Almond Crescent Cookies
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These almond crescent cookies are buttery, nutty and melt-in-your-mouth delicious! They come together quickly with only 6 simple ingredients and are the perfect holiday treat.
Today I’m sharing a cookie recipe that is near and dear to my heart… almond crescent cookies. This recipe is a remake of my nanny’s crescent cookies that we’ve made every single year for Christmas since I was a little girl.
The combo of a crisp pecan shortbread cookie paired with the sweet, melt-in-your-mouth powered sugar coating is so delicious and nostalgic!
I personally love this recipe because it’s a family tradition! All the ladies in my family get together to do holiday cookie baking each year and nanny’s crescent cookies are a mainstay. Before my nanny passed, she would always help out by rolling all the cookies in powered sugar for us. And she was a hoot, too! If we were not watching closely she would end up munching on cookies the whole time she was rolling them.
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“I think these are delicious! They are just like the ones my mom made when I was a girl, but they are so much better for me. Thank you!!!!! Yum! 🤤”
Why I Love These Almond Crescent Cookies
- Easy to make: You only need six simple ingredients and about 30 minutes to make these cookies!
- Great texture and taste: They have the perfect cookie texture, with a light crunch from pecans, and of course a lovely coating of powdered sugar.
- Ideal for any occasion: They’re tasty, such a fun shape and the perfect addition to your holiday cookie tray for gatherings, cookie exchanges or as a personal treat.
- Healthier option: These cookies are a pretty healthy option when it comes to holiday cookies because they’re low in calories, sugar and carbs! Each cookie has about 60 calories, 2 grams of sugar and 3 grams of carbs. Not too shabby!
Ingredients Needed
- almond flour – my nanny’s traditional crescent cookie recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but over the years I’ve moved away from using regular white flour when baking so I’m using almond flour for these and it works great!
- softened organic butter, ghee or vegan butter – I used Earth Balance buttery sticks to make these vegan/dairy-free, but feel free to use regular butter or ghee instead. Just make sure to use unsalted butter.
- confectioners’ sugar – another name for powdered sugar and what we’re using to coat these cookies in.
- vanilla extract – the perfect flavor enhancer for these cookies.
- salt – brings all the flavors together!
- pecans – make sure to grab raw pecans and chop them up finely! Since these cookies are on the smaller side we don’t want huge chunks of nuts in there.
Substitutions
- Pecans: You can sub in another nut like almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts or leave the nuts out all together.
- Powdered sugar: To make these almond crescent cookies lower in sugar and carbs you can use a product like Swerve confectioners’ sugar or powdered monkfruit sweetner instead of traditional confectioners’ sugar.
- Almond flour: I wouldn’t recommend substituting a different flour as this recipe was developed for almond flour specifically.
How to Make Almond Crescent Cookies
Step 1 – Mix almond flour, softened butter, 3 Tablespoons confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract and salt in a large bowl until a dough forms. It will seem a little dry at first, but just keep mixing! Once combined, mix in the chopped pecans. You can use your hands to help mix the pecans in if needed.
Step 2 – Using a Tablespoon, scoop the cookie dough and roll it into a small log. Place the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat about 1 inch apart. Use your hands to shape the cookies into a crescent shape.
Step 3 – Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes or until they start to turn light golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for about 5 minutes. Transfer them to a rack to cool 10 minutes more.
Step 4 – Place 2-3 Tablespoons confectioners’ sugar in a shallow bowl and roll each cookie until coated. Let cookies cool and enjoy.
Tips For Success
- Use softened butter: This is important otherwise it’ll be hard to mix your dough. Either let your butter soften at room temperature or place it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften up.
- Use super-fine almond flour: For the best results, use finely ground blanched almond flour. My favorite brand is Bob’s Red Mill. Coarser flour can make your cookies gritty and may affect how the ingredients bind together.
- Use finely chopped nuts: Make sure your nuts are chopped into very small bits. Use a sharp knife for this or place the nuts in a plastic, sealed bag and smash them with a rolling pin. Just make sure the nuts don’t turn into a powder!
- Bake until just golden brown: Pull your cookies from the oven as soon as they start to turn golden brown because they can easily go from golden to burnt!
- Cool slightly before rolling in powdered sugar: Wait for the cookies to cool slightly before rolling them in confectioners’ sugar. If they’re too hot, the sugar will melt into the cookies. If they’re too cold, the powdered sugar won’t stick as nicely to the cookies. A slightly warm cookie is perfect for a beautiful, snowy coating.
Troubleshooting Tips For Crumbly Dough
Crumbly dough often lacks enough moisture, usually due to not enough butter or the butter not being soft enough to blend well. If your dough is falling apart, try these quick fixes:
- Check your butter: Make sure it’s softened, not straight from the fridge, so it combines well with other ingredients.
- Measure correctly: Too much almond flour or nuts can dry out your dough. Be precise with measuring your ingredients.
- Don’t under-mix: It may seem dry initially, but keep mixing until the dough starts to stick together. Sometimes, a little extra hand-kneading does the trick.
- Add moisture if needed: A few drops of almond milk or water can help bind the dough if it’s still too crumbly after mixing well.
