Soft Almond Sugar Cookies are piped cookies, baked and topped with a confectioner’s sugar glaze and a sprinkle of almonds.
I have my sights set on some holiday baking in the coming weeks, and these Soft Almond Sugar Cookies are definitely on the to-do list.
Not only are these Soft Almond Sugar Cookies delicious – they are so pretty too!
How do you make them?
You’ll prepare a buttery sugar cookie batter that mixes up soft and light.
The sweet cookie batter is flavored with both almond and vanilla extracts, plus a splash of fresh orange juice, which gives these Soft Almond Sugar Cookies a uniquely delicious flavor.
The cookie batter is placed into a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip like this one (affiliate link), then it’s piped onto the cookie sheet in long strips for baking. The cookies flatten and spread a bit as they bake so be sure to leave some space in between each cookie.
After the cookies are baked and fully cooled, mix up a simple glaze of confectioner’s sugar and milk which is also flavored with a touch of almond extract. Spread the glaze over the top of each cookie, then sprinkle sliced almonds on top of the glaze. Allow the cookies to set up for about ten minutes. As the glaze dries, the almonds will stay intact on the top of the cookie.
I think these Soft Almond Sugar Cookies are especially good with a cup of Espresso. Enjoy!
You might like these other cookie recipes:
- Italian Almond-Orange Cookies
- Italian Anisette Cookies
- 4-Ingredient Shortbread Cookies
- Spritz Cookies
- Almond Malted Brittle Bars
Soft Almond Sugar Cookies
Soft Almond Sugar Cookies are piped cookies, baked and topped with a confectioner’s sugar glaze and a sprinkle of almonds.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 30 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 whole eggs
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, measured properly by sifting into the measuring cups
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons orange juice
Topping
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
3 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. and place an oven rack in the upper third of the oven.
- Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter for one minute.
- Add sugar and beat until pale, two more minutes.
- Add both extracts, beat and scrape the bowl and beat again.
- With the mixer running on low, add one egg at a time and incorporate before adding the next. Scrape and beat again to combine.
- In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt.
- Mix the milk and orange juice together.
- With mixer on low, alternate adding flour mixture and milk mixture and beat just to combine. Scrape and mix again.
- Place half the batter into a piping bag fitted with a large tip (affiliate link) and pipe out four-inch long cookies (refill bag as needed). We placed 15 each on two pans for a total of 30 cookies, each four inches long.
- Bake one pan at a time in the upper third of your oven for ten minutes. Remove and bake the next pan for ten minutes. The cookies will be light in color.
- As each pan comes out, remove the cookies to a rack to cool by sliding the parchment onto the cooling rack. Wait five minutes then remove the cookies from the parchment to cool further directly on the rack.
- In a small bowl, mix the confectioner’s sugar, milk and the almond extract to a smooth consistency.
- Once the cookies are cool, line them up on a parchment lined cookie sheet and with a spoon or small whisk, drizzle on the icing over each one. The icing does not have to be neat or perfect or cover the whole top. Just need enough for the almond slices to stick.
- Immediately sprinkle on the sliced almonds.
- Let sit ten minutes to set up and harden a bit then place on a serving platter to serve.
Can you replace the orange juice with something else?
You could swap in lemon juice to change up the flavor a bit.
Hello again. Gave review previously but messed up with sending. Baking I can manage , technology , not so much. But very tasty cookie will definitely make again. But will do smaller. Sorry if this all sounds redundant but I don’t know if the first email even was sent OK thank you so much for your recipe I love it
Hi Adelaide – I didn’t see the first comment – but glad you are enjoying the cookies!
Delicious cookies! Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome Rachel – glad you liked them!
Love these will make again, but need the right tip next time.
So glad you enjoyed the cookies Theresa!
Can you just drop the batter on to the cookie sheet? Does it need to be piped?
Sure Alyssa – these will work as a drop cookie
Hi, would you suggest keeping the rest of the cookies on the extra cookie sheets in the refrigerator while the first pan bakes or leaving them out at room temperature?
Hi Monica – as long as the cookie sheet is room temperature you should be ok keeping the cookies out of the refrigerator while the others bake. If you are reusing cookie sheets, wait until they fully cook before piping the cookies on them.
Can these be made with a smaller piping tip ?
Not really Lisa – the cookie dough/batter is somewhat thick and it won’t press through a smaller tip.
Can you freeze these and if so at what point, thank you so much.
Hi Jacque – We haven’t tried freezing these, but I’d suggest freezing after you bake the cookies, then thaw and add the glaze and almonds to the top.
The cookies are so good. The recipe was easy to follow but I found incorporating the egg whites a little odd cutting in with a knife. Other than that a great Christmas cookie.
Thanks for your feedback Rhonda.
Would you be able to use almond milk in place of any of the milk or cream? Also could you sub margarine for butter? These look delightful!
Hi Jacque – We’ve only made these cookies as written – without testing, we’d only be guessing about how the recipe would work with so many substitutions.