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You are here: Home / Cookies / Flourless Soft Almond Cookies (Pasticcini di Mandorle)

Flourless Soft Almond Cookies (Pasticcini di Mandorle)

March 14, 2018 by Wendy Sondov 19 Comments

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Flourless Soft Almond Cookies (Pasticcini di Mandorle) can be soft like marzipan or baked a few minutes more for a slightly crunchy chew. Either way, these wondrous cookies are a real Italian treat! Made with only 4 ingredients, these delicious cookies are naturally gluten free and ideal for Passover or Easter sweetness.

Flourless Soft Almond Cookies (Pasticcini di Mandorle)



 

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When it comes to dunkable, dip-able, cookies with amazingly long shelf life, Italian cookies win the prize. Perhaps this is due to espresso being so much a part of the Italian culture and the obvious need for a cookie to go along side.

Perhaps Italian bakers are just genius. From biscotti to taralli dolce di pasqua (Italian Easter Cookies) to these Pasticcini di Mandorle (Flourless Soft Almond Cookies), Italian cookies are what your cookie jar and care packages should be filled with.

Flourless Soft Almond Cookies (Pasticcini di Mandorle)

Flourless Soft Almond Cookies may be the easiest cookie I have ever made. There are only four ingredients; almond flour, confectioners’ sugar, lemon zest, and eggs.

There is no mixer required. Just combine the ingredients, roll in confectioners’ sugar, bake, and enjoy. The naturally gluten free, grain free ingredients, make these cookies a lovely Passover or Easter treat.

Flourless Soft Almond Cookies (Pasticcini di Mandorle)

It’s not often that I look at a cookie and think that no sprinkles are needed, but Flourless Soft Almond Cookies are a beautiful exception. I love the way the powdered, white crust cracks and the yellow almond cookie shows through.

They are definitely eye catching without any bling. Should you want to add a bit of spring color, turning Flourless Soft Almond Cookies into lovely pastel Easter cookies, I found an easy way to color the confectioners’ sugar.

Color Kitchen sells little packets of all natural food coloring powder. I bought mine at Whole Foods. The packets come in red, yellow, and blue, which can be combined to create all the colors of the rainbow. Mixing the powder in a small plastic bag with the confectioners’ sugar, colors the sugar in soft pastel hues.

Flourless Soft Almond Cookies (Pasticcini di Mandorle)

Disclaimer: There are rarely any Monday Box recipes that use nuts. I am extremely allergic to tree nuts and can’t even bake with them.

Almonds are a partial exception for me. I can’t eat them, but it doesn’t bother me to bake with them. That said, in order to evaluate the flavor of Flourless Soft Almond Cookies, I had to rely on the reactions and comments of my taste testers.

I can’t tell you first hand that these cookies live up to the rave reviews I read while researching. However, I can tell you that no one I gave them to stopped at one cookie. Two or three cookies into their “taste testing”, each person was still smiling, munching, and muttering some version of, “Mmmmm,” while reaching for another.

Flourless Soft Almond Cookies (Pasticcini di Mandorle)

 

Flourless Soft Almond Cookies are a cookie for all occasions. They are simple enough for everyday enjoyment, yet so pretty you will want to share them at your Passover or Easter celebrations.

Flourless Soft Almond Cookies (Pasticcini di Mandorle)
5 from 1 vote
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Flourless Soft Almond Cookies (Pasticcini di Mandorle)

Adapted from Rachel Roddy @ TheGuardian.com
Makes 32 cookies
Author Wendy Sondov

Ingredients

  • 3 ¼ cups almond flour
  • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar plus about ½ cup for coating
  • Zest from 1 lemon
  • 2 large eggs lightly beaten
  • Optional for colored sugar coating:
  • 3 packages of Color Kitchen powdered natural food coloring red, blue, yellow

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, confectioners’ sugar, and lemon zest.
  3. Add the beaten eggs. Mix until combined and dough forms.
  4. Put ½ cup of confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl.
  5. Optional: For colored confectioners’ sugar, divide evenly into three ziplock bags. Add ¼ teaspoon of powdered coloring and knead bag until the sugar is evenly colored. Add additional powder in ¼ teaspoon increments until desired color is achieved. (Combine primary colors to create additional shades. Red and blue were combined for the purple coloring.)
  6. Scoop dough into slightly rounded 1 tablespoon portions. Roll to coat in the confectioners’ sugar. Roll in palm, over the sugar bowl, to form a ball and to remove excess sugar.
  7. Place 2” apart on the prepared baking sheet. With a finger, make a small indentation in the middle of each cookie to promote even baking.
  8. Bake for 11-12 minutes for soft, marzipan-like cookies or 14-15 minutes for slightly crunchy-chewy cookies.
  9. Remove from the oven and move the cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  10. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one month.

Packing Tips

Wrap pairs of cookies, bottoms together, in plastic wrap. Stack the wrapped bundles in a freezer weight ziplock bag. To use a plastic storage container, layer cookies between sheets of wax paper. Add crumpled tissue paper between the cookie and the lid, if necessary, to prevent ANY movement while shipping.

