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Almond Shortbread Cookies with Amaretto - delicious Christmas treats! These are just like classic shortbread cookies but with a little twist - I use almond liqueur to boost the almond flavor in these very almond-y holiday cookies!
I am very much in a holiday mood, and this is my first recipe in the holiday cookie series that I will be posting over the course of the next 2 weeks. This is a classic Christmas almond shortbread cookie that everybody should try at least once in their lifetime. Because, first, the recipe is so easy! And, second, almonds are great in cookies, and their flavor is even more amplified in this recipe by the addition of a small amount of Amaretto, a sweet almond-flavored liquor. Amaretto..... Just give me an excuse to use it and I will. It's one of my favorite liquors but it doesn't feel proper to drink it straight out of the bottle, so I am always searching for ways to incorporate it in not so obvious way. Such as in these almond shortbread cookies with Amaretto.
I've used Martha Stewart's recipe, where I substituted almond extract with Amaretto and omitted orange zest. These 2 changes made these Christmas cookies even more "almond-y", which is exactly what I wanted! The sliced almonds in the cookies give them a very nice crunch. Feel free to halve the recipe or double it. The first time I made these I actually halved the recipe to make sure I liked it, and the cookies came out perfect.
This almond shortbread cookie dough keeps very well frozen in the freezer, and you can make several smaller logs, so that each time you want to bake cookies, you just take out one log of cookie dough and slice it. The cookies themselves, once baked, can be stored in an air-tight container for a month. My husband and I have been eating these holiday cookies for 2 weeks, and what a pleasure that was!
How to make almond shortbread cookies
Below are some step-by-step photos illustrating major steps on how to make these cookies. For the complete recipe, scroll down, below the photos.
Start by mixing together cookie dough ingredients
Add Amaretto to the cookie dough
Sliced almonds - ready to be added to cookie dough
Mix in almonds
Make a rectangular shape out of cookie dough - before putting it in the freezer
Wrap cookie dough into a plastic wrap - at this point, once it's wrapped in plastic, it's easier to shape cookie dough into a more perfect rectangular shape
After cookie dough was in the freezer/refrigerator, cut thin slices of cookie dough, using a sharp knife, to form individual cookies
Individual cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet, lined with foil
Almond Shortbread Cookies with Amaretto
Ingredients
- 8 oz butter , unsalted, room temperature (16 tablespoons or 1 cup)
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon amaretto liquor
- ¼ or ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional, use ½ teaspoon for more pronounced almond flavor)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour , sifted or aerated - see my note below!
- ¾ cup almonds , sliced, lightly toasted
Instructions
- Important note about properly measuring flour using measuring cups:The proper way to measure flour using measuring cups is to aerate it first. This is done either by sifting flour, or aerating it by fluffing it up and whisking it well, then spooning it into the measuring cup, then carefully removing any excess flour with a knife. If you just stick that measuring cup in the bag of flour and scoop some out, you will get a lot more flour than what the recipe calls for. Do aerate the flour, or you will end up with dry dough!
- In a large mixing bowl, using mixer, beat butter, sugar, amaretto, almond extract (if using), salt until smooth and creamy.
- With mixer on low speed, add flour and mix until dough forms.
- Using rubber spatula, mix in almonds.
- Form dough into a rectangular log (or 2 rectangular logs). Wrap each log in plastic wrap. Once the log is wrapped in plastic wrap, it is easier to continue shaping it as a more perfectly shaped rectangular log. Freeze the log for 40 minutes in freezer, then 20 minutes in refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 325. Using sharp knife, cut dough into ¼ inch thick slices, place them on un-greased baking sheet 1 inch apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 12 minutes.
- Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.
These sound delicious! I was wondering if I could use rum instead of the amaretto? I don't have amaretto on hand and would love to make some of these tonight.
I think rum would add wonderful flavor to it! I just made the same recipe recently and added 2 teaspoons of amaretto instead of 1 - it worked beautifully and made cookies even more flavorful. I don't see anything wrong with adding 1 or 2 teaspoons of rum to the recipe!
The cookies look great! How many cookies does this recipe make?
Makes 40 cookies. I just updated the recipe.