How to Store
Leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for 3-4 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week. I personally prefer to store them in the fridge as I’ve found that this helps the cookies keep a crisp texture and ensures that the powdered sugar doesn’t soak into the cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Almond crescent cookies can be frozen either fully baked or as unbaked dough. For baked cookies, place them on a parchment-lined plate or sheet in the freezer until firm, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze for 1–2 months. To freeze dough, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, place in a freezer-safe container, and store for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before baking, or shape the crescents beforehand and bake directly from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the baking time.
Coating them after baking gives that classic, snowy finish and adds a touch of extra sweetness. It also helps keep the cookies looking festive and makes them taste even more like the traditional holiday treat you know and love.
More Holiday Cookies To Try
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Almond Crescent Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup finely ground almond flour
- 3 Tablespoons softened organic butter, ghee or vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
- 5-6 Tablespoons powdered sugar, divided
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup raw pecans, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Mix almond flour, softened butter, 3 Tablespoons confectioner’s sugar, vanilla and salt in a mixing bowl until a cohesive dough forms. It will seem a little dry at first, but just keep mixing. Once combined, mix in chopped pecans. You can use your hands to help mix the pecans in if needed.
- Using a tablespoon scoop the dough and form into a small log then shape into a crescent shape. Arrange the crescents about 1 inch apart on the sheet as they will spread a bit. Bake the cookies for 20 minutes or until they start to turn light golden brown on top.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for about 5 minutes. Transfer them to a rack to cool 10 minutes more. Place 2-3 Tablespoons confectioners’ sugar in a shallow bowl and roll each cookie until coated. Let cookies cool and enjoy.
- Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 3-4 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for 1-2 months.
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Notes
- Powdered sugar: To make these cookies lower in sugar and carbs you can use a product like Swerve confectioners’ sugar or powdered monkfruit sweetner instead of traditional confectioners’ sugar.
- Almond flour: I wouldn’t recommend substituting a different flour as this recipe was developed for almond flour specifically.
- Pecans: You can sub in another nut like almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts or leave the nuts out all together.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
Yummy! I tried the cookie before rolling them in the powdered sugar and enjoyed them plain as well. These are delicious. I’ve tried using stevia drops to sweeten a similar cookie, and might try with these later on. Mine single batch yielded 12 small cookies, so double the batch if you want to store up a few after sharing. Thank you for sharing your recipe! 🌸
Yay! I’m so glad to hear you loved this recipe, Chaundra! Thanks for sharing your tips and leaving a review, it means the world to me. If you try the stevia drops let me know how they work out for you!
Can I use swerve confectioners sugar in place of powder sugar?
These cookies were delicious and a BIG hit with health-foodies and sugary-sweet lovers alike.
I had a bit of trouble with getting the size small enough so that they would not get too puffy and lose their shape. I also had a bit of trouble with the cookies collapsing.
However, after making the cookies smaller and reducing the time down to 16 minutes, I finally had cute looking cookies. However, ALL of them were delicious, no matter their shape. I would highly recommend this recipe and will be making them again.
Made this for a family Christmas gathering to have a gluten free cookie available and wow they were a huge hit! I doubled the recipe and none are left! I did have to just get into the dough with my hands to get it to mix/hold together enough.
Happy to hear you enjoyed these almond crescent cookies, Amalia!
Used a 1/2 tbsp scoop to make more cookies out of one batch after reading some of the comments and they’re just the right size. Subbed olive oil for the butter to keep it dairy free and they turned out fantastic!
I baked mine in convection oven for about 12 min instead. I used a cookie scoop to portion and I ended up making about 12 cookies! Great sub to the traditional almond crescent cookies. Only downside, I already know I will need to make more before christmas. I used a coffee grinder to grind my pecans and it really helped them bind together!
Woo!! Happy to hear these cookies were a hit, Ellen. Love that you used your coffee grinder for the pecans, what a great idea. Thanks so much for the review!
These are so delicious! Going to make a second batch now 🙂
Love these cookies. I baked mine for 17 minutes instead of the 20 and they were perfect.
Happy to hear you enjoyed these cookies, Kathy. Thank you for the note on the baking time and for your review. I really appreciate it!
Made these for a friend who is can’t eat gluten. She and her family loved them and asked for the recipe. The entire batch was gone by the end of the evening. 🙂
Ah yay! Happy to hear these almond crescent cookies were a hit, Noel! Thanks for the review :).
Have made these and they are soooo good and delicious the one thing I’m not sure about is why mine are browning and not staying light like yours?
I have them on the same temperature as you have suggested and we use Celsius which is 190 degrees Celsius also they are still crumbly at 20 minutes so I leave them a bit longer as they fall apart. Please help 😔
Hey Angela, sorry to hear you’re having troubles with this recipe. Sounds like your dough is dry. Maybe try adding a splash of milk to the dough if it seems to dry? And it sounds like they might be overcooked if they are browning in the oven. Maybe try cooking them for less time?
Hi Brittany, Thanks for your reply, my dough doesn’t feel dry and the 20 minutes time they feel very soft and under cooked, do they stay firm once they cool down if I don’t bake them further? We love them and enjoy them with our coffee.
Thanks in Advance.
Hi Angela,
I think the temperature should be 160 Celsius at 325F not 190 Celsius. Maybe that’s why they were browning too much?