5 Ingredients or Fewer

Dorie Greenspan's 3-Ingredient Almond Crackle Cookies

June 20, 2021
4.4
33 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 30 minutes
  • Cook time 20 minutes
  • Makes 20 cookies
Author Notes

When you call Dorie Greenspan to say you’re coming over, this is what she bakes. “It takes longer to preheat the oven than to put these cookies together,” she wrote to me. “I love them for a million reasons, but chiefly because they're a simple pleasure that can be shared on the spur of the moment.” She includes a perfectly round variation in her book using muffin tins (and plenty of baker's spray to help them break free), but we preferred the ease and charm of the freeform version. Adapted slightly from Dorie's Cookies (Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016). —Genius Recipes

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 6 tablespoons (75 grams) sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/4 cups (125 grams) sliced almonds (blanched or unblanched)
Directions
  1. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat it to 325° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Have a small cookie scoop or a teaspoon at hand.
  2. Whisk the sugar and egg together in a bowl for a minute or so, until well blended and just a bit thick. Add the almonds and whisk until evenly coated with the mixture. You need to use the batter right away — it separates as it stands. In fact, it’s good to give the batter a stir or two as you’re spooning it out.
  3. Each cookie needs 2 teaspoons of batter. Scoop the batter onto the baking sheets, leaving at least 2 inches of space between the mounds of batter, and flatten each mound with the back of a fork.
  4. Bake for about 20 minutes, rotating the pans midway through baking. The cookies should be toasted-almond beige, and dry and crackled on top. Transfer the baking sheets to racks and let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes. Carefully lift the free-form cookies with a wide spatula.
  5. Note: If your kitchen is cool and dry, you can keep these in a tin or paper bag overnight. Keep them longer, and they might soften, a condition easily reversed: Place the cookies on a lined baking sheet and warm them in a 350° F oven for about 6 minutes; cool on the sheet.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Tucker & Me
    Tucker & Me
  • jxc
    jxc
  • Sovie Mary
    Sovie Mary
  • ctgal
    ctgal
  • Donna B
    Donna B
Genius Recipes

Recipe by: Genius Recipes

109 Reviews

Hyejean K. February 12, 2024
I happened to have a few egg whites in the fridge and a cup of sliced almonds (100 g) in the pantry, so I was happy to whip these up. The interwebz told me that 2 egg whites is a good sub for the volume of one egg, so I eyeballed 2/3 of the 3 egg whites I had in the bowl and mixed it thoroughly with 4/5 the weight of the sugar (since I had 4/5 the weight of the almonds). I was able to spoon out 12 cookies on one half sheet and after 22 minutes at 325 degrees, they were still a bit chewy and felt too sweet. I was too impatient to let them go longer to get them extra crispy. The small amount of batter I had remaining had a higher ratio of egg white to nuts in it than the batch I had just baked, so I added some sesame seeds to round things out. I also added a pinch of salt, and scraped all of that onto the pan. It was probably about two tablespoons' worth. This time, I baked it at 350 for over 20 minutes, and I managed to pull the tray out just before the cookie burned. I pulled the parchment paper onto the cooling rack and let it rest for ten minutes or so. It was dark brown, super crispy, and delicious! If I happened to have a couple of egg whites that I needed to use up, and I also had a cup of nuts handy (or sesame seeds!), I would make these again, but not otherwise. I do really appreciate how quick these came together and the fact that they are gluten-/grain-free. I should note that I didn't have to flatten the cookies when spooning the batter out in tablespoons full, and I also didn't have any issue with spreading. I wonder if egg yolks cause more spread than whites (which I did mix until frothy).
 
Jenn July 26, 2023
I hate to be the outlier, but I didn’t enjoy these. I don’t love the taste of egg, and that’s really all one could taste here: almond and egg. I might try again with just egg the egg white (I suspect the yolk is the taste I’m not enjoying). But overall the rare Dorie Greenspan recipe that I did not like.
 
Freddurf July 26, 2023
I made mine with just the egg whites and loved them.
 
Donna B. July 26, 2023
I think I mentioned in my review…..just use egg white….makes all the difference.
 
Tucker &. July 9, 2023
A wonderfully easy and delicious gf cookie. Made no changes. Why would you? Simple, lovely, and they disappear almost immediately. Just perfect.
 
LmCooks April 7, 2023
Has anyone ever made these as a full sheet and then broken it apart??
 
jxc July 14, 2022
Quick, easy & delish as promised. I do like a little salt to balance the sweet, so I sprinkled a little sea salt on ea cookie after the bake. Might add a bit of almond extract next time. My lower shelf (baked on silpat) cookies came out noticeably darker than the upper shelf cookies (baked on parchment paper) at 20min. Am sharing this recipe all around.
 
Sovie M. September 25, 2021
I used 1/4 of the sugar.Then crushed potato chips and black sesame seeds seeds and a touch of smoked salt.👍🏼
 
ctgal March 3, 2021
I just made these to use up some of my large supply of sliced almonds. I love the consistency and how they disappear in your mouth, but I thought they were too sweet. I wonder if a drop of a spice might cut the sweetness. Any suggestions?
 
Donna B. February 11, 2021
I always used pumpkin seeds, a bit of salt and only frothy egg whites. So easy, so good!
 
