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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
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Soft Almond Sugar Cookies
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.
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They were bland, so I added more almond extract. But then after adding the flour, the dough was hard to work with and pipe.
Sorry you were disappointed Kristie
Can i use almond flour/ meal in place of all purpose for this recipe?
We’ve never tried doing so. Can’t say for sure how the swap will work.
My son loves almond flavored desserts, I’m sure he’d love to make these with me!
Hope he enjoys the cookies Nelya!
Can I substitute the orange juice for something else ? I don’t want them tasting citrusy
You can leave it out and add milk instead Jaime.
I would love to make these cookie’s using Almond Flour. Has anyone tried it>
I don’t know Ellen – I think it would require a recipe re-write. We’ve only made these cookies as written in the recipe.
Delicious!
Could almond flour be substituted for the flour in your recipe? Thanks.
Hi Joy – We’ve only made the recipe as written. You might need to make some other adjustments if you swap in almond flour as it has more moisture than all-purpose flour.
Ok so if I want to keep the almond taste I can just exclude the orange juice and use water
Yes!
Can you refrigerate this dough
Yes Barbara – that should be fine but before baking, you’ll want to bring the dough back to room temperature.
I am going to make them just as you say to do but I will toast my almonds in the oven before I put them on the cookie.bonnje
Thanks for the suggestion Bonnie!
These look divine. Have not made yet was noticed there was no almond flour used in this recipe, just almond extract and sliced almonds. Can I use almond flour. Thank you.
Hi Peg – You’d have to make other adjustments because almond flour has more moisture than all-purpose flour. Without testing an entirely new recipe, I’m afraid I can’t give you any specific guidance – I’d just be guessing.