Celebrating the holiday season always makes me nostalgic.

This recipe is without flour and is gluten-free. You need 4 ingredients: peeled almonds, sugar, egg whites and vanilla extract – you might already have everything in your cupboard. 

Surprise your family or make them as a little pick-me-up for yourself. They are done in 15min and you will LOVE them!!

 

Ingredients:

• 200 g (7oz) of peeled almonds or almond flour
• 2 egg whites
• 200 g (1 cup) of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• peeled almonds or candied cherries for decorating

Instructions:

You will need a food processor (if you don’t have almond flour) and a pastry bag

In a mixer grind almonds and sugar in order to reduce them into a rather fine flour. If you have already the almond flour, just mix it with sugar.

Add egg whites and vanilla extract then mix everything with the electric food processor. The mixture of almond paste has to be firm.

Fill a pastry bag with the mixture and make cookies squeezing the dough directly on a baking tray covered with greaseproof paper. Decorate each almond cookie with an almond (or half-candied cherry or a coffee bean if you prefer). Preheat the oven to 240° (460F) then bake them for 5 minutes. Pay attention to the cooking: almond cookies should be just golden outside and still soft inside. This type of cooking keeps the pastries crispy but with a soft almond heart.

Let them cool and serve. ENJOY