These Soft Almond Sugar Cookies are buttery soft with the best almond flavor! You can make these delicious sugar cookies within 30 minutes. It's no surprise how quickly they've become a favorite among my friends and readers!
I found this recipe a few months ago and have made it's about 6 times, it's so easy and so good!
-Miranda, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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I absolutely love almond flavored desserts. They have such a rich, sweet, nutty flavor that I can't get enough of.
These soft almond cookies are simple to whip up, incredibly delicious, and I have a feeling this recipe is going to become your new go-to sugar cookie recipe!
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.
If you're as obsessed with almond flavor I am, I highly recommend trying my Almond Poppy Seed Muffins, Almond Cream Cake, Almond Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting, and Almond Coffee Cake!
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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!
most valuable tool
Food Scale
Weigh your ingredients using a food scale for the most accurate measurements and easy clean-up!
How to Make Almond Sugar Cookies
Quick Recipe Video
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
- 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.
- 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.
- For best results, sift your powdered sugar to ensure there are no clumps in your icing.
Recipe FAQs
Most likely this is because of the bake time. Unlike other homemade cookie recipes, you barely want these sugar cookies to brown. Keep a close eye on them while baking so you don't overcook them and immediately transfer them to a cooling rack.
This can be from overworking your dough. When flour gets overmixed, it can turn your desserts tough or gluey. Make sure you stop mixing as soon as you can no longer see the dry ingredients to ensure soft cookies.
This is usually a result of over-measuring the flour. Weigh your dry ingredients in grams using a food scale for most accurate measurements!
Of course! These almond cookies are just as delicious plain as they are with the glaze.
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.
📖 Recipe
Soft Almond Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment recommended
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Cookie scoop
- Baking sheet
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
Almond Sugar Cookies
- 10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons almond extract*
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour weighed in grams or spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Almond Icing
- ¾ cup (90 g) powdered sugar
- 1½ tablespoons milk
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ cup sliced almonds optional, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes). Mix in the egg and almond extract well.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly to combine. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Scoop 3-4 tablespoons of dough, roll into a ball, and place on a baking sheet 2-3 inches apart. Bake until the edges just start to tan (about 9-12 minutes).
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- In a small bowl, make the icing by stirring together the powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract until smooth. Spread icing over the cooled cookies and top with a few sliced almonds.
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Angela Pope says
Was really good!
Miranda says
I found this recipe a few months ago and have made it’s about 6 times, it’s so easy and so good!
Kayla Burton says
Yay thank you, Miranda! So glad you're enjoying it!!
Karen DiZefalo says
Followed the recipe exactly as is except for one thing: When I read other comments about cookies not spreading, I thought perhaps sifting the flour might help..... Well, they turned out EXCELLENT!! My new favorite cookies! The dough made 12 thick, large cookies (approx. 4 in. across) with amazingly chewy textured centers. Rather than top with the suggested almond icing, I added a large dot of chocolate ganache.
Kendra says
These are so good! I only used 1 tsp of almond and 3/4 tsp of vanilla and a little less salt. I made 14 cookies at 14 minutes and they turned out perfect!
Lily says
This is my new favorite sugar cookie recipe! It’s so soft, sweet and wonderful. My husband and everyone at his work loved them too.
Kayla Burton says
I'm so happy to hear that!! Thank you for sharing, Lily!
Kelsey says
SO good! I was short 2 tablespoons of butter so used a tiny bit of vegetable oil. I also put my dough in the fridge for about an hour before baking. Baked up so nicely and sooo tasty!
Gwen says
Perfect for a picnic. I made these as a last minute idea and had everything needed (which makes a recipe even better for me!). Everyone ate them and loved them. Making another batch today for my kids who didn’t get any yesterday. Mine didn’t flatten out either, but were tasty nonetheless Thank you.
Kayla Burton says
Thank you, Gwen! I'm so glad everyone enjoyed them 🙂 sorry to hear they didn't flatten for you! Did you weigh the flour and make sure your baking soda's active? I hope they turn out even better today!!
Patricia says
These came out almost perfect. I made 16 instead of 8 as I felt they were very big. Flavor was excellent.
Kayla Burton says
So glad to hear this! Thank you for sharing, Patricia 🙂
Selita says
I followed recipe, butter and egg was @ room temp. Dough was super dry and cookies did not spread. I got cracked, puffy cookies. Was the flour supposed to be sifted? I'm confused as to how you got the cookies in the picture.
Kayla Burton says
How did you measure your flour?
Sydney says
Everytime I make these my cookies don’t spread right they kind of just stay in a ball and crackle a little and puff up. Not sure what I’m doing wrong /:
Kayla Burton says
Hi Sydney! I'm sorry you're having trouble with the cookies spreading! This could be caused by a few different things. How are you measuring your flour? Are you using room temperature butter? Is your baking soda active?