Sicilian Almond Paste Cookies
Authentic Sicilian Almond Paste Cookies or Paste di Mandorla are really easy to make, and just delicious! Made with just egg whites, sugar, almond flour, almond extract. They have crispy edges and are soft and chewy on the inside.
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 98kcal
Ingredients
FOR THE COOKIES
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg whites room temperature
- 1 tsp almond extract
- pinch of sea salt
- 2 ½ cups almond flour
FOR THE COATING
- ½ cup confectioner's sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat oven to 350F. Prep baking sheet with parchment paper and baking spray.
- Combine dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the almond flour with the granulated sugar.
- Whisk egg whites: In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites and the salt until soft peaks form. You could use an electric mixer, a hand whisk or a fork. Gently whisk in the almond extract.
- Make the dough: Start to add the almond flour mixture into the egg whites in portions, stirring with a wooden spoon after each addition. The mixture will seem dry, but keep stirring. Since they are gluten-free, you won’t get tough cookies from overworking the dough. You could even use your hands to combine the dough together.
- Roll in confectioner's sugar: Place some confectioner’s sugar in a bowl or a plate (this is to roll the cookie balls into).
- Roll out the cookie balls: Using a tablespoon, a spoon, or a small scoop, take out portions of the dough and use your hnds to form the dough into small balls. The dough is very sticky, so you could prep your hands with either baking spray or lightly dust them with confectioner’s sugar to help roll out the balls.
- Cookie size: The cookies should be small, so you should roll out about 1 ½-2 dozen cookie balls. It’s about 1-inch round (if you have a scale, you could measure each ball to be precise in the size/weight. I make so many that I can tell the size by eyeing it and feeling the weight of each cookie).
- Coat the cookies: Roll the cookie balls coating the cookies very well with the confectioner's sugar.
- Place cookies on baking sheet: Arrange the cookie balls on your prepped baking sheets.
- Flatten gently: Gently flatten the cookie balls with the bottom of a glass or even a knife. They will crack a bit on the sides, and that is fine.
- Bake cookies: Bake for 15-20 minutes. The cookies will slightly rise and form some cracks. Check on them at 15 minutes (every oven is different). They should be golden brown. Take care to not overbake them.The cookies will still be a little soft. Just make sure they are golden brown on top and on the bottom.
- Cool down cookies: Set them aside to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Calories: 98kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Sodium: 0.1mg | Potassium: 0.4mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 0.4mg