These cookies are so good. It is the first time I have used almond flour, but it will not be my last. The lemon and orange zest make these cookies a favorite of mine.
These cookies are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Add the orange and lemon zest along with the taste of almonds, and these will become a family favorite.
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Ingredients You Will Need
Almond Flour-You can undoubtedly make your almond flour from scratch, and here are a few sites that show you how: Minimalist Baker and Foolproof Living. However, I need a super fine almond flour, and I have been happy with the Red Mill brand.
Orange and Lemon Zest-Since you only need 1 teaspoon of each, it will not be over 1 of each fruit, depending on the size of your orange and lemon.
Maraschino Cherries-You can use regular cherries or candied cherries, but my favorite is the maraschino cherries. Just look at the bottle and get one with primarily nice-looking whole cherries. You will cut them in half, so the nicer looking they are, the easier it is to cut them.
Sicilian Almond Cookies Start to Finish
Cookie Dough
Add sifted powdered sugar to the almond flour; you can do this all in the mixer bowl. Next, whisk the almond flour and the sifted powdered sugar to blend the two. Next, add the orange and lemon zest along with the vanilla extract. Finally, add the slightly beaten egg whites to the rest of the ingredients in the mixer bowl.
I am sifting powdered sugar into a bowl with almond flour.
All the ingredients are in the mixer bowl, including the slightly beaten eggs.
Mix all the ingredients for a minute or two. This almond cookie dough is grainy due to the almond flour. Even though the Red Mill almond flour is super fine, it is still made up of almond nuts. This type of flour helps keep the middle chewy. Scrape down the sides to make it easier to spoon into the piping bag.
Mixed on a low mixer speed for a couple of minutes.
Scraping all the cookie dough to the bottom, ready for the piping bag.
Piping Bag and Tip
Cut the end off a piping bag. Add the tip with the inside coupling part. Then screw the top part of the coupling that fits over the tip and end of the piping bag. If you choose to cut the end of the bag and just use the tip with no coupling, know that this cookie dough is dense and might split the piping bag.
Closed large star piping tip inserted into the piping bag.
Screw the top part of the white coupling over the tip and bag.
Fill the bag with the almond cookie dough and set it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Letting the cookie dough rest in the fridge will help meld the flavors together.
Preparing The Cherries
While the cookie dough is in the refrigerator, it is time to get the maraschino cherries ready. I did extra, so I had a good choice of cherry halves. Cut at least ten cherries in half and set them on the cut side down on a paper towel. In a couple of minutes, transfer them to a clean paper towel. You want as much juice drained as you can.
Create and Bake Your Almond Cookies
Take the piping bag and pipe 1-½" to 2" circles, ending it in the middle. Next, take the half-cut cherries and put the cut end right in the middle of each cookie. Depending on the size of your circles, this will determine how many cookies you will get for the cookie dough.
Piping 2" circles and closing the circle in the middle,
Adding half a cherry on top right in the middle.
Stick the whole pan into the refrigerator overnight. This process helps keep the swirl shape; if you bake them right away, they will lose the swirl shape and be flat.
Bake at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) for 14-16 minutes, then turn on the broiler for a minute or two. Depending on how fast your broiler starts to brown the cookies. Watch closely; you don't want them to burn; just crisp up the ends of the swirls. This process is what gives the cookies the crispy outside.
Storage
After they have cooled, I store these in a container with a lid. The cookies last 5-7 days before they are not quite as crispy on the outside, but they are still chewy on the inside.
Recipe
Traditional Sicilian (traditional Italian) Almond Cookies
Barbara HallWould you like to save this recipe?
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Ingredients
- 2 cups (224 g) Almond flour
- 1 ⅔ cup (200 g) Powdered sugar
- 3 large (3 large) Eggs whites
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Orange zest
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Lemon zest
- 10 (10) Maraschino cherries
- ⅛ teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) Pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Sift the powdered sugar right on top of the almond flour; I use a whisk to blend them. Add the zest from the orange and lemon and the vanilla extract. Slightly beat the three egg whites and add these to the mixture.
- I use my stand mixer on low speed to make sure all the ingredients are mixed. Next, scrape all the cookie dough to the bottom of the bowl. Spoon mixture into a pastry bag (the tip I used with my pastry bag was a large closed star). Put the bag with the dough inside into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- While the cookie dough is in the refrigerator take the cherries and cut them in half. Put the cut side down on a paper towel to help absorb the juice from the cherries. Give them a few minutes then transfer them to a clean paper towel.
