Almond Shortbread Cookies with Amaretto - delicious Christmas cookies! These are just like classic shortbread cookies but with a little twist - I am using almond liquor to provide even more almond flavor to these very much 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 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, 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
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 look awesome, and I can't wait to make them! Just for reference, how big should each log be to get the right amount of cookies? Thanks!
These look really tasty, i am looking to make them as a Christmas present but was wondering how long the shelf life is on these?
Just came upon your site, since I am a visual person as well as someone who loves great food I think your site is a delight. Beautiful photos and I want to make all yout recipes. Keep up the good work.
Colleen, thank you for your very sweet comment! I love photography and all things pretty! 🙂 I wish I had more time to publish more recipes. I have too many ideas and not too much free time - like all of us. 🙂
Your cookies look so yummy!! I will be trying it out as soon as i get hold of the ingredients. By the way, are these cookies crunchy or are they soft n crumbly ? Tks for this recipe, it reminds me of the almond cookies I used to buy but have not done so for ages. I can't wait to try it out!!
These cookies are very crumbly (melting in your mouth) just like what you would expect from shortbread cookies. They are crunchy but in a melt-in-your-mouth sort of way if you know what I mean. They have perfect texture if you ask me. 🙂
You state to cook these @325 for 12 minutes, yet on martha stewart site, she says 325 for 20 - 25 minutes! ??l
12 minutes is really enough, unless you want pronounced brown edges around your cookies. 🙂 After 12 minutes of baking, cookies are fully baked and of perfect color! If you read comments on Martha Stewart's recipe, other people also prefer 12 minutes to avoid overbrowning the cookie.
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.