Gluten Free Almond Crescents Dipped in Chocolate
Tender, buttery Gluten Free Almond Crescent Cookies are about to become one of your favorite Christmas cookie recipes (they’re already mine)! These almond cookies are made with 5 ingredients and dipped in dark chocolate. Decorate them with sprinkles afterward for a festive touch.
Table of Contents
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: Baking
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free
- Skill Level: Easy
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, I’m in the kitchen baking dozens of holiday cookies. One recipe I never skip is these easy almond crescent cookies! Similar to shortbread cookies, these need only 5 ingredients. I make them gluten-free, and they’re still as buttery and melt-in-your-mouth as ever. Dipped in chocolate and covered with sprinkles, almond crescents are perfect for Christmas cookie plates, cookie exchanges, and gifting.
Reasons You’ll Love These Almond Crescent Cookies
- 5 ingredients. All you need to make the cookies is butter, gluten-free flour, powdered sugar, salt, and almond flour. Choose your preferred chocolate for dipping. That’s it!
- Light, nutty flavor. The almond meal is the secret to these cookies’ subtle nutty flavor. If you wanted an even more pronounced almond note, you could always add a few drops of almond extract!
- Dipped in chocolate. A rich chocolate coating takes classic almond crescents to another level. It also makes it easy to decorate these cookies with festive sprinkles for the holidays.
Ingredients You’ll Need
When I went gluten-free, these almond crescents were the first cookie I knew I had to recreate. I wanted to keep the dough simple with 1-to-1 gluten-free flour. The rest of the ingredients are super easy. Here’s a shopping list for you (you’ll find precise measurements in the recipe card below):
- Unsalted butter – Let it soften to room temperature.
- Powdered sugar – Do not use granulated sugar in this cookie dough. Fine powdered sugar is key for a true melt-in-your-mouth shortbread texture that isn’t grainy.
- Salt – enhances all the flavors and nuttiness. You can skip it if you use salted butter, or leave it in for a little extra.
- Gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour – Make sure your gluten-free flour contains xanthan gum and can be used 1:1 for all-purpose flour in recipes. I recommend Kang Arthur Measure for Measure, but I’ve also had good results with Bob’s Red Mill and expect Cup 4 Cup will work just fine.
- Almond flour or finely ground almonds – You can buy a bag (or use almond meal if that’s what you have on hand) or simply pulse raw almonds in your processor. That’s how I always made my almond cookies before you could commonly find almond flour or meal in stores.
- Dark chocolate – You can also feel free to use milk or white chocolate, if you prefer, or do a combination of the two.
- Decorations – Use your favorite sprinkles, colored sugar, mini chips, etc. Just be sure they are gluten-free as needed (see Are Sprinkles Gluten Free?).
How to Make Almond Crescent Cookies Dipped In Chocolate
I’m so happy that it was THIS easy to make a gluten-free version of my favorite Christmas cookie. These gluten-free almond crescent cookies bake for slightly longer at a lower temperature than the original version. But they taste absolutely perfect!
- Prepare for baking. Gather your ingredients and preheat the oven to 325°F. I also recommend lining your baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Start the dough. Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, cream the butter, powdered sugar, and salt at medium-high speed. Then, reduce the speed to low. Gradually blend in the flour.
- Finish the cookie dough. Now mix in the almond flour. Afterward, refrigerate the dough for at least 15-20 minutes.
- Shape the cookies. Use about a tablespoon of dough per cookie. Form the dough into crescents by rolling it into a tight ball, then gently pressing in the middle to create a crescent shape.
- Bake. Place the cookies onto the baking sheets and bake at 325ºF for 14-18 minutes, until just set and very lightly golden (they will not darken).
- Cool. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
- Dip the cookies. Melt the chocolate and dip one end of each cookie into the chocolate, then decorate with sprinkles as desired. Place the dipped cookies on wax paper to allow the chocolate to firm up.
Baking Tips
- Chill the dough. Letting your dough rest in the refrigerator makes it easier to handle to form nicely shaped almond crescents. But as with all gluten-free doughs and batters, it also allows the flour to fully absorb the moisture and produces a less grainy result.
- Handle with care. Gluten-free cookies can be a bit more tender and fragile than traditional cookies. So be gentle with them as you dip and decorate. Chilling the dough and packing it tightly when you shape the cookies will help.
- Line the pans. Back to the last tip, lining your pans with parchment paper will make it easier to remove them so they don’t stick and crumble, or break.
- Do not overbake. Almond crescent cookies should only be very lightly golden, not a deep golden brown. And the gluten-free version will be even paler than what you would expect from a gluten-containing cookie. So watch the baking time, or you will end up with dry, hard cookies.
- Don’t rush the cooling. These are tender cookies and will be just barely set when they come out of the oven. So you’ll want to let them cool on the pan for the full 10 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. Otherwise, they will crumble easily. Once they are fully cool, they are much less fragile, and you don’t want to dip a warm cookie or the chocolate will just drip off.
- Decorate your way. I like dark chocolate and lots of sprinkles, but you can use any kind of chocolate and decorations you like. Some people also prefer to skip the chocolate and just dust almond crescents with powdered sugar. If you do that, I recommend rolling them once when they have slightly cooled, then once again after they are completely cool, like these gluten-free snowball cookies.