- Line your cookie sheet pan with parchment paper, pipe out 2-inch circles, and close it in the middle. You want a beautiful mound. Now add one cherry half onto the top of each cookie. Finally, put the whole pan into the refrigerator for at least overnight. If you do not do this step, the cookies will not hold their shape when baked and will be flat.
- Pre-heat your oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) then take the cookies from the refrigerator and right into the oven. I baked mine about 14-16 minutes before I turned the broiler on to finish browning the outside of the cookies for about 1 to 2 minutes. Broiling will give them a crispy outside and soft inside. Place on a rack to cool after taking them out of the oven.
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NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
Lori says
My dough was to thick to pipe out any suggestions what went wrong
Barbara says
Hi Lori, I don't know what kind of tip you used for your piping, but I use a large open or closed star. The closed star is a little harder to pipe out than the open star. You could also put the dough in the Microwave (take the dough out of the bag) for 10 to 15 seconds just to soften it up a little. You just want it to warm up a little to make it easier to pipe.
Let me know if one of these tricks works for you. It can also make a difference on how much almond flour was added if you just used a measuring cup vs. weighing it out. It is so easy to add more flour than it needs by just measuring. I know I didn't realize it until I actually got a cheap scale and did a test for both ways. - Barbara
Joanne Cooney says
Please email me the complete recipe
Barbara says
I emailed you the recipe, please let me know if you did not get it...Barbara
Tammy Snook says
In the recipe it says to use 1 teaspoon each of the zest but in the description it says 1/2 teaspoon. Which is it?
Barbara says
Oh thank you Tammy! It would be 1 teaspoon of each. I have made the change. Have a great night - Barbara
Emery says
idk, i didnt even try the cookie yet but I'm using it for a project and I want it to be good
Maria Courtenay-Luck says
Hello Barbara
I made the cookies I had to use spoons to the make them round balls no icing bag I did not leave them in the fridge.
Then used a glacie cherry.
But had to say they came out delicious.
But I will continue to make them as my children and grandchildren love them when I have always bought them before now I have the recipe I will be adding them to my Easter biscuits collection which I give out to my family and friends.
Thank you so much
Barbara says
Hi Maria, I am so glad you like the biscuits and you have the recipe for them now. Happy Easter! - Barbara
Anne McManus says
Hello! I have been wanting this recipe forever! I can't wait to try it. I don't use pastry tips so what should I buy? How long to keep the dough with swirls and cherries in frig?
Barbara says
Hi Anne, I sent you an email but thought I would answer here also, you could use a spoon and make a ball. Then flatten it out a little and using the prongs on the fork make small ridges. Add your cherry and finish the cookies as directed. Hope this helps. Happy Holidays! - Barbara
Paula says
I just couldn’t pipe the dough with a large stare tip. Microwaved a bit added more egg whites. Gave up and just had to spoon the dough into a mound
Francesca says
Hi,
Could I substitute almond extract for vanilla?
Thanks,
Francesca
Barbara says
Hi Francesca, I do not see why not; I have not tried it with almond extract, but that is a great idea. - Barbara
Patricia Crain says
I replaced vanilla with Amaretto liqueur! SOOO good!! (I admit increasing the amount a bit LOL)
Barbara says
Oh, Patricia that sound wonderful, what a great substitution. I wish I had thought of it. But so glad you liked the cookies.
Alice says
yummy thank you very much 👍
Barbara says
Alice, you are so welcome!-Barbara
Gisella says
Can you make a bunch, freeze, then bake at a later time?
Barbara says
Hi Gisella, I have not put these cookies in the freezer, so I am unsure how they will bake after you thaw them. With the almond flour and cherries, these cookies are a bit on the delicate side. If you have time, I would suggest doing a small batch to see how they turn out. I would hate for you to do a bunch only to find out they did not turn out as expected. I hope this helps! - Barbara
Diane says
For the traditional Sicilian almond cookie receipe can you tell me if I substituted the powered sugar for monk fruit sugar will it come out the same? I can’t eat regular sugar .
Barbara says
Hi Diane, They do make a Monk fruit Powdered sugar, but my concern is that it takes so little of the Monk fruit to equal a cup of regular powdered sugar that there won't be anything to bind the cookie together. This type of cookie has so few ingredients since the egg whites and the sugar give the almond flour structure. I just don't want you to be disappointed in the results. I hope this helps. - Barbara
Steph says
Swerve makes a powdered sugar substitute that is a 1:1 ratio. It has the same taste as sugar but is erthrytol (a sugar alcohol) instead of sugar so low carb and won't mess with blood sugar in diabetics. Since it's got the same texture and is used in the same ratio as sugar, it might work better instead of the monk fruit. I generally use Swerve for most sugar substitutions and have no issues since I'm a bariatric patient and can't eat a lot of sugar.
