These almond sugar cookies are incredibly versatile and can be decorated for just about any occasion. Hearts for Valentine’s Day, lights and snowflakes for the holidays, or red splatter for Halloween. The dough holds its shape beautifully, so feel free to get creative with your cutters!
Tools I Recommend:
- Piping bags for outlining and detail work
- Toothpicks for popping bubbles and guiding icing into corners
- Gel food coloring for vibrant, non-watery colors
Once your cookies are baked and cooled, the real fun begins! Whether you’re going for simple and elegant or colorful and detailed, these cookies are the perfect blank canvas. The almond-flavored icing pairs beautifully with the buttery cookie base and sets up with a smooth, glossy finish.
Decorating Almond Sugar Cookies:
- Outline first, then flood the center. Let each layer dry before adding more detail to prevent bleeding.
- Use wet-on-wet technique to blend or swirl colors before the icing sets.
- Add texture with sprinkles, sanding sugar, or edible glitter while the icing is still wet.
- Use a light hand with detail icing—less is more, especially when creating lines or lettering.
- Let cookies dry completely (ideally overnight) before stacking or packaging.
These almond sugar cookies are as pretty as they are delicious, with just the right bite and a smooth, glossy finish. Perfect for holidays, birthdays, or anytime you want to show off your decorating skills!
Christmas Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie Cutter
- Rolling Pin
- Sheet Pans
- Piping Bags
Ingredients
Cookies
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg, large
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
Frosting
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp light corn syrup
- 2 tbsp milk
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- gel food coloring
Instructions
Cookie Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl until light and creamy. Add the egg, almond extract. and, vanilla extract. Beat until smooth.
- Add flour into the mixture and mix until a combined sticky dough forms.
- Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thick. Use a 2-inch cookie cutter (any shape) to cut out cookies and transfer to prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 12–15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway. Cookies are done when edges are just golden. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
Icing Instructions:
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, almond extract, and 1½ tablespoons milk. Stir until smooth and glossy. Add more milk a few drops at a time to reach the desired consistency:For outlining, the icing should be thick but pipeable.For flooding, thin the icing slightly until it settles smoothly within an outline in about 10 seconds.
- Divide into bowls and add food coloring, if desired. Transfer to piping bags or squeeze bottles for decorating.
- Pipe a border around each cooled cookie with the thicker outline icing. Let the outline set for 5–10 minutes, then fill with flood icing.
