Almond lace cookies are delicate and crunchy. Brown sugar and butter are highlighted with a touch of amaretto. Drizzle with a bit of melted chocolate to elevate this simple cookie recipe. This easy cookie recipe for almond lace cookies is ready for your special occasion!
Is this cookie a traditional florentine?
Traditional florentines are lace cookie similar to this one. A toffee base is made first, usually on the stove top, and orange zest or candied orange peel is added to the dough.
This recipe adapted from Cooking Light takes the short cut of using the microwave and changes the traditional steps just a bit. The resulting cookie is no less impressive. It is crisp, light and airy.
The dough spreads as it bakes and the lacy texture emerges.
Honestly it doesn’t feel like a cookie but is more like a thin toffee wafer. An optional drizzle of chocolate or hazelnut spread (yup, nutella or something like it!) is a nice finishing touch.
Florentine Lace Cookie Recipe source
I spotted this recipe for hazelnut lace in a Cooking Light magazine and took the suggestion included in the recipe to try it as almond lace cookies with a few easy ingredient substitutions.
These almond lace cookies are a wafer-thin nut brittle-like sweet that delicately breaks with a slight crunch in your mouth and you are left with a toffee flavor combined with a hint of amaretto.
What is amaretto?
Amaretto is a sweet, Italian liqueor. It often has the flavor of almonds. Chowhound has a recipe for homemade amaretto that I’m curious to try.
Can I make these gluten free almond lace cookies?
Yes! You can easily make gluten free lace cookies. The original recipe only has 2 tablespoons of cake flour which is a small amount to replace. Go ahead and use a gluten free flour blend to substitute for the cake flour. The other ingredients are already naturally gluten free, but be sure to check labels on each ingredient to be sure.
Occasions to make almond lace cookies (florentines):
- All year long: Pair almond lace cookies with an afternoon cup of tea and you will wonder why you’ve never made these before!
- Springtime: With Easter, Mother’s Day, bridal showers, baby showers, and after teas all ready for spring time celebration, you’ll have no shortage of reasons to make this almond lace.
- Summer: Light and airy, these lace cookie are not a heavy dessert and are perfect for summer after dinner bites.
- Winter: Florentines are a traditional sweet to share around Christmastime. The chocolate drizzle is especially decadent and perfect for celebrations!
- Fall: well, I left out the fall season. Honestly you’ll enjoy these any time but the autumn doesn’t strike me as the time of year for florentines. Maybe I should develop a pumpkin twist on these beauties!
What additional ingredients could be used for special occasion florentines?
You could pump the orange flavor with more orange zest to make lacy almond orange cookies.
Melting chocolate and dipping half the cookie would create decadent chocolate almond lace cookies.
Almond Lace Cookies
These almond lace cookies are a wafer-thin nut brittle-like sweet that delicately breaks with a slight crunch in your mouth.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 tablespoon Amaretto
- 1/4 cup almond meal
- 2 tablespoons cake flour (I used all-purpose)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the brown sugar, butter, oil, and Amaretto in a bowl. Whisk together then microwave in 30 second increments for a total of one minute.
- Add the almond meal, flour, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Scoop teaspoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving plenty of room in between cookies. These lace cookies will spread a lot.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes, turning halfway through. Allow to cool on the pan.
Notes
Don't have amaretto on hand? Substitute a tablespoon of orange marmalade for another option. Orange juice would be a fine substitute too.
Like the traditional florentine with a touch of orange? Include one tablespoon of orange zest or candied orange peel in the dough.
Making these gluten free lace cookies? Use a gluten free flour blend substitute for the 2 TB of cake flour.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 52Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 17mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 4gProtein: 0g
This data is provided by Nutritionix and is an estimate only.
Pin these almond lace cookies with me!
Looking for more cookies for special occasions?
- Honey and Vanilla Madeleines
- Almond Flour Sugar Cookies
- Hummingbird Cookies
- Sugar Cookie Easter Basket Cookies
Originally posted in 2014.
Holly Baker started the food blog, A Baker’s House, in 2011. She is the writer, recipe creator, and photographer for the site. Holly loves to bake and shares recipes for gluten free food, canning recipes, as well as traditional desserts too. Her recipes and food photography have been highlighted by BuzzFeed, Reader’s Digest, and She Knows.
JoyD
Sunday 15th of August 2021
Mine don't look nearly as lacy as yours. I'm in Europe right now and it's about the flour. I used a cake flour which I thought would be perfect but in fact on closer examination it had bicarbonate of soda in it. They were perfectly edible but not as pretty as yours.
Abbe@This is How I Cook
Monday 21st of April 2014
A very elegant cookie, Holly. I think I could eat about ten of them. But they are from Cooking Light!
Holly
Monday 21st of April 2014
Yes, I can't tell you how many times I've eaten too many sweets and justified it because it was a Cooking Light recipe. My other trouble is that my serving size is always larger than theirs. Love their recipes though. Thanks, Abbe!
Ansh
Monday 21st of April 2014
I really wished you lived close by. I love your baked goodies, Holly.
Holly
Monday 21st of April 2014
And I'd love to learn how to cook from you! Let's find somewhere in the middle to meet up soon.
Holly F
Saturday 19th of April 2014
Thanks, Pat! I might have to make another batch of these this weekend. They are light and sweet and delicious! Enjoy your weekend! Holly
cheri
Wednesday 16th of April 2014
What gorgeous cookies these are Holly, I love a good crisp one. Food and Wine is my favorite right now, but I go back and forth. Cooking Light is good too!
Holly F
Saturday 19th of April 2014
I am becoming a big Food and Wine fan too. For years I thought that since I didn't know a lot about wine that I wouldn't connect with much in the magazine but I was wrong. Love their recipes and ideas!