Desserts
ChefLoubna Fawaz
Almondina (Almond Cookies)
How to make Almondina (almond sweets) — a melt-in-the-mouth almond biscuit, perfect for entertaining. A tried-and-true, detailed recipe.
How to make Almondina (almond sweets) from start to finish — an easy recipe!
Ingredients
Start here, then move straight into the method.
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (or as needed for the dough)
- 1 egg
- A pinch of vanilla powder or a few drops of liquid vanilla, depending on availability
- Grated lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup powdered sugar (confectioners'), sifted
- 200 g melted butter
- 1/2 cup ground almonds
- 1/2 cup toasted chopped almonds
- You will obtain a smooth, medium-soft dough
- Almondina can be shaped and cut by any method or kitchen tool available; it does not have to be crescent-shaped
- Remove the Almondina from the oven and garnish with powdered sugar and ground pistachios
- For the marzipan (marzaban/marsaban) recipe and an easy homemade video method, watch: "Easy homemade marzipan preparation"
- To make maamoul marsaban filled with dates, see this link: "Maamoul Marsaban filled with dates"
Method
Follow the cooking sequence without leaving the page.
- In a deep bowl, place the powdered sugar then add the softened or melted butter and mix with a fork or fingertips.
- Add the egg (or just the egg yolk if you prefer), a little lemon zest and the vanilla, and mix.
- Add the remaining ingredients: flour, ground almonds and chopped toasted almonds.
- Add the baking powder and continue to mix well using your fingertips, a fork or a hand whisk.
- You should get a smooth dough of medium softness.
- Place the dough between two pieces of baking paper and roll it out with a rolling pin until it is flat — not too thin (to avoid over-browning) and not too thick.
- Use a crescent or moon-shaped cutter, or if you don’t have one cut the dough into circles and then halve them.
- You can shape Almondina any way you like with available kitchen tools; a crescent shape is not required.
- Place the shaped cookies on a preheated oven at 170°C for about 15 minutes or until they turn light golden — remove them before they brown too much.Timers: 15 min
- Remove the Almondina from the oven and dust with powdered sugar and ground pistachios for garnish.
- To see how to make Marzipan-style sweets at home, watch the simple video: Easy homemade marzipan sweets
- To make date-filled marzipan cookies, see: Date-filled marzipan cookies
Recipe tags
DessertsLevantVegetarian
Notes and serving ideas
- Easy homemade marzipan sweets
- Date-filled marzipan cookies
