Polvorones Recipe (Spanish Almond Cookies) (2024)

Polvorones are one of the most popular Spanish Christmas cookies! Their crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture is sure to be a hit with your family and friends. This 5-ingredient Spanish almond cookie recipe is perfect to try this Christmas season.

If you're looking for other Spanish Christmas recipes, be sure to try my recipes for mantecados and the popular Epiphany bread, roscón de reyes.

Introduction

Here in Spain, we love sugar--especially in our coffee! Not surprisingly, there's an abundance of delightful Christmas treats in Spain, and a favorite is polvorones.

These crumbly, shortbread-like almond cookies are made with almonds and lard (manteca). They're part of the mantecado family of lard-based cookies. Eating these cookies and other pork products was historically associated with demonstrating one's Catholic faith.

Nowadays, the lard is often swapped with butter, making polvorones suitable for vegetarians.

Ingredients

Curious about what ingredients you need to make your first batch of Spanish polvorones? Like most Spanish recipes, it only takes a handful of simple, yet flavorful ingredients. Let's talk about what you'll need!

• Flour: All-purpose flour is all you need here. Be sure to measure it accurately (preferably with a kitchen scale) to prevent the dough from being too dry.
• Almonds: Start with blanched almonds. You'll toast them briefly in the oven, then grind them into almond flour. If you're in a hurry, you can start with 83g of ready-made, blanched almond flour.
• Lard: This is the traditional fat in polvorones, but you can easily substitute it with unsalted butter or vegetable shortening.
• Sugar: You'll need granulated or caster sugar to make the dough, and some powdered sugar for decorating the cookies before serving.
• Cinnamon: This adds a delightful flavor and aroma to the cookies. Choose a good quality cinnamon, such as Saigon, for the best flavor.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Vegan: Use vegetable shortening in place of the lard.
• Vegetarian: Use unsalted butter instead of the lard.

How to Make

If you’d like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.

1. Toast the almonds at 350°F (180°C) until they're lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes. (image 1)
2. Grind the almonds with a food processor until they have a flour-like consistency. (image 2)

3. Beat the lard, sugar, and cinnamon until smooth and creamy. (image 3)
4. Add the flour and ground almonds and mix until a crumbly dough forms. (image 4)

5. Work the dough into a ball and place it on a sheet of wax paper or parchment. (image 5)
6. Roll it out with a floured rolling pin until it's ½ inch (12 mm) thick. Cut into cookies with a cutter. (image 6)

7. Bake at 250°F (120°C) until lightly browned around the edges, about 25-30 minutes. (image 7)
8. Let the cookies cool on the tray, as they are fragile and might crumble if you move them while they're hot. Enjoy at room temperature! (image 8)

Recipe FAQs

Serve

Polvorones are usually enjoyed on their own, or perhaps with a cup of coffee (like this Spanish café con leche) or eggnog. Although it's not a traditional combination, the delicate texture of the polvorones would contrast nicely with the richness of Spanish hot chocolate.

If you'd like to serve polvorones along with other Spanish desserts, you'd enjoy trying tarta de Santiago (Spanish almond cake), gateau Basque, buñuelos, or ensaimadas.

Expert Tips

• Toasting the almonds before grinding them into flour will add a lot of flavor to the cookies.
• If you're in a hurry, replace the toasted, blanched almonds with ¾ cup (83g) of blanched almond flour. You can also toast the flour briefly in a skillet or in the oven before using.
• Make sure the lard or butter is at room temperature before using.
• Let the polvorones cool completely on the tray before moving them, or they may break.

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