How to Make Almond Pastry Cookies

Friends. I share a fair number of recipes on here, and I’ve written cookbooks. But I’m here to tell you that THIS RECIPE has shot straight to the top of my faves list. My mother pulled out an old recipe from 30 years ago that she used to make when we lived in Dallas. She made it for me and we spent a few days tweaking it to make it even better. Alas, this is it! If you love almond flavor, you will die over these almond pastry cookies. Truly, they’re that good. Since we’ve had several batches around from recipe testing, my husband and I have each eaten our weight in these goodies. You may be one of those readers that likes to visit blogs, look at the pictures, and click out. This one, you need to actually make. Have I convinced you yet?

We made little egg shapes for our Easter brunch, but you could use circles or make it in a large round “pie style”. It really doesn’t matter what shape you make it in, it’s good! Blakely even loved helping add the sliced almonds on top!

We served these up alongside our Pink Easter Tablescape since they are the perfect little brunch bite to serve at a party. Just display them on a simple white tray with a pretty pink bloom. Now we garnish ours with sliced almonds but you know I like to give you options! You could just do a dusting of powdered sugar and leave off the almonds. Or get crazy and swap out the almond extracts for lemon and garnish with grated lemon zest. This is the perfect recipe to do some tweaking here and there. But if you love almond, trust me, it’s perfection.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Almond Pastry Cookies

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time35 mins

Servings: 20 pastry cookies

Ingredients

For the Glaze:

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup butter melted
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

For the Filling:

• 1/4 cup butter softened
• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 egg room temperature
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

For the Pastry Crust

• 2 cups flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 4 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. To make the pastry crust, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix in the butter and beat until combined. Add in water and continue to mix with your beater until pastry holds together in a ball. Roll out pastry to 1/4" thickness. Use a cookie cutter (we used 2 1/2" egg shaped cutters) to cut cookies. We were able to get 20 out of a 2 1/2" cookie cutter. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and set aside while you prepare filling.
• For the filling, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add in the egg, powdered sugar, and almond extract. Beat again until creamy. Spoon one tablespoon of the filling on top of each circle of pastry crust. Spread out evenly. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until lightly golden.
• For the glaze, beat together sugar, butter, water, and almond extract. Once smooth and while pastry cookies are still warm, drizzle glaze over top and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
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I hope you all love these almond pastry cookies as much as my family does! Whether you enjoy them for Easter or just a special treat, you won’t be disappointed! If you want to try another fabulous cookie recipe, try my coconut pecan cookies!