I had a bit of a sweet craving the other day and wanted to make something packed with almonds or walnuts. I remembered these Greek almond cookies my mom made when I was little. I immediately called my mom to get the recipe. She doesn’t write her recipes down, so we discussed in length how she used to make them, and then I experimented a bit. They are fairly easy to make and can be made start to finish in less than 30 minutes.
As I made these cookies, I thought about how things have changed so much. I pictured my Yiayia (grandmother) in Greece making these without electricity or other modern conveniences. She would have had to blanch the almonds and then manually crush them, and then beat the egg whites by hand. I am so fascinated with the evolution in the kitchen and have such respect for the way food used to be made. I could go on and on, but let me get back to the reason for this post…Greek cookies!
Amygdalotas are chewy, lightly sweetened, and full of almond flavor. They are also the absolute best dunking cookies for coffee. They literally will soak up your coffee like a sponge, which I love. They are amazing with all kinds of coffee, and especially with a nice strong cup of Greek coffee or a frappe. So, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy these wonderful and unique Greek treats!
A special thank you to my amazing and wonderful mother, for sharing her recipe and taking the time to help me recreate these delicious cookies. I love you!
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites
- 1 cup unsifted powdered sugar (and more for sprinkling over cookies if desired)
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 2 cups almond meal (or blanched almonds powdered in a food processor)
- 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
- small bag of almond slices for decoration (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix together the almond meal and all purpose flour and set aside. Note: only use almond meal if it is 100% blanched almonds.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they have at least tripled in volume. Then continue beating, while slowly adding the sugar and finally the extract. Continue to beat until it forms peaks.
- Fold the egg whites into the almond mixture until it forms a sticky dough (do this in 2 parts). Line a pan with parchment paper, and then lightly oil the paper, and sprinkle powdered sugar all over. Shake it around until just a very light coating remains on the paper.
- At this point, you can spoon out the mixture and form into a desired shape, or you can pipe the cookies. I prefer the piping method, because it is a little easier to manage the sticky dough, and adds a decorative element. Place a few almonds on top of each cookie if desired.
- Place in the oven for 15 to 16 minutes, until the edges and peaks begin to get golden brown. Cool on racks (wait at least 15 minutes before tasting) and then sprinkle with powdered sugar (if you like a little more sweetness) when ready to serve.
- Place in an airtight container for storage. They should keep well for a week or so, or freeze for longer storage.
What a lovely recipe and such a sweet look back at your grama! love this!
Thank you so much Lynn 🙂
I love this and want to make these!
I am so happy to hear that 🙂 I hope you like them. They are chewy and perfect for dipping in coffee!
yumm that is my kind of treat!
Mine too 🙂
I can totally relate to your childhood memories! 😃
I love these little Greek beauties. I never “converted myself” to the American-style breakfast. I still eat cookies and drink coffee in the morning and your delicious cookies has my name all over them!!! And I adore nutty cookies. 😍
Thanks Francesca! That’s awesome… I hope you enjoy them! They are amazing dipped in coffee 🙂
Thank you for sharing such a lovely recipe. Cookies looks so delicious. YUM
Thank you for the kind words 🙂
Almond cookies looks yummy.. I should try this for my son
Thanks Vidya! I hope he enjoys them 🙂
A must try cookies,they look so yummy…
Thank you Swapna! I hope you get a chance to try them 🙂
Looks fantastic. My favorite part of Greek fest is getting all the delicious cookies. It’s high time I make my own and I love almonds, perfect recipe for me.
Thanks Gretchen! My mom used to help do the baking for our local festival, and I loved watching all the ladies work, and of course sampling too 😉 These are great cookies to make, because of how quickly and easily they can be made. I hope you get a chance to make them. They are wonderfully chewy and almondy 🙂
Yummy!! Happy weekend to you.
Thank you 🙂 Happy weekend to you too!
Exharisto poly!
Parakaló 🙂
🙂 🙂
Hello! These comments are a few years old so I’m
Not sure if you are still monitoring this site? But if so I have a question! Is almond meal “ ground almonds” or almond flour? Thank you!
Hi Maria! I apologize for the delayed response. Yes, it is ground blanched almonds, which contains the skins. I tend to use Bob’s Red Mill finely ground almond meal/flour. Typically, almond flour doesn’t contain the skins, so I like using a finely ground meal. I hope this answers your questions and that you enjoy this recipe! Have a wonderful day! 😀
Are there any substitutions if almond flour is used?
I am sorry for the delay. I was unexpectedly away. Almond meal and almond flour are basically the same, so you can sub it out one for one. Please let me know if this answers your question. Again, I am sorry for the delay. Have a wonderful day and let me know how else I can help.