These Italian Almond Cookies are fragrant, soft, sweet and so scrumptious! This 100% vegan friendly version has nothing to envy the traditional one, I promise.
Questa ricetta è disponibile anche in italiano
It's almost Christmas, that (at least for me) means cookie time!
These cookies have always been present on our family Christmas table. An array of handmade sweets and cookies, that also always includes Grandma's Paste Greche and Castagnelle to end our festive meals with a comforting sweet note.
To me it doesn't feel like Christmas if they aren't available.
This year I wanted to share with you a super easy vegan version of these delicious almond cookies.
Completely flourless, hence ideal for your gluten free guests, these Italian cookies are made of ground almonds, sugar and a bunch of aromas.
Recipe is so simple, yet really amazing, as many simple things usually turn out to be.
To bind all the ingredients together the traditional recipe calls for egg whites, but our dear friend aquafaba* really works as a treat! Nobody will be able to tell the difference 🙂
*if you're new to veganism, aquafaba is the water of canned beans, ideally chickpeas. It is a great substitute for eggs in many dishes. Amazingly, it can also be whipped it as you would do with egg white. Really amazing stuff, you're gonna love it! Oh, almost forgot... Nope, it doesn't taste like chickpeas or canned beans at all 😉
How to make Vegan Italian Almond Cookies
Making these cookies cannot be more easy.
All we need to do is to add all the ingredients to a bowl, and combine well until it comes together into a rather sticky paste.
Of course the main ingredient of these bites are almonds. Ideally you would use ground almonds or almond flour, to make the job really easy-peasy.
However, you can also use whole almonds instead, both blanched or not, and grind them yourself.
If they have the skin, you'll also need to remove it prior to proceed with the recipe. To do so, the quickest method I personally use is to place the quantity needed into a Pyrex bowl, cover the almonds with some hot water (also boiling, straight from the kettle), and wait for 5-10 minutes. After that, you only need to drain the almonds and press each one between two fingers to get rid of their skin. Now, as the almonds will be a bit wet, you'll need to let them dry at room temperature or for a few minutes in the oven. You can now proceed with grinding the almonds to a powder. I do recommend only to use this method if you really cannot find almond flour or even blanched almonds, as it really is very time consuming.
Next main ingredient is icing (or powdered) sugar. You can buy the powder of grind granulated sugar yourself in a blender until finely powdered.
Then, as mentioned, we are going to need some aquafaba. Drain it from a can of chickpeas and use the pulses for curries (Thai or Simple), Falafel, Stuffed Peppers, Moussaka (Lebanese), Stews or some good old Hummus.
These cookies are traditionally topped with glacé cherries. Alternatively, whole almonds are used as well.
Lastly, for flavourings we are going to need: lemon zest or extract, vanilla pod or extract and amaretto liquor or extract.
STEP ONE
Mix all the ingredients into a bowl to a sticky paste.
STEP TWO
Transfer the cookie dough into a piping bag prepped with a star-shaped nozzle.
STEP THREE
Pipe a round circle of approx 2.5 cm diameter and top with another small circle. With this amount you should be able to pipe 20 cookies. Place in the centre of each cookie half glacé cherry (candied cherry), and dust with a thin layer of icing sugar (optional).
STEP FOUR
Bake the Italian almond cookies in a 160° C (320° F) preheated oven for 15 minutes (or until they turn slightly golden brown on the edges).
Vegan Italian Almond Cookies Recipe
Ingredients:
200 g Almond Flour
130 g Icing Sugar
90 g Aquafaba
½ tablespoon Amaretto Liquor (or Almond Extract)
¼ teaspoon Vanilla extract
..toppings..
10 Glacé Cherries
Icing sugar
Method:
1. Preheat the oven at 160°C (320°F).
2. Weight all ingredients (apart from the toppings) into a bowl and combine with a spatula until they come together into a rather sticky paste.
3. Transfer the cookie dough into a piping bag prepped with a star-shaped nozzle.
4. Pipe a round circle of approx 2.5 cm diameter and top with another small circle.
5. Place in the centre of each cookie half glacé cherry (candied cherry), and dust with a thin layer of icing sugar (optional).
6. Bake the Italian almond cookies for 15 minutes or until they turn slightly golden brown on the edges.
7. Allow to cool completely, then top with some other icing sugar before serving.
Are you a cookie enthusiast? Do not miss:
- Vegan Whipped Cookies
- American Style Oat, Cranberry and Raisin Cookies
- Castagnelle | The Best Italian Christmas Cookies Recipe
- Grandma's Greek Cookies (Paste Greche)
Kay
Can these be frozen or will they get crumbly? Thank you
Karen Freeman
instead of aquafaba can I use an egg white or 2 egg whites…I am ok using eggs.
Adriana Z.
Egg whites are exactly what the traditional recipe calls for, so yes, just use 1 to start with and add a bit more if needed until you reach the consistency of the pictures. Sorry I cannot be more precise but I do not cook with eggs at all 🙂
ashok
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
Adriana Z.
I'm so happy to hear that! I reckon even your friends will enjoy it 🙂
Take care!
Cathy C.
Thank you for this lovely recipe.
I baked a batch yesterday morning and by the end of the day they were all gone!
I will buy more almond flour to make x2 next time 🙂