Description
These gluten free almond croissant cookies feature a buttery almond cookie base with a rich, gooey almond frangipane filling, topped with toasty flaked almonds. They are quick and easy to make, requiring no chilling, and yield deliciously rustic cookies with a melt-in-the-mouth texture.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Almond frangipane filling:
- 70 g (5 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
- 100 g (1/2 cup) caster/superfine or granulated sugar
- 1 US large/UK medium egg, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 150 g (1 1/2 cups) almond flour (or almond meal or finely ground almonds)
- 1/4 tsp salt
Almond cookie dough:
- 170 g (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 150 g (3/4 cup) light brown soft sugar
- 3 US large/UK medium egg yolks, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- 180 g (1 1/2 cups) plain gluten free flour blend (I used Doves Farm Freee gluten free plain white flour that doesn’t have any xanthan gum added. You can also mix your own gluten free flour blend using this recipe. Note that for this homemade blend, 1 cup = 150g, so ideally use a digital food scale and the weight measurements for best results. I don’t recommend using King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour – see Notes.)
- 200 g (2 cups) almond flour (or almond meal or finely ground almonds)
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (Omit if your gluten free flour blend already contains xanthan gum.)
- 1/4 tsp salt
You’ll also need:
- 100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
- 70 g (3/4 cup) flaked almonds
Instructions
- Prepare oven and baking sheets: Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line two large baking sheets with parchment/baking paper.
- Almond frangipane filling: In a bowl, mix together the melted butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and almond extract until well combined and smooth. Add the almond flour and salt, and mix well until smooth. Set aside until needed.
- Almond cookie dough: In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and light brown sugar until pale and fluffy. You can do this by hand using a large balloon whisk, with a hand mixer fitted with the double beaters, or with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the egg yolks and vanilla, and mix well to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, almond flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt, and add them to the wet ingredients. Mix well until you get a smooth cookie dough with no flour clumps. It should have a scoopable consistency and shouldn’t be sticky to the touch. It’ll be firm enough so you can scoop it and shape it into balls with your hands, but it shouldn’t be dry or crumbly.
- Assembling & baking the cookies: Put the granulated sugar into a small bowl. Use a 2-tablespoon cookie or ice cream scoop to scoop out a portion of the cookie dough. Roll it between your palms to shape it into a ball, then roll it in the granulated sugar so it’s evenly coated. Place the sugar-coated cookie dough ball onto the lined baking sheet, and use a 1-tablespoon measuring spoon to make an indent in the centre. Tip: Because the cookie dough contains so much almond flour (and proportionately less gluten free flour blend compared to other cookie recipes), it’s more prone to cracking when you press down on it with the 1-tablespoon measuring spoon. It’s okay if you get a few small cracks along the edges – these cookies are meant to be rustic and the almond frangipane filling is thick enough so it won’t leak out. I recommend creating the indent in every cookie as soon as you’ve shaped it (that way, the surface of the cookie dough ball hasn’t had time to firm up so it’s still pliable enough that you can create the indent with minimal cracking). Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough, you should get 20-22 cookies in total (depending on the exact size of your cookie dough balls). As you’re arranging them on the baking sheets, make sure to space them at least 2 inches (5cm) apart. Transfer the almond frangipane filling to a piping bag with its end cut off (or you can use a large round piping tip), and fill each indent to the brim – it’s okay if the frangipane forms a small mound rising above the edge of the cookie (see blog post for photos). Sprinkle the tops of the cookies generously with the flaked almonds. Bake the cookies at 350ºF (180ºC) for 12-14 minutes or until they’ve spread and puffed up slightly, and they’re evenly golden brown around the edges. If you’re baking the cookies in two batches, keep the other baking sheet at room temperature on your counter – no need to keep it in the fridge.
- Cooling & serving: The cookies will be very soft and fragile immediately out of the oven. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet – trying to move them around (for example, to a wire cooling rack) could make them crumble or break. Serve either warm or cooled completely to room temperature. You can dust them with some powdered/icing sugar before serving, if you wish.
- Storage: The gluten free almond croissant cookies keep well in a closed container in a cool, dry place for about 3-4 days.
Notes
- Best gluten free flours for this recipe: Different brands of gluten free flour vary in moisture absorption, affecting results. Recommended: King Arthur Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, behaves similarly to Doves Farm FREEE gluten free plain white flour. Not recommended: King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour as it absorbs too much moisture and creates dry, crumbly dough. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour behaves similarly to Doves Farm but absorbs slightly more moisture; if used, add only 75% of the flour weight then add more as needed to reach a scoopable dough consistency.
- The recipe is developed mainly for Doves Farm FREEE flour or similar blends; flours that behave differently may not work well.
