Almendrados are Spain’s ancient almond cookies — chewy, fragrant and naturally gluten-free, with a lineage running back through Moorish Spain, when almonds first became the soul of Iberian confectionery.
The recipe is almost monastic: almond flour, sugar, egg whites for lift, yolks for the golden glaze, cinnamon and lemon zest for perfume. No butter, no oil — the almonds’ own richness does everything.
They are holiday cookies by tradition and coffee companions by vocation, and they keep beautifully in a tin — which matters, because the recipe scales up with suspicious ease.
Almendrados Recipe
Prep time: 15 minutes · Cook time: 18 minutes · Total: 35 minutes · Servings: 6 · Calories: ~188 per serving
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour (or finely ground almonds)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- Whole almonds, for decorating (optional)
- Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Mix the almond flour, sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest.
- Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and fold them into the almond mixture until it forms a dough.
- Roll into 1-inch balls, place on the sheet, and flatten slightly.
- Press a whole almond into each, if using, and brush the tops with the beaten yolks.
- Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until the edges turn lightly golden.
- Cool 5 minutes on the sheet, then finish on a rack. Dust with powdered sugar if you like.
Recipe Notes
- Portugal’s Algarve makes near-identical cousins — the almond belt ignores borders.
- Underbake slightly for chewier centers; they firm as they cool.
- They keep two weeks in a tin and make excellent gifts, if they survive that long.
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