Barbara says
Hi Steph, thank you for letting other visitors know about Swerve. I must admit I am not very good at recommending substitute sugar since I do not use them. This is why I love when bakers that do use certain products can help someone else out. Happy Holidays! - Barbara
Alex says
If I don’t have much fridge space, could I just chill the dough in the pastry bag then pipe and bake?
Barbara says
Hi Alex, Unfortunately, skipping the step of piping and then refrigerating the piped cookies overnight may not yield the results you are looking for. The overnight piped cookie dough sets and defines the shape of the ridges on the cookies. Your cookies may become just flat cookies when baked. I hope this helps. - Barbara
Vilma says
Hello, I just made them. They are delicious, crispy outside and chewy inside. Can I make them without the zest?
Thanks,
Vilma
Barbara says
Hi Vilma, Of course, you do not have to use the zest, but they will lack some flavor, I would think. They do make Pure Orange and Lemon extract that might work as a substitute. I would start with a small amount of each since I am unsure of the ratio of extract to zest. But I am glad you like the cookies; they are a favorite of mine! - Barbara
Lori Ciano says
Can these cookies be frozen?
Barbara says
Hi Lori,
The broiling makes them crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Freezing after they have been baked would capture moisture, making them chewy on both the inside and the outside. I think that if you pipe the cookies on a sheet pan and then freeze them on the sheet pan, you could transfer them to a freezer bag. When you are ready, set them out for 30 minutes on a sheet pan, add the cherries, and then bake and broil. I have not tried this but it makes sense that this will work. Let me know! - Barbara
Josephine says
My broiler doesn't work. Will this be ok if i don't do that step?
Barbara says
Hi Josephine, Of course! Just keep in mind that they will not have that crunchy outside but will be softer cookies. The tops of the ridges will not have the toasted look or taste to them. Do you have a toaster oven?
Josephine says
Yes, I do and it's pretty big.
Barbara says
Great! Some have a broil setting, or just the top heating element turns on. Just keep an eye on it to see what setting will work the best. Let me know how they turn out.
Josie says
Hi, The cookies are delicious! I'd like to bake a few batches for my daughter's bridal shower as favors. Could the cookies be baked in advance and frozen?
Barbara says
Hi Josie, Congrats on your daughter's upcoming marriage! I would not freeze these simply because you put them under a broiler to crisp the edges. The broiling makes them crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Freezing captures moisture, and that will make them just chewy on both the inside and the outside. I wonder if after you pipe the cookies on a sheet pan and add the cherries, the next day, after they have been in the refrigerator all night, freeze them and bake and broil them just before the shower. I hope this helps - Barbara
Lucia says
These cookies are excellent! Not hard to make, just have to plan ahead. They remind me of almond cookies I like to buy at Italian pastry shops. Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside!
Barbara says
Lucia - I love these cookies also! The crunchy outside, along with the chewy inside, is what makes them so good. Thank you - Barbara
Barbara says
I’m always looking for recipes that help me reduce the carbohydrates but are less sweet. Can I reduce the amount of sugar?
Barbara says
Hi Barbara! Honestly since there are so few ingredients I am not sure how it will affect the cookie. If you do reduce the sugar I would start by maybe 1/4 cup and see how they are. If you do try this method please share the results I would love to know how they turned out.
Donna says
I have been looking for this recipe for some time
Barbara says
Hi Donna, I am glad you found it!
Connie says
Can we use egg white from a carton to this recipe as an option.
Barbara says
Hi Connie, Since you are not going to whip the egg whites like for a macaroon, it may work. I have not worked with carton egg whites, but this batch does not make that many, if you don't mind doing 1 batch to see how they come together. If you decide to try it, please let me know how they turn out I would be very interested.
Brianna says
hi! can i use regular all purpose flour rather than almond flour?
Barbara says
Hi Brianna, Unfortunately, I am afraid that regular flour is not a good substitute for almond flour. Besides the taste, the almond flour gives the cookie a different texture. This allows for a soft center and the ability to toast the ridges from the piping. I hope this helps. Happy Holidays! - Barbara