These nutty and rich 3-ingredient almond cookies have crisp edges and soft middles, are SO easy to make, and deliver big on flavor. Plus, they are gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free, and vegan!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
It’s not the first, or even the 10th, time that I’ve turned to almond flour to elevate my bakes with moisture, buttery flavor, and heaps of nutrients. I’ve already shared recipes for almond flour chocolate chip cookies, almond flour apple pie cookies, and raspberry thumbprint cookies, but these 3-ingredient almond cookies are the ultimate no-fuss treat.
With just almond flour, yogurt, sweetener, one bowl, and a few minutes of prep, these pantry-friendly almond cookies couldn’t be easier to make and are naturally egg, dairy, oil, grain, and gluten-free. Once baked, they have perfectly crisp edges, soft centers, and a buttery, nutty flavor (a little like macaron-meets-shortbread-meets-omg delicious!) perfect with tea, to impress guests, and for holiday gifting.
Want to try more delicious holiday cookies? Try cinnamon star cookies (Zimtsterne), vegan lebkuchen, and vanilla crescent cookies (Vanillekipferl).
The Ingredients and Substitutions
- Almond flour: I recommend using superfine or fine blanched almond flour (rather than coarse almond meal) for the most tender, melt-in-the-mouth cookie texture.
If you can’t find it, make your own by grinding blanched almonds in a coffee/spice grinder. Be careful not to over-grind it, though, or you’ll end up with almond butter.
- Dairy-free yogurt: I recommend using a thick yogurt, like dairy-free Greek yogurt, for the best texture. Make sure it’s a plain, unflavored yogurt with a fairly neutral flavor.
- Rice syrup: Maple syrup, agave syrup, and other liquid sweeteners should also work but may slightly affect the texture and color of the cookies.
- Dairy-free chocolate: (Optional) These cookies aren’t overly sweet, so if you want some added decadence, half dip them in your favorite dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate).
Recipe Variations
- Extracts: Add ¼-1/2 tsp of vanilla extract or almond extract.
- Citrus zest: Brighten the flavor with a tsp of orange or lemon zest.
- Spices: Add a large pinch of cinnamon and, optionally, some nutmeg and/or cardamom. Pumpkin spice will also work well.
- Chocolate chips: Instead of dipping the cookies, add chips directly to the dough.
- Dried fruit: Add up to ¼ cup of dried cranberries, raisins, etc.
- Cocoa powder: For chocolate almond flour cookies, add 1 tbsp cocoa powder and, optionally, a tiny bit of extra yogurt (or milk), if needed.
- Salt: A pinch of sea salt can bring out the flavor in these simple 3 ingredient cookies.
Please read the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, measurements, complete recipe method, and nutritional information.
How to Make 3-Ingredient Almond Flour Cookies
- First, preheat the oven to 356 °F / 180 °C.
- Then, in a large mixing bowl, mix the almond flour, yogurt, and syrup to form a dough.
If the dough seems too sticky, add more flour. If it’s dry, add more yogurt, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Divide the cookie dough into 10, roll them into dough balls, flatten, and smooth the edges by hand.
For cut-out shapes, you may need extra almond flour. Also, roll the dough under parchment paper.
- Bake the almond cookies for 15 minutes on a lined baking sheet, then let them cool completely on a wire rack.
- Finally, optionally (but highly recommended!), dip half of each cookie into melted chocolate. Sprinkle the chocolate dipped cookies with chopped almonds (or other nuts/seeds/freeze-dried fruit, shredded coconut, etc.), and refrigerate until set. Enjoy!
Storing Instructions
Store: Store the chocolate-dipped almond cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days.
Freeze: Flash freeze the cookies in a single layer on a tray, not touching, then transfer to a Ziplock bag for 3-4 months. Thaw at room temperature as needed.
FAQs
Could I substitute the almond flour?
This recipe was designed and tested with almond flour. It may work with other fine nut or seed meal, like hazelnut meal (similar to my hazelnut cookies).
Could I substitute the yogurt?
Coconut butter may work.
Can I prepare the dough ahead?
Yes, store the prepared dough (in a bowl or shaped into cookies) in the fridge for 2-3 days or in the freezer for 1-2 months. Bring to room temperature before baking.
Recipe Notes and Top Tips
- Measure the ingredients correctly: For the best results, measure ingredients by weight rather than volume. If using cups, use the spoon-and-level method.
- Adjust the sweetness: These cookies aren’t overly sweet, so if you don’t plan to dip them in chocolate, you may prefer adding some granulated sugar, to taste (e.g. regular sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar or a sugar substitute such as Erythritol).
- To adjust the texture: A lower baking time equals softer cookies. A little more time will make firmer, crunchier cookies.
- Yogurt amount varies: If the dough feels dry, add a little more—one teaspoon at a time.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
- 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies
- Vegan gingerbread cookies (GF)
- Gluten-free pumpkin cookies
- Vegan snickerdoodles
- Vegan chocolate stuffed cookies
If you try this 3-ingredient almond flour cookies recipe, I’d love a comment and ★★★★★ recipe rating below. Also, please don’t forget to tag me in re-creations on Instagram or Facebook with @elavegan #elavegan—I love seeing them.
3-Ingredient Almond Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups (200 g) almond flour (ground almonds)
- ⅓ cup (75 g) dairy-free yogurt (e.g. Greek yogurt)
- 2 ½ Tbsp (50 g) rice syrup (see notes)
Instructions
- You can watch the short video for visual instructions.First, preheat the oven to 356 °F / 180 °C. For the best results, measure ingredients by weight rather than volume.
