White Chocolate Almond Cookies

Soft and delicious, these cookies are sweet with a caramel tone and lots of crunchiness from the sliced almonds. The holiday baking is almost here and this one-bowl recipe will certainly make a fantastic addition to your list of baked goodies, your gift-giving boxes, or as a snack to endure this last part of the year!

I'm seriously in love with these white chocolate almond cookies. And for good reason. They're awesome!

As the last part of the holiday season approaches, new and delicious cookies are always welcomed. I know cookie baking at this time of the year is a must. 

We all probably tried the chocolate chip or the molasses ginger cookie recipe number 392095485 with this or that tweak. So, here I come bearing a fantastic and slightly different holiday cookie recipe.

What makes a great cookie?

It's fair to say we can debate this extensively. After all, it's cookies you guys!

But we can agree that a cookie must: be full of flavor, have just the right texture, use mostly pantry staples, and be a one-bowl situation to be called great, right?

This recipe checks all the boxes.

I'm constantly amazed by simple recipes. No matter what new idea comes around tried and true cookies will forever have a place in our hearts. In our holiday tables. And in our hips, haha.

Ingredients 

Most of the ingredients used in these cookies are pantry staples. But I have a few pointers.

• Brown sugar: there are many types, light and dark the two most notorious ones. I usually use dark brown sugar, but I wanted a lighter color in the baked cookie, so I used light brown sugar (image above). Keep in mind that you can use your favorite one. The difference will be in the final color of the baked cookie. 
• White chocolate: one of the stars of this recipe. As you can see in the image above, I use a type of white chocolate that is darker in color. It is from Valrhona and is called Dulcey. It has a more caramelized flavor. But you can use regular white chocolate chunks or a mix of white and butterscotch chips or chunks. They will all produce a fantastic cookie. 
• Almonds: both sliced and coarsely chopped almonds are used in this recipe. I find that sliced almonds add a crunch unlike anything else. And the chopped almonds add volume and texture. 

Easy steps 

1. Cream butter with sugar in a large bowl. I use an electric hand mixer, but you can also make it with a whisk.
2. Add egg and mix well. Add flavorings and mix well (image above, left).
3. Add dry ingredients in 2 parts and mix until combined (image above, right).
4. Now add both chocolate chunks and almonds (image below, left). It will seem like too much but have patience and use a spatula to mix everything until you have a smooth dough (image below, right).

Baking the cookies

Using a cookie or ice cream scoop. 

This is the easiest way to shape uniformly sized cookies (image below). You can use smaller or larger ones depending on the size you want your baked cookies. 

Take into account that the larger the scoop the bigger the space between cookies. They expand quite a lot during baking. 

Make sure the oven is preheated before putting the cookie sheet. Not having the right temperature greatly alters the texture and shape of a cookie. 

These caramelized white chocolate almond cookies embrace all that I love about easy, one-bowl cookies.

White chocolate used to be the underdog in my kitchen. I even baked with milk chocolate more than white, which some would argue is not chocolate. I know but I don't think I care much, haha.

But sometimes even I get tired of dark chocolate, the horror, I know. Not often, but you know, change is good they say.

Anyway, a few great white chocolate recipes and I was hooked. White chocolate pairs well with a lot of other ingredients, like raspberries, coffee, coconut, dulce de leche (my favorite, beyond good!).

These caramelized white chocolate almond cookies are amazing. Simple, tasty, and a crowd-pleaser.

Perfect holiday cookies.

Top tips 

• Almonds: use both types of almonds called for in the recipe. They each add their own thing. 
• Chocolate: use white chocolate, a mix of white and butterscotch, or caramelized white chocolate such as Dulcey (see notes in recipe).
• Dough: the cookie dough can be kept for 2-3 days in the refrigerator or frozen for 2-3 weeks, always in a container with a tight-fitting lid. If freezing, I suggest forming the cookie balls and freezing them already formed. Simply bake them directly from the freezer.
• Variation: you can substitute walnuts for the almonds but they will lack the crunch that the sliced almonds bring. Add a tablespoon of your favorite liquor (Amaretto, Frangelico or Kahlua pair well) for a more sophisticated cookie.

Other recipes you might like:
Pistachio Butter Cookies
Fudgy Brownie Cookies
Coconut Citrus Shortbread
Homemade Oreos
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Easy Oatmeal Walnut Cookies

Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe! I’d love to hear what you think about it. Thank you for being here, I appreciate it! Let’s connect via Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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White Chocolate Almond Cookies

★★★★★

5 from 11 reviews

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Soft and delicious, these cookies are sweet with a caramel tone and lots of crunchiness from the sliced almonds. A one-bowl recipe that makes a fantastic addition to your recipe collection.

• Total Time: 85 minutes
• Yield: 30 medium cookies 1x

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup light or dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla paste or extract
• ½ teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
• ¼ cup chopped almonds, lightly toasted
• ¾ cup (150g) white chocolate chips (or chopped caramelized white chocolate, or a mix of white and butterscotch chips, see Notes below)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF / 180ºC.
2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Beat butter with both sugars until creamy.
4. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
5. Add dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, soda, and salt) and mix until a few dry spots remain.
6. Add white chocolate and almonds and mix until no dry spots remain.
7. Drop large teaspoons on the prepared sheets, spacing them an inch or so.
8. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until edges are firm and cookies are golden.
9. Let cool completely on wire rack.
10. Keep in tins or cookie jars.

For caramelized white chocolate:

1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF /140ºC.
2. In a shallow glass pan, spread the chopped white chocolate. Don’t overlap them too much. It’s better to make small batches.
3. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, stirring it every 5-10 minutes. It won’t melt immediately, and, depending on the brand, might never be silky, but lumpy. For this recipe that is fine.
4. Once it’s as dark as you like, let it cool and chop it.

Notes

White chocolate: I use the caramelized chocolate from Valrhona. You can easily substitute with a mix of white chocolate and butterscotch chips or chunks.

Almonds: use both types of almonds called for in the recipe. They each add their own thing.

Dough: the cookie dough can be kept for 2-3 days in the refrigerator or frozen for 2-3 weeks, always in a container with a tight-fitting lid. If freezing, I suggest forming the cookie balls and freezing them already formed. Simply bake them directly from the freezer.

Variation: you can substitute walnuts for the almonds but they will lack the crunch that the sliced almonds bring. Add a tablespoon of your favorite liquor (Amaretto, Frangelico or Kahlua pair well) for a more sophisticated cookie.

• Author: Paula Montenegro
• Prep Time: 70 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Category: Cookies
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/30
• Calories: 122
• Sugar: 9.2 g
• Sodium: 68.1 mg
• Fat: 6.4 g
• Carbohydrates: 14.7 g
• Protein: 1.9 g
• Cholesterol: 15.2 mg

Keywords: white chocolate cookies, chocolate almond cookies