Baking/ Christmas/ Dessert/ Easter/ European/ Recipes/ Snack

Chewy Italian Almond Biscuits

28/04/2020 (Last Updated: 22/10/2020)

Hot baked biscuits in less than 30 minutes? Yes please! Here’s a simple recipe for Italian Almond Biscuits. They are chewy, delicately sweet and packed with the rich flavour of roasted almond. 

Stack of four Italian Almond Biscuits.

Why We Love This

A lot of Italian almond biscuit recipes require you to whip the egg whites before mixing and baking. We skip this step and the results are perfection in a biscuit and a lot of saved time!

Having no wheat flour, the texture is so different to regular biscuits. We love the use of almond flour in this for the rich nutty flavour and texture.

Related: Koulourakia Greek Easter Cookies / Italian Cuddura Biscuits

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Chewy Italian biscuits cooling on a baking rack.

What are Italian Almond Biscuits? 

A type of macaroon, these light and nutty biscuits are sometimes referred to as Ricciarelli or Amaretti Cookies. There are many variations, but they’re essentially crispy, light cookies with a chewy, soft centre.

While these are traditionally eaten in Italy at Christmas, and accompanied by a dessert wine might we add! We say they’re good any time of year.

If you want to use almonds and make your own almond flour, we’ve whittled the preparation process down to less than 10 minutes to crush the almonds, blend with sugar, egg whites and almond essence, and roll up into little icing sugar coated cookie ball morsels. Just as a time comparison.

For a crunchy almond biscuit, try our cantucci (Italian almond biscotti) instead!

What You’ll Need

Almond flour and almond essence are probably the two ingredients you may not already have on hand, otherwise the rest are pantry staples!

Ingredients for Italian almond biscuits.

How to make Italian Almond Biscuits:

Preheat oven to 180˚C (350˚F) and line your baking tray with baking paper. Place your almond flour, egg whites, caster sugar and essences in a bowl and mix well with a fork. 

Mixing ingredients for Italian almond biscuits.

Sprinkle your icing sugar on chopping board or plate. Spoon a small scoop of mixture onto the board and coat generously with icing sugar while gently rolling into a ball.

Shaping dough into balls for baking.

Bake for around 15 minutes, until the outsides are nicely crispy yet the cookies are still soft inside. 

 

Wandercook’s Tips

  • Crispy Tip – If you want crispier biscuits, cook them for a few minutes longer.
  • Runny? -The mixture will be quite runny, and that’s completely normal.
  • Leftover egg yolks? Make Italian almond crescent cookies next!

FAQs

Do you have to whip the egg whites?

You don’t have to whip the egg whites in this recipe. You can if you like, but it’s not necessary if you want to save time. Why not try both ways and see what you prefer?

Is almond flour the same as ground almonds?

Yes, almond flour is finely ground almonds. So you can use either. The first time we cooked it we ground the almonds ourselves, and the second time around we used almond flour. Both work!

Can you freeze these cookies?

Yes! You can freeze Italian almond biscuits and thaw them out as you want them or you can keep them in a sealed container for up to a week either on the bench or in the fridge. We kept ours out on the bench in our biscuit jar.

Is this a gluten-free recipe?

Yes! As it uses almond flour instead of wheat flour, this is okay to cook for you or gluten-free friends.

Variations

  • If you can’t find almond flour, you can finely ground almonds instead. In a pinch, you could also sub for pecans or walnuts however the outcome and flavour would be quite different.
  • You can pop a whole almond in the centre of each biscuit to make their presentation a little fancier.
Italian almond biscuits cooling on a black rack.

More delicious recipes to try next:

★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment & star rating below!

Stack of four Italian Almond Biscuits.

Chewy Italian Almond Biscuits

Hot baked biscuits in less than 30 minutes? Yes please! Here's a simple recipe for Italian almond biscuits. They are chewy, delicately sweet and packed with the rich flavour of roasted almond. 
5 from 50 votes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Course: Snack
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 12 biscuits
Calories: 141kcal
Author: Wandercooks
Cost: $7

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180˚C (350˚F) and line your baking tray with baking paper.
  • Place your almond flour, lightly whisked egg whites, caster sugar and vanilla essence and almond essence in a bowl and mix well with a fork. 
    1½ cups almond flour, 2 egg whites, ¾ cup caster sugar / superfine sugar, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 1 tsp almond essence
  • Sprinkle your icing sugar on a chopping board or plate.
    ¼ cup icing sugar / powdered sugar
  • Spoon a small scoop of mixture onto the board and coat generously with icing sugar while gently rolling into a ball.
  • Bake for around 15 minutes, until the outsides are nicely crispy yet the cookies are still soft inside. 

