Almond Sandwich Cookies
Crunchy Almond Sandwich Cookies make marvelous edible gifts and will be the highlight of the neighborhood cookie exchange.
The first time I made these Almond Sandwich Cookies I was trapped in my house due to snow.
We don’t have white drifts blanketing the landscape like many friends up North. Snow in the Blue Ridge Mountains is a novelty. We see it on the mountain tops. We drive up into it to ski. We even get enough in the valleys to sled once or twice each year.
But drive in it? Live functional lives in it?
No. We don’t do that.
Our local schools had been closed four times that December, due to 1-2 inches of snow.
Ridiculous, you might say, but Asheville is just not equipped to clear roads to free us from our homes! Too many people live on the slopes, meaning one patch of black ice could be detrimental.
So I was stuck in my house. Christmas shopping undone. Holiday errands un-run. Holiday baking?
That I could still do. I even have a couple school-skipping elves to help me!
Cookies are magical. They provide a common bond for any group of people. They offer instant (if only momentary) bliss. They are adored by the young and old alike. Cookies are bite-sized portions of love.
I found this particular Almond Sandwich Cookies recipe in an old Bon Appetite Magazine. After drooling over the photo I noticed they were made with almond paste instead of flour.
Very curious.
The Almond Sandwich Cookies reminded me of the classic Amaretti cookies you find in the square metal tins this time of year. Only thinner, softer, and filled with jam.
I experimented with fillings and found my family liked blackberry jam the best.
The first batch of Almond Sandwich Cookies gave a random winter snowed-in day glimmer of excitement. I’ve been making them for holiday cookie exchanges ever since!
Almond Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
- 7 ounces almond paste (1 tube)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup egg whites
- Fruit jam or filling, any flavor
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line to large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Break the almond paste into chunks and place it in a food processor. Add the sugar and cinnamon and grind until fine. Add the egg whites and pulse until smooth.
- Scoop the mixture into a large zip bag and snip a hole in one corner. If the almond mixture in thick, pour the sliced almonds on to a plate. Then squeeze circle onto the almonds. Flip them over so they are covered with almonds on both sides, then lay them on the cookie sheets. If the almond mixture is loose, place little mounds of sliced almonds on the cookies sheets where the cookies will be. Squeeze the mixture into circles on top of the little almond piles. Then sprinkle with a few more almonds.
- Bake for 9-12 minutes. Keep an eye on them at the end because they turn dark quickly.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on the parchment paper. Then turn half of them over and top with jam or frosting. Give each cookie a top and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
opps typos… in my comment above, i mean cookies… i think it's Freudian slip… i'm not a baker myself that's why haha!
Indeed cooking are magical.. just by mere looking at these photos make me feel warm inside haha.. sory to hear about all the mishaps but these baking is really comforting!
So sorry to hear you're snowed in, but hey, I'll take some of that snow over here in sunny SoCal! I'm a Boston native in need of some weather! These cookies look like just the thing to keep me inside all day, too. Yum yum! Thanks so much for sharing. I hope you're having a lovely day and a nice start to the holiday season!
I bet that kids are satisfied because schools closed!
Those wonderful cookies are additive, really!
Cheers,
Gera
I love almond flavored desserts. Your cookies are so beautiful, I love the slices of almonds and the jam. So pretty and delicious looking. I would glady eat a dozen or two of your beautiful cookies! :)
I am the same way… or I was on Sunday when we were having a lazy, cold, snowy day… I was feeling restless so I baked. Your cookie sandwiches look wonderful!
Those middle latitudes suffer the most in the winter. Asheville might be the perfect storm: hilly roads, the snow is typically preceded by a bit of frozen rain, and you get just enough snow to cause trouble, not enough to get folks to invest in snow removal equipment.
I still remember a 1/4 inch of snow paralyzing Atlanta.
Those cookies look incredible!
Wow! Those look so wonderful! I have been dreaming of sandwich cookies too!
These are so lovely with almonds and the jam filling, excellent treats!
Oh, my these look delicious!! Knoxville also shuts down for a dusting of snow :) We are used to driving in it (being from MA and PA :), but this morning we are coated in a about 1/4" of ice so we won't be going anywhere for a few hours! Time to catch up on blogging and then any extra time will be spent baking! Sometimes it's nice to be forced to stay at home!
Asheville's beautiful in all kinds of weather. And the cookies look great even without the powdered sugar and jam!
I wouldn't mind being stuck at your house. It's doing some ice thing here too!
I am so impressed- very cute and sounds delish!
Roxan~ Almond paste is very similar to marzipan, but it has a higher percentage of almonds and a little less sugar. You could use marzipan if you needed, but your batter would be a little runny.
Cookies are indeed magical. I'll have to try these with my favorite raspberry jam as a filling.
Your cookies looks fabulous!! It's nice sometimes to be trapped at home because of snow, and bake such wonderful treats!!
yum! I love anything almond flavored. I was looking at your recipe – is almond paste the same thing as marzipan?
I am not a cookie expert..it's incredible but thru blogging I discovered cookies mean so much in USA & Canada…while in other countries, Arg, France they are just "just another thing"…Yet I love them, and I appreciate the photos bec I would have never thought to make them like that!! I hope snow melts soon, and you are able to do your Xmas shopping !!! (that's the most exciting thing!!) No, truly speaking, what I love the most is planning the menu…!