How to Store These Cookies
- Store the cookies airtight. I always recommend storing cookies in a sturdy container to avoid breakage. If packaged properly, these cookies will keep at room temperature for up to one week. Plastic food storage bags are great for keeping out air and moisture, but the bag should still be put into a container or cookie tin to protect the chocolate-dipped cookies.
- Freeze. If you plan to freeze the cookies, an extra layer of plastic wrap around the container will help prevent freezer burn. You can freeze them for up to two months. They thaw quickly once you take them out of the freezer, but I recommend keeping them in the sealed container until they have come to room temperature to avoid introducing moisture.
Gluten-Free Almond Crescent Cookies
Make tender, buttery almond crescent cookies dipped in chocolate! Made with gluten-free flour, these are the easiest Christmas cookies with only 4 ingredients.
Servings: 48 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened to rom temperature
- 1 cup (113 grams) powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups (480 grams) gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour (recommended: King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure, though Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 also produces good results)
- 1 cup (96 grams) almond flour or finely ground almonds
- 12 oz. dark chocolate melting wafers, chopped candy coating or bars, or chips (or milk chocolate, and or white chocolate)
- sprinkles , etc. for decorating, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place 2 cups unsalted butter, 1 cup (113 grams) powdered sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, and cream together at medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
- Reduce speed to low, and gradually add 4 cups (480 grams) gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour, then blend 1 cup (96 grams) almond flour.
- Refrigerate dough for at least 15-20 minutes, or until it is easier to handle.
- Using about 1 Tablespoon dough for each cookie, shape into crescents, and place onto baking sheets.
- Bake for 14-18 minutes or until just set and very lightly golden.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheets 10 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
- Melt 12 oz. dark chocolate melting wafers, chopped candy coating or bars, or chips according to the package directions in the microwave or over a double boiler.
- Dip one end of each cookie in chocolate, then decorate with sprinkles, etc., if desired. Place cookies onto wax paper until chocolate is firm.
Notes
Store the cookies in a sturdy, airtight container to avoid breakage. Keep at room temperature for up to one week. If you plan to freeze the cookies, wrap the container with plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn and freeze them for up to two months.
Nutrition Facts
Gluten-Free Almond Crescent Cookies
Amount Per Serving (1 cookie)
Calories 166
Calories from Fat 108
% Daily Value*
Fat 12g18%
Saturated Fat 7g35%
Trans Fat 0.3g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4g
Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Cholesterol 21mg7%
Sodium 15mg1%
Potassium 53mg2%
Carbohydrates 14g5%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 239IU5%
Calcium 19mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Disclaimers: Please discuss your individual dietary needs (i.e. gluten free) with a physician. Even when not specified, be sure to verify all ingredients are gluten free, if needed, by reading labels on all packaging and/or confirming with the manufacturer this varies by brand and can change at any time. Nutrition information shown is an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Hello,
Can coconut sugar or monk fruit sugar be substituted for the powdered sugar?
Also, gave you tried an alternative to the butter?
Thank you
Jacqueline
I have not tried it, but I know coconut sugar is typically more granulated and this uses powdered sugar, so I am not sure it would incorporate the same. I have not tried alternatives to the butter.
Can you use the same amount of all purpose flour? No one in my family requires gluten free and I would like to try this recipe without having to use special flour.
Here is my original non-gluten free recipe – my all time favorite Christmas cookie! https://cupcakesandkalechips.com/almond-crescents-and-cookies4kids-cancer/
The link redirects to the gluten free and I can’t find the original recipe on your site. Can you please share the original recipe or at least the differences from this one?
Sorry about that, I have since shifted the focus of my site, but you can make them with all-purpose flour.
Thank you so much! I have been making these every Christmas for so many years now! This recipe is so delicious and everyone loves them. I send them to family and take them to the annual office cookie exchange.
So happy to hear this! I just made a batch this week!
This looks so perfect! I wish I could take a bite right now! Pinned and tweeted. Thank you for being a part of our party. I hope to see you on Monday at 7 pm. It wouldn’t be a party without you!
Happy Saturday! Lou Lou Girls
These cookies are so cute and I’m so happy that they’re gluten-free!
This Bob’s Red Mill blend is awesome!
Love anything almond! Can’t wait to try these. Thanks for linking them up to Inspire Me Monday… I’ll be featuring them tomorrow!
Oh yay, thanks so much!!
So cute! Also, wanted to let you know that there is a link party on Wednesday at my blog – hope to see you there! Can’t wait to party with you @ http://homeschoolapalooza.wordpress.com
Thanks for stopping by!
I love Bob’s Red Mill! These crescents are so beautiful and look delicious-love that they’re gluten free!
That 1-to-1 blend is amazing!
Thank you for the recipes. I am sure to try them one of these days.
Sorry to hear that, Brianne. My sis in law recently experienced the same so I understand how you felt. Since then, we’ve been trying gluten-free products, especially since she is a sweet tooth. These almond crescents will be perfect for her to cure her cravings for sweets.
You know what, I’m ok with it. Just opening up new things for me to try. Now if I had to give up cheese…
These cookies look amazing, I love almond and even better that they’re gluten free!
Thanks. Always nice to have good gluten free treats b