Frankye May 7, 2020
These are AWESOME and ADDICTING! Double the recipe if you want them to last longer than a day. Have given them as gifts during Stay-Home period. Do you have advice for using egg replacement?
 
Zahra K. April 28, 2020
Really simple but really good! One batch didn’t even last 15 minutes in my house.
 
Autumn N. November 27, 2019
I made these for the first time as something our Thanksgiving company could snack on. After my first bite, I immediately started on another batch. So good!

For the second batch, I added cinnamon and a tiny pinch of cayenne, and they tasted like spiced nuts!
 
Ingrid A. November 26, 2019
I use sliced almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds and a few small chocolate chips. After Baking and cooling I put them in a freezer bag and freeze them. Whenever I need a treat I get one and eat them frozen. They are always crisp and wonderful.
 
Tracy September 25, 2019
Trying these with xylitol....fingers crossed.
 
Pearl December 5, 2021
Well, how did it go?!
 
MoodyFoodie310 June 12, 2022
How did they turn out with xylitol?
 
Rosalind P. July 13, 2019
These cookies are gorgeous and elegant and irresistible. I do have a similar cookie that's the same ingredients but a little less delicate to handle and make, equally irresistible and must be made in double batches because the go so fast. xdf 2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
3 cups ground nuts (walnuts, almonds, etc. - can combine dif. types)
coconut (optional) 1 cup = 73 g.

This recipe can be mixed in a bowl by hand and can be frozen.

Beat eggs eggs, salt, vanilla. Add sugar, nuts, coconut. The mixture will be thick. Drop onto a greased pan by spoonfuls. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until golden. Let harden before removing from pan.

 
TXExpatInBKK February 19, 2020
I made these with sliced almonds instead of ground, but otherwise exactly as you said. Yum!!! Thanks for sharing!
 
Judi F. April 4, 2020
I loved these!! I made them with a variety of nuts and did use the coconut. Almost more like candy than cookies. So yum. I did flatten them a little with a moistened palm before baking. Other than that, I made them exactly as directed.
 
Marsha L. January 2, 2019
These are fabulous and so easy, and they look pretty on a cookie plate, on their own or with others, showing off their irregular organic shapes. I didn't let mine get quite as dark as those shown in the photograph, but they were still crunchy. Great recipe for gluten free and grain free people. I served mine last night with another easy and quick recipe found on Food52 website: Lime Posset with Graham Cracker Streusel.
 
Elessar December 22, 2018
This is a fantastic recipe! I made these 3 times this week for various holiday parties and they are always a smash hit- the first thing to go! I have used slivered almonds and even very finely chopped almonds and it is always a success. I would recommend doubling the recipe and, for a party, making smaller cookies of just 1 teaspoon. I also add a pinch of salt (about 2 grams if doubling the recipe) to make these even better.
 
Mmabatho July 2, 2019
Elsessar, I thought this was excessive when I first read your comment. But....I currently have a double batch cooling on my counter top! This my 3rd batch in 2 weeks. These would make a wonderful gift. I'll try your salt idea next time. For those thinking about using muffin tins, I find the cookies to be too soft for my liking, you also loose some crispy bits when you take them out the tin.
 
Barbara December 12, 2018
Does the recipe call for the entire egg, or do you just use the egg white? Thanks—I’m hoping to make this tonight as it sounds easy and I have the ingredients on hand.
 
Freddurf December 12, 2018
It calls for the whole egg, but I mistakenly used only the egg white and loved the results.
 
malw December 12, 2018
Use the whole egg.
 
Nadine April 26, 2019
I liked the cookies better with the egg white rather than the entire egg!
 
Mmabatho July 2, 2019
I've tried both. Both great. The whole egg colours better, and tastes richer.
 
Ms. M. October 18, 2018
I am planning to make these cookies, for the first time, to bring to someone's house for brunch. I already have slivered almonds on hand. Will they work as well as sliced almonds?
 
Gwen October 18, 2018
Hard to say because the cookies are very thin after baking, and slivered almonds are not as thin as the sliced. You could do a trial if you don't care about using ingredients up.
 
ELCookie October 18, 2018
I would not use slivered almonds. The cookies are thin and bake quickly; basically almonds surrounded by egg white. Look at the picture above and you can see how they are integrated. I do not think the slivered almonds work the same way.
 
Christina January 21, 2019
I have used slivered almonds and it worked pretty well I thought...
 
Allison C. August 6, 2018
These are great! So easy to make, crispy and yummy! Just make sure you have silicone baking sheets or they will be hard to pick up with a spatula.
 
Genevieve June 27, 2018
Super easy and tasty! I should have thought about adding sea salt and lemon zest. Made them with only 2/3 of the sugar (4 tbs) and it was sweet enough for me, but maybe you’ll get more batter with the full 6 tbs. It was ready in 15 minutes in my oven (mine runs hot). I also spread the batter on the sheet because I was afraid they wouldn’t come out flat. Would love to try the cornflake idea - did you leave the cornflakes whole, or crushed?

Alternative preparation: Has anyone tried adding the egg/sugar batter to the pan in circles first, and then adding almonds on top? I’m wondering if that will result in a more uniform look!

A must-try for anyone who likes easy crispy treats!