Soft Almond Sugar Cookies

I absolutely love almond flavored desserts. They have such a rich, sweet, nutty flavor that I can't get enough of. These Soft Almond Sugar Cookies are seriously the best sugar cookie that's quickly become my favorite! They're sweet, rich, and have that perfect, doughy, chewy texture we all love in homemade sugar cookies. To top it all off, they are glazed in a sweet almond icing with the perfect amount of almond flavor and sliced almonds for a little crunch.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• These buttery soft cookies will melt in your mouth, just like my lemon cookie bars!
• It only requires 10 ingredients that you probably already have on hand - no secret ingredient needed.
• These super easy almond flavored cookies come together in only 4 steps and about 30 minutes!
• The flavor of these soft sugar cookies is great all year round, so keep this recipe on-hand for everything from movie nights to birthday parties to the holiday season where these will become your go-to almond Christmas cookies.
• This delicious take on classic sugar cookies is easy to double or triple to make a lot of cookies.

Ingredients

• Almond extract is what turns these sugar cookies into something super special. It can be found in the baking aisle of your grocery store by the vanilla extract. I highly recommend using a high quality one, like Watkins Pure Almond Extract.
• Granulated sugar beat together with room temperature butter makes these into soft and chewy sugar cookies.
• Powdered sugar, also referred to as confectioners' sugar, is key to making a smooth, creamy almond icing when combined with milk. Not only is powdered sugar finely ground, it also contains cornstarch which helps bring the icing together.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Substitutions & Variations

• Substitute your favorite extract flavoring for the almond extract such as vanilla, maple, or lemon.
• Add food coloring to the icing to make decorated chewy almond sugar cookies.
• Incorporate your favorite chocolate candies or dried fruit into the batter to add additional texture and flavor.
• Swap the almond icing for cream cheese frosting and fresh fruit, like in my fruit pizza cookies recipe!

This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, beat softened unsalted butter and sugar until light and fluffy on medium-high speed. Then add in the egg and almond extract.

Step 2: Mix the all purpose flour, baking soda, and salt into the wet ingredients until just combined, ensuring you scrape the sides of the bowl.

Step 3: Roll the almond cookie dough into 3-4 tablespoon balls and place on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart until you fill the entire baking sheet. Bake cookies at 350°F until the edges of the cookies look dry and are just barely tan. Remove from the oven and cool the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Step 4: To make the icing, in a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract. Spread almond icing on the cookies, add a few sliced almonds, and let dry.

Expert Tips

1. Room temperature butter is necessary to be able to cream with the sugar. Leave the butter on the counter a few hours ahead of baking or pop it into the microwave in 10 second increments until you can lightly press into the side of the stick of butter.
2. Be careful not to over-bake the cookies! They should just be starting to tan on the edges and may still look undercooked in the centers when you take them out of the oven. If they bake for too long, they won't be as soft.
3. For best results, sift your powdered sugar to ensure there are no clumps in your icing.

Recipe FAQs

Storage

Room Temperature

Store unfrosted cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Refrigerator

Iced almond cookies can be stored in the fridge for 1 week. They should stay soft here!

Freezing Instructions

For the longest shelf life, wrap the baked cookies in a freezer-safe storage container and freeze for up to 3 months.

If you don't want to bake all of the the dough right away, roll the remaining dough into balls and then freeze in a Ziploc bag so you can have freshly baked cookies whenever you get a hankering. Store in your freezer for up to 1 month and place cookie dough balls directly from the freezer onto a prepared cookie sheet and bake as directed.

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