Video

YouTube video

Recipe Notes

Cook’s Tips
  • If you want a crispier result, cook it for a few minutes longer.
  • The mixture will be quite runny, and that’s completely normal.
FAQs
  • Do you have to whip the egg whites? You don’t have to whip the egg whites in this recipe. You can if you like, but it’s not necessary if you want to save time. Why not try both ways and see what you prefer?
  • Is almond flour the same as ground almonds? Yes, almond flour is finely ground almonds. So you can use either. The first time we cooked it we ground the almonds ourselves, and the second time around we used almond flour. Both work!
  • Can you freeze these cookies? Yes! You can freeze them and thaw them out as you want them or you can keep them in a sealed container for up to a week either on the bench or in the fridge. We kept ours out on the bench in our biscuit jar.
  • Is this a gluten-free recipe? Yes! As it uses almond flour instead of wheat flour, this is okay to cook for you or gluten-free friends.
Variations & Substitutes
  • If you can’t find almond flour, you can finely ground almonds instead. In a pinch, you could also sub for pecans or walnuts however the outcome and flavour would be quite different.
  • You can pop a whole almond in the centre of each biscuit to make their presentation a little fancier.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Chewy Italian Almond Biscuits
Amount per Serving
Calories
141
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
7
g
11
%
Saturated Fat
 
0.5
g
3
%
Sodium
 
9
mg
0
%
Potassium
 
9
mg
0
%
Carbohydrates
 
18
g
6
%
Fiber
 
1
g
4
%
Sugar
 
16
g
18
%
Protein
 
4
g
8
%
Calcium
 
30
mg
3
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Chewy Italian Almond Biscuits
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48 Comments

  • Reply
    Marcus Tullett
    27/03/2024 at 7:37 am

    5 stars
    I work in care made these for the residents they loved them ty

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      27/03/2024 at 12:42 pm

      Aww that’s amazing Marcus, how nice of you to make a batch for them. Thanks for sharing! 😀

  • Reply
    Debbie
    15/03/2024 at 8:03 pm

    5 stars
    I made a vegan version of these by just subbing the egg whites with aquafaba (water from tinned chickpeas) and it worked brilliantly! I doubled quantities, so I could use the whole tin of water, but 3 tbs is approximately 1 egg white. Thank you for such a super simple recipe !

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      18/03/2024 at 11:18 am

      Oh brilliant work Debbie! Thanks for letting us know the quantities of the subs, we can add this into the recipe tips for those wanting to do the same. 😀

  • Reply
    Saj
    01/01/2024 at 6:12 am

    5 stars
    I loved these ones that a friend had made. Any way to make these sugarfree?

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      01/01/2024 at 4:14 pm

      So glad you enjoyed Saj! Unfortunately, these are unable to be made sugar free though with our version.

  • Reply
    Scarlett
    28/12/2023 at 4:52 pm

    I’m not sure what I did wrong but my batter was really sticky and i couldn’t roll it – i kept adding more almond flour to try and fix it but no luck. Any ideas? Thanks!

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      31/12/2023 at 12:56 pm

      This is a naturally super sticky batter. Like SUPER sticky. So it’s not you – it’s perfect. It is a little tricky to work with and no need to add extra flour. Watch the video of the recipe and you’ll see I spoon it onto the icing sugar and carefully cover it enough to then lightly pick it up and pop onto the baking tray. You’ll get it next round – we believe in you! 🙂

  • Reply
    Shirley
    07/09/2023 at 10:16 pm

    5 stars
    Made these because I searched for a recipe for my 2 egg whites— omg I shared with my sister and my neighbor so only had 2 out of the batch— my sister tried to take the whole batch once she tasted these! These are SO good! Thank you for a fantastic easy cookie recipe!

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      08/09/2023 at 9:02 am

      Haha that’s great Shirley, sorry to hear you only had 2 :P, time for another batch then?

    • Reply
      Joanna
      10/02/2024 at 7:52 pm

      5 stars
      These are the best things I’ve ever baked. They are so easy and taste so good. I just did the whole thing in my food processor with a mixture of whatever nuts I had at home. I want to dip them in melted dark chocolate next time. Thanks for the recipe.

      • Reply
        Wandercooks
        12/02/2024 at 11:56 am

        That is awesome – we hadn’t tried it with mixed nuts before, so thanks for the tip! 😀 LOVE using things up this way.

  • Reply
    Catherine McCartney
    29/05/2023 at 4:40 pm

    5 stars
    Omg I have made these three days in a row!! The whole family and friend’s cannot get enough of them. While my friend popped in the other night I gave her a bag of 6 to take home and as she chatted away heading out the door she had already ate 4!! Too good..

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      11/06/2023 at 1:20 pm

      Haha that’s fantastic Catherine! They really are a good go-to bikkie recipe. 😀

  • Reply
    Kelly
    04/04/2023 at 7:20 pm

    5 stars
    These were sensational! I will definitely make again. I added the zest of 2 lemons, and a tablespoon on poppyseeds (just to give them a twist!). Everyone LOVED them – adults & kids alike! So easy, delicious & gluten free, thank you!

    • Reply
      Wandercooks
      05/04/2023 at 8:06 am

      Oh you’re very welcome! Cute idea with the poppy seeds too. 😀

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