These almond-paste flavor cookies without almond paste capture the same sweet, nutty aroma and tender chewiness you’d expect from bakery-style Italian cookies, but they’re made with simple, budget-friendly pantry ingredients.
By using almond extract, almond flour, and egg whites, you'll get a perfectly balanced dough, and you’ll get all the authentic almond-paste taste without the high price tag.
These cookies come together quickly, bake beautifully, and are ideal for holiday cookie trays, special occasions, or everyday sweet cravings.
Whether you're avoiding almond paste due to cost, availability, or convenience, this recipe gives you the luxurious almond-dessert flavor you love—without the fuss.
In the many years of baking Italian-style cookie treats, these are both scrumptious and easy to prepare, and if you still want to make the original recipe, we have the Almond Paste Cafe cookies here to try..
So, roll up your sleeves, gather your ingredients, and to avoid ads and get straight to this recipe, hit print at the bottom of this post on the recipe card.
Why You Will Love This Recipe for Almond Paste-Inspired Cookies
- Economical & Budget-Friendly – Almond paste can be expensive, but these cookies recreate that same beloved flavor using affordable ingredients you likely already have on hand.
- Authentic Almond Flavor – Almond extract and almond flour deliver that unmistakable almond-paste aroma and taste.
- Easy to Make – No specialty ingredients, no complicated steps—just a simple, foolproof cookie dough.
- Great for Holidays & Gifting – Their chewy texture and rich almond scent make them perfect for Christmas cookie platters or homemade gift boxes.
- Customizable – Add powdered sugar, dip in chocolate, or top with sliced almonds for a bakery-style finish.
Suggestions for Nut Allergies:
- For nut allergies, substitute lemon flavoring, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds
- Nuts of any kind, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts
- Coconut shreds can be used in place of nuts
- Raisins or chopped dates or figs put through a food processor instead of nuts
- Dried cranberries
- Chopped maraschino cherry
- Disclaimer Warning: If any of the substitutes are still not allowed, ask a nutritionist what the best substitutes can be for your health
Tips:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and make sure it's hot
- Bake the cookies on parchment paper
- Evenly blend together the dry mixture with egg whites using a spatula
- For easy molding, use a cookie scoop and roll into nuts for log shapes
- Bake immediately after shaping
- Do not over-bake them, are they will be dry
- Use another extract and a different coating for nut allergies (pumpkin seeds or sunflower with lemon extract
- During the holiday, you can tint the almond in water and green or red food coloring for a holiday-themed cookie for the cookie tray
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Almond Paste Cookie Lovers
These cookies are a great alternative if you're a fan of the bakery's almond paste cookies. Give them a try, you won't be sorry, and more like wow these are awesome!! We love them with a cup of Amaretto Hot Cocoa
Put this one on your list of holiday cookies to try; everyone will love them!
Almond Paste Inspired Cookies
Yield: 24
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 35 Min
Almond Paste Cookies without adding the almond paste taste amazing. A mock-up of those Italian cafe cookies is only economical.
Ingredients
- 2 cups fine almond flour
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 3 egg whites ( do not use the liquid egg white, only real eggs separated)
- 1 tablespoon pure almond extract
- Garnish: colorful sanding sugar, 1 cup slivered almonds, pinole nuts, or use candied green and red cherries to top before baking
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Note: These cookies are sticky to work with; these will not come off a regular cookie sheet without using the parchment paper method.
- In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until a thick sticky dough forms.
- Using a teaspoon or small cookie scoop, place a cookie two inches apart on the parchment paper.
- Sprinkle some of the almonds on the prepared baking sheets.
- Top with whatever you prefer, almonds, other nuts, sanding sugar, etc.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated 350-degree oven or until the edges are golden.
- Cool slightly before trying to remove from the baking sheets.
Notes
Suggestions for Nut Allergies:
- For nut allergies, substitute lemon flavoring, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds
- Nuts of any kind, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts
- Coconut shreds can be used in place of nuts
- Raisins or chopped dates or figs put through a food processor instead of nuts
- Dried cranberries
- Chopped maraschino cherry blotted dry or green for the holiday (candied cherries work best)
- Disclaimer Warning: If any of the substitutes are still not allowed, ask a nutritionist what the best substitutes can be for your health
Tips:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and make sure it's hot
- Bake the cookies on parchment paper
- Evenly blend the dry mixture with egg whites using a spatula
- For easy molding, use a cookie scoop and roll into nuts for log shapes
- Bake immediately after shaping
- Do not over-bake them, are they will be dry
- Use another extract and a different coating for nut allergies (pumpkin seeds or sunflower with lemon extract
- During the holiday, you can tint the almond in water and green or red food coloring for a holiday-themed cookie for the cookie tray
Nutrition Facts
Calories
118Fat (grams)
5 gSat. Fat (grams)
0 gCarbs (grams)
18 gFiber (grams)
1 gNet carbs
17 gSugar (grams)
14 gProtein (grams)
2 gSodium (milligrams)
8 mgCholesterol (grams)
0 mgThe default measuring system for this website is US Customary. Unit conversions are provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. While we strive to provide accurate unit conversions, please be aware that there may be some discrepancies.
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Here are more of our favorite cookie recipes:
Italian Almond Paste Cookies
Italian Wedding Cookies
Cucidati Fig Sicilian Cookies
24 One-Stop Cookie Shop
Fried Bow Tie Cookies
25 Holiday Cookies
