A rich and butter almond cookie reminiscent of the sought out after pastry, the almond croissant.

Many years ago, in a pastry shop far away, I was introduced to one of my favorite baked goods: the almond croissant. The buttery and flaky pastry with the sweet almond filling—it's one of the most perfect pastries. It only made sense that I was inspired to incorporate these perfect flavors into a delectable cookie.

Almond Croissant Cookies

*Makes 12 large cookies

Almond Cookies

200 g all-purpose flour 

4 g Morton kosher salt

4 g baking soda

169 g unsalted butter, divided

¾ cup almond flour

200 g dark brown sugar

50 g granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

2 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup slivered almonds, for topping

Almond Filling

85g unsalted butter, at room temperature

99g granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon table salt

96g almond flour

23g all-purpose flour

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 teaspoons almond extract

To make the almond filling for the cookies, in a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat together the butter, sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute on medium speed. 

Stir in the flours, egg, and almond flavoring. Mix until just combined. Dollop onto a parchment lined baking sheet by the tablespoon and freeze for about 3 hours or until solid.

Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside.

Cook 113 grams of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat with a rubber spatula. Cook until butter foams and is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the almond flour and cook for about a minute or until slightly toasty and fragrant. Transfer butter to a large heatproof bowl and let cool for 1 minute. 

Cut remaining 56 g butter into small pieces and add to brown butter (it should start to melt.

Once butter is melted, add both sugars and whisk until sugar is incorporated and no lumps remain. Add egg and egg yolks and whisk until the mixture is smooth, add vanilla. 

Fold reserved dry ingredients into butter mixture just until no more dry spots remain.

Let the dough rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

Using an ice cream scoop , portion out your cookie dough. Flatten your ball of cookie dough and place a portion of the frozen almond filling into the center. Wrap the cookie dough around the filling and roll into a tight ball. Top your cookie dough balls with the slivered almonds and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Cover the cookie balls with cling film and set the baking sheet in the freezer. Freeze the cookies overnight, this firms up the cookie dough so the cookies don’t spread out too thin. 

When you're ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven to 375°F.

 Bake cookies on parchment lined baking sheets, until they are a light golden brown and firm around the edges, about 14 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Once cooled dust cookies with a liberal coating of powdered sugar and enjoy!