Use almond paste with roughly equal almonds and sugar, not sweeter decorating marzipan.
Almond paste contributes sugar and moisture to a firm shortbread topped with sliced almonds.
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Almond-Paste Christmas Shortbread Recipe
Follow the tray sizes, portions and baking intervals in the instructions below.
Total time includes hands-on preparation, required chilling or resting, whole-batch cooking, cooling and finishing.
Kitchen tools you’ll need
- mixing bowl
- mixer
- kitchen scale
- two 13 x 18-inch half sheets
- parchment
- wide spatula
- cooling rack
Ingredients
US measures are approximate. Gram weights help keep portions consistent; spice weights vary with density.
Instructions
Mix the dough
- Mix the dough: Beat almond paste, butter and powdered sugar until no paste lumps remain. Beat in yolk, then flour and salt just until cohesive.
Shape and manage temperature
- Shape and manage temperature: Divide dough excluding sliced almonds into 24 portions, about 15 g. Flatten into 1 3/4-inch rounds about 1/4 inch thick and press the sliced almonds onto the tops. Refrigerate the shaped cookies for 40 minutes until firm.
Bake the whole batch
- Bake the whole batch: Heat oven to 350°F (175°C) conventional or 325°F (165°C) fan. Arrange cookies on two parchment-lined 13 x 18-inch half sheets, 12 cookies per tray, with at least 1 inch between edges. Bake one tray at a time on the middle rack, keeping the waiting tray refrigerated for 16–20 minutes, rotating front to back once, until the edges and bases are lightly golden and the centers look dry. Whole-batch cookie baking is 2 trays x up to 20 minutes = 40 minutes.
Cool and finish
- Cool and finish: Rest 10 minutes on each tray, then cool 20 minutes on a rack before serving or packing. Cooling includes the tray rest.
Timing and scaling
- Timing and scaling: Active preparation is 20 minutes; required chill/rest is 40 minutes; whole-batch oven baking is 40 minutes; cooling/setting is 30 minutes. Cooling allowance runs from the final tray; earlier trays may cool during later baking and that overlap is not counted again. Start with butter at the stated consistency; ingredient warm-up and frozen-dough thawing are extra. Oven preheating can overlap shaping or chilling. Scale every ingredient weight but keep piece dimensions, oven temperature and per-tray bake range unchanged; extra trays increase whole-batch time.
Chef’s Science & Pro Tips
Ingredient science
Almond paste supplies both sugar and ground nuts; the additional dough sugar is deliberately small.
Technique & texture
Use almond paste with roughly equal almonds and sugar, not sweeter decorating marzipan.
Finishing & serving
Break up paste lumps before adding flour to avoid pockets that spread and brown unevenly.
Storage and make-ahead
| Method | How long | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Room temperature | 5 days | Up to 5 days. Store completely cooled cookies airtight in a cool, dry room, with parchment between layers. Keep away from moist filled cookies. |
| Refrigeration | up to 7 days | Unnecessary; up to 7 days if needed. Baked refrigeration is unnecessary for these unfilled cookies and may soften the crumb. If the room is warm, seal airtight and bring to room temperature while still covered. |
| Raw freezing | 1 month | Up to 1 month. Freeze wrapped dough or unbaked portions airtight. Thaw covered overnight in the refrigerator; shape as directed, then complete any stated post-shaping chill. Do not add thaw time to the fresh-batch timings. |
| Baked freezing | 2 months | Up to 2 months. Freeze fully cooled cookies airtight with parchment between layers. Thaw in their sealed container at room temperature for about 1–2 hours. |
| Restoring | As described | Serve after thawing; optional 3–5-minute refresh. For plain unfilled cookies only, refresh at 300°F (150°C) conventional or 275°F (135°C) fan for 3–5 minutes, then cool 20 minutes before sealing. This is extra time beyond the fresh recipe. |
Notes
- Scale ingredients, including US measures, without changing cookie size or oven temperature. Extra trays increase whole-batch time.
Nutrition
Approximate values per portion from the listed ingredient weights divided into 24 equal portions. Includes required fillings and finishes. Brands, unused coatings and actual portion size affect the estimate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use marzipan instead?
No; decorating marzipan generally contains more sugar and is not the specified almond paste.
Why only 15 g added sugar?
The 85 g almond paste already carries substantial sugar.
What is the yolk doing?
It helps bind the almond-paste dough and gives enough moisture for the flour to form a smooth crumb.
