Hey, friends! Like everyone else, I’m rushing to get a eleventy billion things done before chag, but I just had to jump on to share with you a new recipe I learned this Pesach.
My friend Eliana made these delicious almond cookies and brought them along when our families met up for a day of chol hamoed fun.
I begged her for the recipe, especially after she promised me that they are easy to make. (Easy + recipe = my love language!)
I made a quick batch last night, which my children, nephews and niece gobbled up, so now I’m making another batch today to have for chag.
They take 2 minutes to pull together and another 28 minutes in the oven. You can’t go wrong!
(Excuse my unprofessional photo, I just grabbed this one with my iPhone last night.)
Credit where credit is due: My friend tells me that she discovered the recipe several years ago in the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle, but that originally it was a Paula Shoyer creation.
Simple Almond Cookies for Passover
Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients
- 200g ground almonds* (approximately 2 cups)
- 3/4 cup sugar (Eliana’s original recipe called for 1 full cup, but I found that it was more than sweet enough with a 1/4 less)
- 1 Tbsp potato starch
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Optional: Add in handful of chocolate chips, Craisins or raisins (I’m a purist so stick to the recipe as is, but Eliana says she loves adding these in to hers)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 320 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix together all ingredients with a wooden spoon. Use your hands to form small balls and place about 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared tray.
Bake for 22-25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes… or as long as you can wait before eating them!
These cookies are crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. The flatter your cookie, the crispier they will be throughout.
*If you want to save some money, make your own ground almonds. Remember: Nuts do not need a special KLP hechsher, as long as they are plain (not roasted or flavored) and do not have BHT in the ingredients. To make your own, just add about one cup worth of whole almonds to a high powered blender (we have a Blendtec) and pulse a few times. Keep a close eye on the texture of your meal, otherwise you’ll turn it into almond butter!
Of course you can make these cookies anytime of year, but I like to have desserts that I just make for Pesach — like my chocolate covered strawberries and lemon strawberry sorbet. It helps keep them special! That said, I think these would make a great dessert for someone who is gluten-free.
I made these cookies and my family loved them. Thanks for sharing the recipe Mara.
All the best…
YAY! I’m so happy to hear 🙂
These look great! Do you grind your own almonds or use storebought? Have you ever tried this with storebought blanched almond flour (like Kirkland brand). Thanks!
Thank you for this delish and simple recipe. I made several batches. Our favorite was with chocolate chips. I made my own almond flour, it wasn’t quite flour, but it didn’t matter. I also used 1 egg yolk along with the 2 egg whites and that made them a bit chewier. Wasn’t able to keep them from flattening out, how did you do it?
You know what? This year I made three batches — two looked like these pictures and one was flat. No idea what I did differently!?
Chewy and absolutely delicious! Thanks much. A fabulous treat!!! Can’t believe they are for Passover . My husband loved them
is almond flour the same as ground almonds?
Thinking I may dip half of each in chocolate! They look great!!
Can almond flour be used? So surprised there is no oil!
You could – but use one that isn’t super fine. I think the little pieces add a lot to these cookies.