- Then, in a large mixing bowl, mix the almond flour, yogurt, and syrup to form a dough.If the dough seems too sticky, add more flour. If it's dry, add more yogurt, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Divide the cookie dough into 10, roll them into dough balls, flatten, and smooth the edges by hand.
- Bake the almond cookies for 15 minutes on a lined baking sheet, then let them cool completely on a wire rack.
- Finally, optionally (but highly recommended!), dip half of each cookie into melted (dairy-free) chocolate.
- Sprinkle the chocolate dipped cookies with chopped almonds (or other nuts/seeds/freeze-dried fruit, shredded coconut, etc.), and refrigerate until set. Enjoy!
Notes
- Rice syrup: Maple syrup, agave syrup, and other liquid sweeteners should also work but may slightly affect the texture and color of the cookies.
- Adjust the sweetness: These cookies aren’t overly sweet, so if you don’t plan to dip them in chocolate, you may prefer adding some granulated sugar (e.g. regular sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar or a sugar substitute such as Erythritol), to taste.
- To adjust the texture: A lower baking time equals softer cookies. A little more time will make firmer, crunchier cookies.
- Yogurt amount varies: If the dough feels dry, add a little more—one teaspoon at a time.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
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Hi Ela! I made 1/4 of the recipe (4 cookies, 19g each) to test them. I used homemade unsweetened yogurt, and Suzanne’s Specialties organic brown rice syrup. I baked them at 350 degrees for 15 minutes in my Ninja oven. They turned out good but like you said, not very sweet. I dipped half of each cookie in Just Date organic date sweetened chocolate chips and then for a festive look, I immediately dipped the wet chocolate in crushed pistachios which also improved on the sweetness. Another holiday idea is to dip the cookies in melted chocolate and then dip them in crushed candy canes! I too, prefer date syrup but as you pointed out, it would make the cookies dark. That said, date syrup works very well in brownies and chocolate chocolate chip cookies because they will be dark from cocoa powder. Thanks for another easy recipe!
Hi Mindy! That sounds absolutely wonderful — and your festive twists are such a great idea! 🙂
Dipping them in date-sweetened chocolate and crushed pistachios already sounds dreamy, but the candy-cane version is perfect for the holidays. And you’re totally right about date syrup: it’s amazing in anything chocolatey where the color doesn’t matter.
So happy you enjoyed the test batch — thank you for sharing your tips! 💛
I have these in the oven. I added maple and vanilla extracts and rolled the balls in raw sugar before flattening. Thank you for the recipe.
That sounds absolutely delicious! 😍🍁 The maple and vanilla must add such a wonderful flavor, and the raw sugar coating is a great touch for extra crunch. Hope you love them—enjoy! 💛🍪
They are delicious! I made them much smaller as they’re for coffee hour after church. My batch made 28!
That sounds wonderful, Elizabeth! Perfect idea for coffee hour. Glad they turned out delicious. ☕✨
I tried your recipe today and these cookies are delicious. Adding the chocolate makes them perfect. I added maple syrup since that’s what I always have. These will be my next Christmas cookies.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipes
i wish they would have more of an almond taste and a little sweeter
Hi, please check the recipe notes:
As regards the almond taste, I also mentioned it in the section “Recipe Variations”.
I’m confused. Is there a vegan version of Greek yogurt? Greek yogurt isn’t vegan. I have a dairy allergy..
Yes, there actually is. I used coconut yogurt, though. Any thicker yogurt works fine. 🙂
kite hill makes a fabulous high protein Greek yougurt
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Rice syrup is a product recommended by health experts as useful only in the absence of alternative sweeteners. The high glycaemic index is a major reason to consider its use carefully: it has almost twice the calories. As your recipe states, agave syrup maple syrup are healthier alternatives.
Hi Bernard, rice syrup and agave syrup have the same amount of calories. I normally prefer using date syrup (in my opinion the healthiest option), however, I didn’t want the cookies to turn out too dark.
Any liquid sweetener is fine, though. 🙂
Excited to try these! Would whole milk greek yogurt work as well?
Yes, that will work as well.
Dear Ela
Perfect recipe, I made them immediately as they ticked all the boxes ( no flour or sugar)
I do not use rice syrup so used chicory root syrup instead.
The biscuits came out just like in your picture: soft on the inside with a light crunchy outside, covered with 85% cocoa chocolate. They took minutes to make, and I will make them many more times before Christmas as healthy gifts.
Thank you so much for your hard work
Judith
Aww that makes me so happy! Thanks for your amazing feedback, Judith. 🙂
Wow. Where do you get Chicory Root Syrup from?
They look delicious! Would this recipe work if I make them like Madeline’s, using that pretty shaped cookie tray?
That should work. 🙂
It looks like a tasty and simple recipe. I do have one concern though.
What do you think about exposing nuts to higher temperatures? I worry that they will oxidize and the delicate oils in them will actually become unhealthy.
Thank you
Hey, baking with almond flour is generally safe and does not pose a significant risk due to oxidation, especially at 350°F for just 15 minutes. It’s however important to avoid very high baking temperatures (over 400°F) and be mindful of the storage conditions of both your almond flour and finished baked goods.
Sub for rice syrup or should I buy some? 🙂
Hi Patricia, maple syrup, agave syrup, and other liquid sweeteners should also work but may slightly affect the texture and color of the cookies. I hope this helps. 🙂
These look wonderfully simple and delectable! can’t wait to try them. I don’t have rice syrup, would it be okay to use either agave syrup or maple syrup as a liquid substitute?
Hi Paula! Yes both should work. I mentioned the substitutes in the post. I will add the info to the recipe card. 🙂