Hi I made the cookies the other day and loved them so much! The taste great. I'm wondering what else you can use instead of amaretto. I've got a bottle of bailey's irish cream do you think that would work?
I am sure Irish cream would work in this recipe, though I think amaretto is much stronger in flavor than Irish cream, which is why only 1 teaspoon is required. And I wouldn't use more than 1 teaspoon not to compromise the texture of cookies.
I am, though, envisioning using Irish cream in much larger quantities in a different recipe, such as 1 cup of Irish cream instead of buttermilk in cake recipes. You just gave me a great idea!
If I can't find amaretto liquor, can I substitute it with amaretto creamer?
Yes, you can. I used amaretto just for flavor purposes (because it has such a distinct and strong flavor). As long as amaretto creamer has a distinct flavor (which I assume it should), it should work. Original recipe called for almond extract, so that will work too but I prefer Amaretto.
The cookie dough wrapped up in plastic wrap reminds me of a log of almond paste, but with fresh almonds in it. Yum! I'm seriously in love with almond-flavored baked goods, and these cookies look perfect. I really haven't baked much in the realm of holiday desserts this year, and posts like this make me want to!
I love almond desserts myself, I just wish I had more free time to get to baking everything I want.
I am eager to start holiday baking too. With the addition of amaretto, these are totally perfect for a celebration! 🙂
Yes, plus I wouldn't mind a shot of Amaretto to go along with these. 🙂
Those look outstanding! I love the addition of amaretto, because I think booze always improves baked goods 🙂
Me too! I like using alcohol in cooking and testing how it turns out.
Yum, I love shortbread. The Amaretto is such a great idea - my mom would love these! It's one of her favorite flavors : )
Amaretto is great, just give me an excuse to use it. 🙂
So Delicious...I would love one or maybe 5 right one before bed 🙂 Great pics!
That's what I do, eat them after dinner. 🙂
These are picture perfect! I love the square shape...just beautiful cookies!!!
Thank you, Liz!
These look fantastic! And what a great make-ahead treat - just pop them in the freezer until you're ready to make them!! I love the Amaretto here - great idea!
I suspect I'll be having a lot of these "make-ahead" treats this season. 🙂
I love these shortbread cookies. They are so upmarket and festive and your photography skills make me so envious.
I love shortbread! My favorite type of Christmas cookie.
As a sucker for all things almond, I can imagine that these biscuits would be just up my street! I love amaretto, too, which tastes to me like warm, liquid marzipan... yum. I feel the urge to bake something almondy coming on. I am a huge fan of the humble Bakewell tart. You might like them if you like almonds... they are basically almond sponge over jam (usually strawberry) inside a shortcrust pastry case. It's named after a town in Derbyshire and pretty much universally loved in Britain!
On a Christmas theme, us Brits have Christmas cake which is a rich fruit cake covered in marzipan and then either fondant or royal icing. It's a rich, decadent and utterly British delight which I cannot recommend highly enough! Do you have mince pies in America?
I've never heard of Bakewell tart, but now that you mentioned it I looked it up, bookmarked it and it will be on my "to-do" list. I love everything almond and Bakewell tart looks like something that would be my new favorite. About Amaretto - I like it so much but I feel bad just to drink it out of the bottle, so I am always searching for ways to incorporate it in a less "direct" way. 🙂
I've never tried mince pie either, but found a recipe and bookmarked it, too. Sounds delicious. I love traditional European recipes. I found the one without meat. Is it supposed to have meat?
I lived in Jersey Great Britain so grew up eating fruit cake with marzipan, bakewell tarts and mince tarts. It isn't Christmas without mince tarts! the mince tarts everyone eats at Christmas in Britain do not have meat in them. Cross and Blackwell makes a decent jar of mincemeat, or you can make it yourself. Try Nigella Lawson. thanks for the almond shortbread recipe, looking forward to making it!
Oh goodness, I looove these! So pretty and so festive! And I am a sucker for boozy desserts. 😉
Me too 🙂
Thanks so much for the tip on aerating flour. I watch a lot of cooking tutorial and I have never heard this. I often wondered why my doughs will often turn out so dry. We live in high humidity south Louisiana so I will certainly give this tip a try. Thanks again!
Patty