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Sparkling sugar cutout almond Christmas cookies on a wooden table.

Sparkling Sugar Almond Cutout Christmas Cookies

Heather Smoke
Soft and buttery almond sugar cookies, cut in pretty Christmas shapes, with a crunchy, sparkling sugar crust on top.

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5 from 9 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chilling Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings20 cookies

Equipment

  • Food Processor
  • Rolling Pin
  • Cookie Cutters

Ingredients
 

  • ½ cup raw almonds, toasted
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
  • tsp ground cardamom
  • ½ cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 2 tbsp milk or cream
  • 1 egg white
  • 3 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 3 tbsp coarse sparkling sugar ("decorator's sugar")

Instructions
 

  • First, toast the almonds (this step is optional, but adds more depth of flavor). Preheat the oven to 350 F, and place the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for about 5-7 minutes, until fragrant, but don't let them burn. Let the almonds cool completely before adding them to the dough. You don't want hot almonds that will melt or soften the butter in the dough.
    If you like, you can remove the skins by rubbing the almonds between two towels, but I left the skins on mine.
  • In your food processor, combine the cooled almonds with the flour, powdered sugar, salt and cardamom, and pulse for about a minute until the almonds are very finely ground.
    With the processor running, drop in the pieces of cold butter, one at a time. Pulse until well distributed.
    Add the extracts and milk, and pulse just until the crumbs come together into a dough.
  • Dump the dough out, and knead a few times with your hands, just to incorporate any stray floury bits, until you have a soft, supple dough. Shape into a flat disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough (dusting with a little more flour as needed), to 1/4 inch thick. Cut as many cookies as you can, and place the cut cookies 1 1/2 inches apart on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
    Gather up the dough scraps, roll again, and finish cutting all of the dough.
  • In a bowl, combine the granulated sugar and sparkling sugar.
    Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the tops of the cut cookies with egg white. Hold a cookie over the bowl of sugar, and sprinkle sugar over the cookie so it sticks to the egg white. Set the cookie back on the baking sheet, sugar side up.
    Repeat with all the cookies.
  • Set the baking pan in the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour. Chilling helps prevent the cookies from spreading while baking.
  • Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the chilled cookies on the center oven rack for about 11-12 minutes. They should be pale golden, with flaky edges. When turned over, you shouldn't see any wet or raw dough underneath.
    Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

  • Cooled cookies should be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
  • They can also be baked in advance, and frozen for 3-6 months.
  • The cookie dough can also be made in advance, wrapped in plastic wrap, and refrigerated for up to 5 days, or frozen for 3-6 months.  Let thaw in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature until pliable enough to roll out.
Keyword Almond, Bell, Candy Cane, Christmas Cookies, Christmas Trees, Gingerbread, Shortbread, Snowflakes, Stars, Sugar Cookies
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