Baking tools I used and recommended in this post:

 

You might also like:

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies covered in confectioners sugarFlourless Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Flourless S’mores Peanut Butter CookiesFlourless S’mores Peanut Butter Cookies Almond Sand Dollar CookiesAlmond Sand Dollar Cookies 25 Cookies with Sugar and Sprinkles25 Cookies with Sugar and Sprinkles

Filed Under: Cookies, Gluten Free Tagged With: care packages, Easter, Flourless Soft Almond Cookies (Pasticcini di Mandorle), gluten free, lemon zest, long shelf life, military care packages, missionary care packages, no mixer, Passover

« Chocolate Covered Chocolate Mint Cookies
Flourless S’mores Peanut Butter Cookies »

Comments

  1. Chris Scheuer says

    March 15, 2018 at 10:12 am

    These are beautiful cookies and being an almond flour lover, I already know I would be reaching for a second one too!

    Reply
    • The Monday Box says

      March 16, 2018 at 3:11 pm

      Thanks, Chris! It’s hard to believe that these puffy, chewy cookies have no flour! I love that they will work for everyone’s spring holidays!

      Reply
  2. frugal hausfrau says

    March 17, 2018 at 6:55 pm

    This is such a fun post and I loved learning about coloring the sugar. I love almond cookies of all kinds, and the Italians do seem to have a lot of different ones. This would be perfect for Easter, and I just remembered I have some almond flour I need to pull out and use!

    Mollie

    Reply
  3. Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says

    March 18, 2018 at 3:50 pm

    These are beautiful! Pinned! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party.

    Reply
  4. Carlee says

    March 18, 2018 at 9:49 pm

    What beautiful cookies! I would have never guessed they were so simple to make. Too bad you weren’t able to enjoy one, but by the looks and sounds of it you have a winner on your hands anyway!

    Reply
  5. April J Harris says

    March 19, 2018 at 1:21 pm

    I just love the colours of your cookies, Wendy, and they look so delicious! They are perfect for a spring afternoon tea. Featuring this post at the Hearth and Soul Link Party this week. Thank you so much for sharing it! Have a lovely week!

    Reply
  6. Miz Helen says

    March 19, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    I just pinned your beautiful cookies! Have a great first week of spring and thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with FULL PLATE THURSDAY!
    Miz Helen

    Reply
  7. Chris says

    March 19, 2018 at 8:26 pm

    Thought these might have almond extract. Do you think they would wo rk with an artificial sweetener?

    Reply
    • The Monday Box says

      March 19, 2018 at 10:13 pm

      Hi Chris. There are only 4 ingredients in these cookies which doesn’t leave much wiggle room for changes. I haven’t tried making these with something like Swerve powdered sugar, but it might work with a change in texture. I think the Swerve cookies might not be as soft, but I am not sure. If you give it a try, please let me know. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Monica says

    March 21, 2018 at 9:57 am

    Wendy, these are gorgeous. Whenever I want to make cookies and want something quick and delicious, I make some form of almond macaroons. These are very similar and I love how you dusted them with that gorgeous, naturally colored, confectioners’ sugar! So pretty and so tasty. I’d love some with my coffee (incidentally, my son and I recently polished off a small batch of biscotti : ).

    Reply
  9. Katherine says

    March 23, 2018 at 6:33 pm

    Delish! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing with us at #bestoftheweekend

    Reply
  10. saltandserenity says

    March 25, 2018 at 8:35 pm

    These cookies remind me of an almond cookie I had over 6 years ago in Capri. I still dream about them. They were called mandorlati. I got so excited when I read your post. VCan’t wait to try them. Love the pastel colours. Love the idea of natural food colourings. Wish they would make gel ones!

    Reply
  11. Sue Fox says

    December 29, 2018 at 12:08 am

    5 stars
    Made these with pistachio and left out the lemon. They got rave reviews, going to make them next time with the almond meal.

    Reply
    • The Monday Box says

      December 29, 2018 at 8:50 am

      Hi, Sue.I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies! Thanks for sharing your successful variation and for writing a comment/review!

      Reply
  12. Suzanne says

    April 17, 2019 at 1:49 pm

    This looks delicious! I love the combo of lemon and almond!

    Reply
    • Wendy Sondov says

      June 8, 2019 at 10:17 am

      Thanks, Suzanne! I hope you enjoy these beauties!

      Reply
  13. Vanessa says

    May 17, 2019 at 1:50 pm

    Thanks for sharing! I love that they can keep awhile! Perfect to keep around for company!

    Reply
  14. TINA TAI says

    October 5, 2019 at 12:53 am

    These were so easy to make. I left the lemon out and added 1 tbs of almond essence instead. Tasted like the Italian ones I remember growing up. YUM! Do you think the uncooked dough could freeze for later use?

    Reply
    • Wendy Sondov says

      October 5, 2019 at 11:09 am

      Hi, Tina. I am so glad you enjoyed these cookies. I would appreciate it if you would add a 5 star rating. 🙂 Though I freeze cookie dough all the time, I realized after your question, that I have never tried freezing almond flour dough. I think it should work, but I am not sure. If you try it, please let me know how the cookies turn out!

      Reply

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