaron template to place underneath the parchment paper. If you don't care, just freehand it. With a wet fingertip or pastry brush, smooth any peaks sticking from the tops.
- Bake for 10 to 20 minutes until the cookies are completely golden brown, dried out, but before the bottoms darken too much. Rotate the pan(s) halfway through baking if your oven has hot spots (most do). For chewier cookies, only cook until they just begin to brown around the edges.
- Store the cookies covered (or not entirely sealed for a crispier cookie over time) at room temperature. Freeze well-sealed for a couple of months.
Notes
Using a Food Processor
You can also bring the paste together in a food processor. by first pulsing the almond flour and sugar together, then adding the egg white and pulsing until the mixture appears thick and cohesive.
Cookie Texture
These old-fashioned macarons will be soft right out of the oven and crisp as they cool. If stored covered, the cookies will soften over time.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
- Category: Macarons
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Gluten Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Old-Fashioned Macrons
- Calories: 73
- Sugar: 10.2 g
- Sodium: 6.7 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Trans Fat:
- Carbohydrates: 11 g
- Protein: 1.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: almond cookie recipe, old-fashioned macarons, amaretti cookies, almond flour, almond cookies, original French macaron, passover dessert
Gretchen Brown
Just wondering about the amounts—almond flour amount stays the same whether make 2x or 3x times the original recipe—is that correct???
Chef Christina
Hi Gretchen,
I'm thinking the recipe card multiplier isn't working properly for you... if you want to double or triple the recipe, then double or triple all of the ingredients. 🙂