Thin Spiced Almond Cookies (Pains d’Amandes)
Known as “Pains d’Amandes”, these thin Spiced Almond Cookies are a beloved specialty from the Flanders region, straddling Northern France and Belgium. Made with cinnamon, nutmeg and almonds, these slice-and-bake oblong cookies pack warm holiday-spiced flavors and a great crunch. “Pains d’Amandes” are a coffee-time cookie favorite in Flanders. They can be found in most grocery stores and markets. They are also favorites amongst home bakers, as they are easy to make, even in large batches. While you can find many different versions of the recipe, it almost always includes golden…
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 20 min
- Yield
- 60 servings
- Difficulty
- EASY
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1/2 cup (8 tbsp/1 stick/115g) unsalted butter
- 1 1/3 cups (295g) packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
- 1/3 cup (79g/ml) water
- 2 1/3 cups (325g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup (85g) whole almonds (unblanched)
- 1/3 cup (30g) almonds slices
Instructions
- 1
Make sure to read the baking notes (above) before you start.
- 2
Step 1 - In a medium sauce pan, combine the butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and water. Place over medium heat and let melt, stirring occasionally, until the butter is all melted, but the sugar still has a grainy texture (we don’t want to melt the sugar entirely here). Immediately remove from the heat.
- 3
Step 2 - In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. Pour the sugar mixture in and stir with a wooden spoon until just incorporated. Add almonds and almond slices and stir again until just incorporated.
- 4
Step 3 - Line a 8x8-inch (20.3x20.3cm) square pan or a 9x5-inch (22.9x12.7cm) with parchment paper (bottom and sides). Press the dough into the pan and cover with plastic film. Chill overnight.
- 5
The next day, pre-heat your oven to 325°F (165°C) with a rack in the middle and line-up 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- 6
Step 4 - Pull the dough out of the pan, unwrap the dough and transfer onto a cutting board. It should resemble a firm block of fudge.
- 7
If you used a 8”x 8” square pan, start by slicing the square in the middle (so you have two 4”x 8” rectangles). Using a very sharp knife, slice the rectangles into 1/8-inch slices (or as thin as you can). Place slices onto baking sheets, leaving at least 1 inch space in-between each slice.
- 8
Bake (one sheet at a time) for 10 minutes, until golden underneath. Quickly flip cookies and bake 8-10 minutes until crisp-looking and golden.
- 9
Transfer cookies onto cooling rack.