Almond Honey Cookies: A Gluten-Free Recipe for Happiness

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Almond Honey Cookies are a light, delicious cookie that is flourless, gluten-free, and vegetarian. These soft cookies are not only healthy and delicious but also perfect for anyone who suffers from allergies or intolerance. They are a perfect holiday treat!

I love this recipe for its simplicity. This is another one of the cookie recipes I learned to bake in Germany during the holiday season.

A stack of these Clean Eating Almond Honey Cookies sits on a white plate against a bright blue back drop. You can see the rough texture of the cookies. They look similar to oatmeal cookies without the raisins.

Anybody new to baking with almond flour or almond meal may have a few questions. Let’s cover a few of them really quickly.

Is Almond Meal The Same As Almond Flour?

No, they are different. Almond meal is made from raw, unpeeled almonds. Almond flour is made from blanched almonds. Flour typically has a smoother texture and is better for baking.

Can Almond Flour Be Substituted For Regular Flour?

No. Regular flour contains gluten and absorbs liquid. Almond flour has no gluten and absorbs no liquid. They are two very different flours that are not interchangeable.

Can You Use Almond Meal Instead Of Almond Flour?

Yes, you can. However, anything made with an almond meal will be a bit more coarse in texture.

About Honey Almond Cookies

This is an authentic German recipe. It is essentially a meringue cookie with ground almonds mixed in. They are soft and spongy, nutty, and slightly sweet. They are great for kids and adults alike. (Not for kids under 1 year of age due to the honey).

Originally, these cookies were made by spooning the cookie mixture onto “Oblaten”, which are paper-like, edible wafers. These Oblaten really don’t add any flavor to the cookies, but they do offer the benefit of a stable “foundation” for a cookie like this. You can find Oblaten all over Europe, and in European food markets here in the states. You can order them online as well from Amazon.com. You’ll find the link below. However, they are not critical if you line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.

To make this recipe easy, I highly recommend using an electric mixer to beat the egg whites. You can also use a stand mixer, which will make the egg whites and then mix in the remaining ingredients as well. Just be sure to stir gently when adding to the egg whites. You want to keep as much air in them as possible.

If gluten-free cookies are the only way you roll, these cookies will be perfect! I also have a few other gluten-free cookie recipes you might like to try. Check these out too!

Quote from a reader:

“I just had to share with you…..I made your almond cookies yesterday. My 18mo. old who still only has a few words – stood at the counter pointing to the cookies and kept saying “more, more, more”. A huge hit and I certainly didn’t mind giving her more “clean” cookies! For dessert, we all crumbled some cookies over fresh strawberries..yum!”

Recipe Additions

  • Almond extract – While I have never added anything extra to this cookie recipe, some folks might enjoy a stronger almond flavor. These are nutty but mild. If that’s you, you can add a half teaspoon of almond extract to the dough.
  • Vanilla extract – Vanilla extract is another addition some people may enjoy. If you want to try it, you could add one half to one full teaspoons of pure vanilla extract to the batter.
  • Whole Almonds – If you want to garnish your cookies, you can top them with whole almonds or slivered almonds just prior to baking. Simply lay a single almond or sliver of almond on the center of each cookie. This will leave a small indentation in the tops of your cookies, but it looks great!

(Print recipe from recipe card at the bottom of this post)

1½ cups ground almonds – While we ground our own almonds in Germany (and you can do the same in a food processor), either almond flour or almond meal will work here.

¾ cup honey – I prefer clover honey, but use whatever honey you have handy.

4 large egg whites – Save the yolks for something else.

How To Make Almond Honey Cookies

In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

In a second bowl mix almonds and honey.

Scoop nut mixture into the egg whites and fold until well mixed. do not over mix. The moment mixture is combined, stop mixing.

Using a regular teaspoon (not a measuring teaspoon), scoop small clumps onto round edible wafers, or directly onto prepared baking sheets.

Place the sheet pans in the oven on the lowest shelf at 350 F. for 10-15 minutes. Should be lightly brown when done.

Using a spatula, transfer to a wire rack for cooling.

How To Store Almond Honey Cookies

Keep these in an airtight container and store them in the fridge.

These do not freeze well.

Need Recipe Supplies?

