Almendrados are Spanish Almond Sugar Cookies that are made from almond flour, whole almonds, lemon zest, egg, and sugar. The dough is left out to rise for a day before baking.
It is difficult to determine the origin of this recipe, some say Argentina, Portugal, and some even say Palestine. However, it’s more likely it originated in Spain as the oldest reference to the cookie first came from the Spanish Inquisition. David M. Gitlitz, professor of Hispanic culture at the University of Rhode Island, said that in 1491 a man was accused by the Inquisition of buying almond cookies from the Jewish quarter in Barbastri in Aragón.
That being said, try these delicious Almendrados (Almond Sugar Cookies) with a tall glass of cold milk or a cupof tea.
Almendrados ~ Almond Sugar Cookie
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Ingredients
- 2 cups whole blanched almonds plus about 30 almonds for decoration
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- zest of 1 lemon finely grated
Instructions
- Using a food processor equipped with a metal blade, grind 2 cups almonds very finely. Add 3/4 cup sugar, the egg and lemon zest, and pulse to make a cohesive dough. Transfer to a medium bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick liner. Place remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl.
- Pinching off pieces of dough about the size of a walnut, roll them first into balls, then into sugar. Gently press an almond point first into top of each cookie, so that half the almond can be seen. Arrange cookies one inch apart on baking sheet.
- Bake until cookies have barest hint of color but still remain soft, 8 to 10 minutes. (Cookies must be soft when removed from oven to avoid excess hardening when they cool.)
- Cool completely, and store in an airtight container.
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