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.
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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 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.
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.
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 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)
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
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, confectioners’ sugar, and lemon zest.
- Add the beaten eggs. Mix until combined and dough forms.
- Put ½ cup of confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl.
- 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.)
- 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.
- 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.
- Bake for 11-12 minutes for soft, marzipan-like cookies or 14-15 minutes for slightly crunchy-chewy cookies.
- Remove from the oven and move the cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- 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:
Chris Scheuer says
These are beautiful cookies and being an almond flour lover, I already know I would be reaching for a second one too!
The Monday Box says
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!
frugal hausfrau says
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
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says
These are beautiful! Pinned! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party.
Carlee says
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!
April J Harris says
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!
Miz Helen says
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
Chris says
Thought these might have almond extract. Do you think they would wo rk with an artificial sweetener?
The Monday Box says
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. 🙂
Monica says
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 : ).
Katherine says
Delish! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing with us at #bestoftheweekend
saltandserenity says
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!
Sue Fox says
Made these with pistachio and left out the lemon. They got rave reviews, going to make them next time with the almond meal.
The Monday Box says
Hi, Sue.I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies! Thanks for sharing your successful variation and for writing a comment/review!
Carrie says
Great recipe! I wanted to make sure that almond flavor really came through so I added a handful of crushed almonds and a half teaspoon of almond extract. Came out just fabulous! Thanks!!!
Wendy Sondov says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Carrie! I think almond lovers will be happy to read about your additions.
Suzanne says
This looks delicious! I love the combo of lemon and almond!
Wendy Sondov says
Thanks, Suzanne! I hope you enjoy these beauties!
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! I love that they can keep awhile! Perfect to keep around for company!
TINA TAI says
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?
Wendy Sondov says
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!
Sandra Natascha Martin says
Do you know calorie count for this recipe?
Wendy Sondov says
Hi Sandra. I suggest you use a nutrition analyzer to figure out calorie count. Using this one, https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer , I found the calorie count for these cookies to be about 100 calories each.
Margit Stratton says
I just made these cookies for the first time. I always measure the ingredients. The dough was so sticky I could hardly get it off my fingers. Is that normal? Thanks
Wendy Sondov says
Hi, Margit. I’m sorry this recipe gave you trouble.The dough for these cookies should not be that sticky. I make these cookies frequently and just roll the dough in my hands before coating in confectioner’s sugar. Are you in the US? I ask because sometimes ingredients are slightly different in other countries (grind of almond flour, starch is often added to powdered sugar in the US and not other countries, egg sizes vary). I would try adding a tablespoon more of the almond flour and powdered sugar and see if that firms your dough a bit. For future reference, I always use either Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour or Trader Joe’s fine ground almond flour. I hope this helps and your cookies end up tasting delicious.
Margit says
Thanks for getting back to me!
I am in the U.S.A.
I’m going to make another batch tomorrow. I’ll let you know how they come out.
The cookies are delicious 😋
Wendy Sondov says
Awesome, Margit! Thanks for letting me know! I would really appreciate it if you would leave a 5 star rating so that other readers will know that this is a recipe they should try! Happy baking and stay safe!
Margit says
I made another batch today and they came out perfect!
Stay safe! And thank you so much for a wonderful recipe!
Wendy Sondov says
You are so welcome! Enjoy!