Almond Honey Cookies Recipe Card

Copyright Information For The Gracious Pantry
A stack of Almond Honey Cookies

Almond Honey Cookies

A wonderful holiday cookie recipe with just a few, very simple ingredients!
3.78 from 9 votes
Print Pin Rate Add to Collection
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: German
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 74kcal

Ingredients

  • cups ground almonds
  • ¾ cup honey
  • 4 large egg whites

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
  • In a second bowl mix almonds and honey.
  • Scoop nut mixture into the egg whites and fold until well mixed. do not over mix. The moment mixture is combined, stop mixing.
  • Using a regular teaspoon (not a measuring teaspoon), scoop small clumps onto round edible wafers, or directly onto prepared baking sheets.
  • Place in oven on lowest shelf at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Should be lightly brown when done.

Notes

Please note that the nutrition data below is a ballpark figure. Exact data is not possible.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 74kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 14mg | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 0.3mg

3.78 from 9 votes (8 ratings without comment)

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62 Comments

  1. I can’t wait to try these! Just thought I would mention, as I can’t see it anywhere else, that egg whites don’t like any grease at all. So if there are people having problems they could try (carefully) rinsing out the bowl/whisks with boiling water then wiping out with disposable kitchen roll.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Ally – Great tip! Thanks!

  2. Crazy Daisy says:

    These look delicious. I see that you were asked to change the weights to cups, could you not put up the gram measurements too, please? For something like this exact measurements are quite critical, I believe, and cup measurements are not completely accurate.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      CD – A 1 cup (American) measure is quite accurate. I will see what I can do to convert it.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Melanie – Very helpful! Thanks!

  3. Your welcome! The cookies turned out very flat but tasted amazing. I whisked the eggs until the egg white were stiff to a peak stage like explained in the video. I also folded exactly how it explained to do so. One batch I cooked for 15 mins (overcooked) and the other 10 mins and were perfectly cooked but they were both flat. I’m not sure what I did wrong but they were still good and we ate them all. 🙂

    Do you know if there’s anything I should do different?

    Thanks!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Melanie – Are you at a higher altitude?

  4. I was wondering if I can use almond flour for the almond honey cookies, or do I need to have the almonds just ground up?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Jana – You could try it. They might be a little flat, but I don’t see any reason it shouldn’t work.

  5. Something went definately wrong. I am sure the eggs were whipled properly, but I think maybe the bottum shelf of my oven must be lower than yours..they mostly burned, were very flat. They were pretty soft too. But i have to say, the flavor is pretty good.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Jean – Ya, something definitely went wrong. Do you have a thermometer in your oven? Are you sure it was actually baking at the temperature that the oven said it was?

  6. Stephanie says:

    I calculated the nutritional data for them using myfitnesspal. For 24 cookies, it’s about 69 calories a cookie in case anyone was wondering WITHOUT the round edible wafers. :]

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Stephanie – Thanks! 🙂

  7. Chrystina says:

    Again, I couldn’t resist… I used 3/4 c of your Clean Eating Chocolate syrup for this recipe. Next time I will add bit more Honey in addition to 3/4 c of syrup, but still it was delicious. You are my go-to for all my clean eating recipes! Thank you!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Chrystina – My pleasure! 🙂

  8. Can you replace honey with agave nectar? would you know the measurements at all?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Emily – You can sub in equal amounts. But if eating clean is your aim, then agave won’t work.

  9. I tried these tonight and it seems I had all the same issues as everyone else. The flavor was amazing and my husband and daughter over them (even though they were burnt!) is there anyway you could post pictures after each step or a video? I will try this again until I get it! Thank you!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Jessica – Yes, I’ll try them again.

  10. Elizabeth Bennett says:

    I was so excited about these cookies and followed instructions carefully. My egg whites stiffened up beautifully and I didn’t overmix. But the cooking instructions are all wrong. Putting these on the bottom rack at 350 burned the bottoms in less than 10 minutes. None of the cookies puffed up at all. Most other merengue recipes cook at a lower temperature and in the middle or even top of the oven. These were unsalvageable. So sad.

    1. Elizabeth – Actually, most meringue cookies are baked in the lower half of the oven to keep the temperature lower. Heat rises. So cooking them higher up would burn them. However, these are not intended to be meringue cookies. Quite the opposite. It’s possible your baking pan was thinner than mine. Did you put these directly on the pan? Or did you use the edible wafers?

  11. 3 stars
    Tasty but what are the edible wafers?