Almond sugar cookies are a fun twist on classic soft sugar cookies. Cut out your favorite shapes and decorate with an easy sugar cookie icing.
Sugar cookies are one of our favorite desserts to make for any holiday. It’s so easy to customize them with fun shapes or icing decorations. I love changing up the flavor as well. These almond sugar cookies are one of my favorite versions.
This recipe is a family classic that I’ve made hundreds of times. The only trick is getting the sugar cookie dough consistency right. You want the dough to be soft but not sticky. If it is too crumbly, the cookies will be tough. If it is too soft, the cookies will fall apart.
Sugar Cookie Dough
If you press your fingers onto the dough, they should come away with minimal sticking. A tiny bit of sticking is fine, you’ll be adding a little flour to the dough as you roll it out.
You can make these almond sugar cookies as thick or as thin as you’d like, just remember to adjust the baking time accordingly. I usually make them about 1/4-1/3 inches thick. I think this gives the optimal cookie-to-icing ratio. Ha!
Sugar Cookie Icing
The icing I use for these almond sugar cookies is just a classic glaze icing that I make thick enough to be spreadable. I love using this icing recipe for sugar cookies because it hardens up nicely after a few minutes which makes storing the cookies much easier.
I also love the little bit of texture difference it provides against the soft cookie. Obviously, I keep icing the cookies pretty simple, but you can use food coloring to make the icing any color you want and add sprinkles to decorate these cookies to your preference.
More Sugar Cookie Recipes!
If you like this almond sugar cookie recipe, be sure to check out my classic soft sugar cookie recipe and my pumpkin sugar cookie recipe. They are both delicious!
Looking for more delicious cookie recipes??
- The Best Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe
- Browned Butter Snickerdoodles
- Snickerdoodle Bars
- Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
- Homemade Brownie Cookies
- Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
- Molasses Ginger Cookies
- The Best Pumpkin Cookie Recipe
- White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Almond Sugar Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Almond Sugar Cookies
- 3 1/4 cups flour all purpose
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter or shortening
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt regular or greek, see note
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Icing
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
For the Almond Sugar Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Sift dry ingredients together, set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together shortening and sugar.
- Add egg, almond extract and vanilla extract, mix well.
- Add yogurt, mix well.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The dough shouldn't be sticky to touch. Add more flour if needed.
- Lightly flour a surface that you can roll the dough out on.
- Roll it out about 1/4 inch thick and cut into desired shapes.
- Place cookies on a greased or lined sheet pan and bake for about 10 minutes.
- When the cookies are done, they should be light and dry in color, barely browned on the bottom.
For the Icing
- Mix powdered sugar, almond extract, and vanilla extract.
- Add butter and milk 1 tablespoon at a time until icing reaches desired thickness.
- Divide and color icing as desired.
Ashely says
How many eggs?
Alli says
1 egg, thank you for pointing that out! I’ve fixed the recipe.
Alli says
Love the almond flavor!