This classic recipe for almond shortbread cookies is easy to make, with a buttery, crumbly texture and delicious almond flavor that’s perfect for a Christmas cookie box, or any time during the holiday season.
You might also love these sparkling sugar almond cutout Christmas cookies, high altitude one layer almond cake, and the best almond biscotti.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to Make. The cookie dough comes together in minutes in your food processor, and then you simply press it into a tart pan to bake it into delicious cookies.
Full of Almond Flavor. With both almond flour and almond extract, as well as a hint of cardamom, these almond shortbread cookies taste like the holidays.
Versatile Presentation. I love these diamond shaped shortbread cookies, but you can also cut them into wedges (see my maple walnut shortbread) or bars (see my hazelnut shortbread). You can even roll out the dough and cut cookies in any shape you like (see my vanilla shortbread cookies for baking tips).
High Altitude Tested. While today’s recipe will work at any altitude since it doesn’t contain any leavening, I develop and test all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Flour. Use all-purpose flour to give the dough structure and strength.
- Almond Flour. Adds a nutty flavor and texture, as well as moisture. You can also use finely chopped almonds if you don’t have almond flour (just add whole almonds to the food processor with the all-purpose flour to chop them finely).
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens the shortbread, while the fine texture makes a more tender cookie than if you used granulated sugar.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the almond.
- Cardamom. A wonderful complementary spice in almond baked goods and pastries.
- Butter. A key ingredient in shortbread! The butter is what makes this almond shortbread tender and rich, with a buttery, crumbly texture.
- Vanilla + Almond Extracts. Flavor.
- Milk. You’ll need just a little milk to help moisten the dough and bind it together.
- Granulated Sugar. Sprinkled on top for a sweet and sparkly finish.
Instructions
Make, Cut and Chill the Dough
- In your food processor, measure the flour, almond flour, powdered sugar, salt and cardamom. Pulse several times until well combined.
- With the processor running, drop the butter down the chute, a tablespoon at a time, and process the mixture until moist and crumbly.
- Add the vanilla extract, almond extract and milk, and process just until the dough comes together into a dough ball.
- Dump the dough out onto a clean counter and gather any dry floury bits together, shaping the dough into a disk, and lightly dusting it with a little extra flour.
- Press the dough into an even layer in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, then sprinkle the dough with the granulated sugar.
- Now cut the dough diagonally into diamonds, using a sharp knife or bench scraper, dipping it in flour in between cuts. I used a bench scraper, which I find easiest for cutting dough inside the pan. Cutting the dough before baking makes it much easier to cut without breaking it after it comes out of the oven.
- Use a toothpick, skewer or cake tester to prick the dough all over – this is called “docking the dough”, and helps prevent it from puffing up as it bakes.
- Refrigerate the shortbread for 30 minutes.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 300 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the chilled shortbread for about 40 minutes, until the top looks golden brown and baked through.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack, and immediately cut the shortbread again. Cool completely in the pan before removing the sides of the pan.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store almond shortbread cookies?
Store the baked shortbread in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
What should I use if I don’t have a tart pan?
Instead of a tart pan, you can use a springform pan, or even just a regular square baking dish. Line the baking dish with parchment paper, so you can easily lift the shortbread out.
Are shortbread cookies soft or crunchy?
Shortbread cookies are certainly not crunchy like biscotti, but they are firm, with a crumbly, buttery texture that’s absolutely wonderful.
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Classic Almond Shortbread Cookies
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Food Processor or Pastry Cutter
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup almond flour (or very finely chopped almonds)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 tbsp whole milk
- 1 ½ tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
Make, Cut and Chill the Dough
- In your food processor, measure the flour, almond flour, powdered sugar, salt and cardamom. Pulse several times until well combined.
- With the processor running, drop the butter down the chute, a tablespoon at a time, and process the mixture until moist and crumbly.
- Add the vanilla extract, almond extract and milk, and process just until the dough comes together into a dough ball.
- Dump the dough out onto a clean counter and gather any dry floury bits together, shaping the dough into a disk, and lightly dusting it with a little extra flour.
- Press the dough into an even layer in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, then sprinkle the dough with the granulated sugar.
- Now cut the dough diagonally into diamonds, using a sharp knife or bench scraper, dipping it in flour in between cuts. I used a bench scraper, which I find easiest for cutting dough inside the pan. Cutting the dough before baking makes it much easier to cut without breaking it after it comes out of the oven.
- Use a toothpick, skewer or cake tester to prick the dough all over – this is called "docking the dough", and helps prevent it from puffing up as it bakes.
- Refrigerate the shortbread for 30 minutes.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 300 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the chilled shortbread for about 40 minutes, until the top looks golden brown and baked through.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack, and immediately cut the shortbread again. Cool completely in the pan before removing the sides of the pan.
- Store the baked shortbread in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
“HOW SHOULD I STORE ALMOND SHORTBREAD COOKIES?”
In my belly! THAT’S how I should store them! 😄
Seriously though, I haven’t made these yet, but I’m giving them a 5-star rating in advance because I just know based on the recipe and on your description that they’re going to be *exactly* what I’ve been looking for in an almond shortbread. They sound wonderful and your pictures are beautiful. Thank you for sharing!
Maybe a silly ? But do we leave the bottom of the tart pan in place when making these or just use the ring? Can’t wait to make them!
You leave the bottom in place.
Can this recipe be used for cut out cookies?
Please refer to this recipe for almond cutout cookies: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/almond-sugar-cookies-christmas-trees/
What other plan might work besides a tart pan? Would a round springform pan be an acceptable substitute?
That would work just fine, since the sides are removable. I’ve also baked this in a regular square baking pan, but it’s helpful to line the pan with parchment paper so you can easily lift them out.
Since my tart pan contained a frozen blueberry pie, I used my Silpat mat to form a 9″ round while using the dotted lines on the mat to score the lines to form the diamond shaped cookies. I baked the cookies on the Silpat. Once baked, I immediately cut the cookies and cooled on a rack. The cookies came out perfectly. Thanks again Heather for another great recipe!
My husband requested shortbread cookies for Christmas this year so I was excited when I found your high altitude recipe plus we both love anything almond! I did bake them a bit longer than written as I wasn’t sure they were baked all the way through, they didn’t really get golden. I used a springform pan. They turned out as desired! Loved the diagonal cuts, that was a fun touch I had never done before.
Oh dear, I was so looking forward to these; today was the day. Everything seemed to be going well, 9″ tart pan with removable sides. However after letting it cool completely in the pan, I discovered it was almost totally uncooked inside, except for the very outside tiny pieces. I even left it in the oven for 5-7 more minutes because it was barely starting to turn ‘golden’… I’m wondering if it might be that my tart pan has somewhat higher sides? Although looking at your photo it seems yours does too. The cookies are back in the oven for a second bake (from cooled), biscotti style. Here’s hoping. Any thoughts?
And you did pre-cut it before baking, yes? My only thought is that maybe your oven runs low – I hope that baking it again works out!
Yes, I did pre-cut it prior to baking with my bench scraper. It’s strange, because my other baking works out fine, as have your recipes for cakes and cookies. I wonder if the pan is too heavy. Anyway, they did continue to bake (took at least 10 minutes); and look fine now… I will taste them tomorrow and I’m sure they’ll taste great. Assuming that we love the recipe, I will use a different pan next time, or bake longer.
I’m glad it worked in the end!
Absolutely perfect! I combined this with your recipe for shortbread sticks, and did it in a square pan lined with a silicon mat, then added the lemon glaze. Amazing