33 Almond Desserts to Try

The almond is a widely cultivated nut, which is one reason why so many different countries and cultures favor almond desserts. Whether ground up for a flour substitute, made into paste, used chopped, slivered, raw, blanched, or toasted, almonds lend their signature nutty flavor to some of the world's most beloved cakes, cookies, pastries, and puddings. We've explored cuisines around the globe to bring you this essential collection of desserts that use almonds, including many that are gluten-free.

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Classic French Almond Tart

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Classic tart pastry encloses a soft and creamy, nutty-tasting, caramelized almond filling in this lovely classic French almond tart recipe that is elegant enough to serve at your most important dinner parties, topped with dollops of fresh whipped cream.
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Greek Almond and Walnut Pastry (Kataifi)

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Greek almond and walnut pastry is a signature Greek dessert, instantly recognizable for its unique, thread-like pastry dough (called kataifi in Greece). The dough encloses a sweet filling of almonds, walnuts, honey, sugar, and spices, and the whole thing is slathered in a sticky, lemon-infused dessert sauce for serving.
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Traditional Italian Biscotti

The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

Traditional Italian biscotti are delicious, crunchy, twice-baked cookies with chopped raw almonds, usually enjoyed alongside a cup of coffee. Bake a big batch of these rustic treats in well under an hour, with this essential recipe. They will store well for several weeks in an airtight container.
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Scandinavian Almond Streusal Cake

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This popular Scandinavian almond streusel cake makes a wonderful treat to serve family and friends at brunches, dinners, and holiday gatherings. You won't believe how easy it is to make the scrumptious, rich and nutty-tasting cake in about an hour, with common pantry ingredients.

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Chinese Strawberry Almond Tofu Dessert

The Spruce / Liv Wan

Chinese strawberry almond tofu dessert is a popular dish from the Far East that makes a sweet, healthy, and creamy summer treat, especially when layered parfait-style with chopped fresh strawberries, and an easy homemade strawberry sauce.
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Saint's Bones (Huesos de Santo)

The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Saint's bones are delicious, sweet confections traditionally eaten in Spain during All Saints' Day celebrations in November. An easy, homemade almond marzipan paste is formed into little tubes, which are filled with a sticky, sweet filling made from egg yolks and sugar.
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Traditional Bakewell Tart

The Spruce

Enjoy a classic British tea-time dessert with this recipe for single-crust traditional Bakewell tart. A homemade pastry shell is filled with raspberry jam, then topped with a soft, custardy, almond and egg filling. Flaked almonds are sprinkled over top before baking, for a lovely, toasted presentation.
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Almond-Flavored Ricotta Cookies With Sugar Icing

The Spruce / Jennifer Meier

These pretty pink iced almond-flavored ricotta cookies with sugar icing are ideal for serving at Mother's Day brunches, bridal showers, and "it's a girl" baby showers. They have a lovely, soft, pillowy, cake-like texture, and great nutty almond flavor in both the dough and the frosting.

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Semifreddo

The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni

Sliced almonds top this delicious Italian ice cream dessert. Semifreddo is a molded frozen cake that doesn't require a special appliance, just a mixer, some bowls, and a loaf pan. It's a memorable dessert for dinner parties.
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French Opera Cake

The Spruce

Stunning French opera cake is a lusciously sweet, show-stopping, multi-layered cake that is well worth the effort to put together. Tiers of light almond sponge cake, intensely rich coffee buttercream, and decadent dark chocolate ganache make it a dessert experience to remember.
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Almond Truffles

The Spruce / Elizabeth LaBau

Easy, elegant almond truffles feature a double dose of almond flavor and a mouth-pleasing combination of silky and crunchy textures. The ganache is flavored with almond paste, and the finished truffles are rolled in a coating of crushed, toasted almonds.
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Lebanese Almond Almond Cake (Sfouf)

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Traditional Lebanese slivered almond cake uses semolina flour (also called durum wheat flour), which is typically used in making pasta. The result is a sweet, nutty-tasting cake that is crunchy on the bottom but stays soft and moist within.

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Italian Almond Cream (Frangipane)

The Spruce

Italian almond cream (frangipane) is a luscious, velvety almond cream, enhanced with just a touch of vanilla flavoring, that is used as a popular filling for tarts, cakes, and pastries in Italy. You only need a handful of ingredients, and five minutes, to make it in your food processor or stand mixer.
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Apple Coffee Cake

The Spruce Eats / Kristina Vanni

Almonds are the perfect finishing touch to this apple coffee cake. A beautiful addition to brunch, it's surprisingly easy to make. Apple slices are tossed with cinnamon, then placed on top of a sour cream batter. Once baked, it's topped with apple jelly and sliced almonds for an autumn-worthy dessert.
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Perfect, Delicious Macaron Cookies

The Spruce

It's not as difficult as you might think to make the most delicious almond-scented macaron cookies with this step-by-step recipe. By adding different colors and flavorings as directed, you can create a gorgeous, bakery-style party dessert or tea time treat to delight adults and children alike.
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Dutch Almond Paste-Filled Pastry Log (Banketstaaf)

The Spruce

Enjoy a classic Dutch Christmas treat at holiday gatherings, or anytime you want a treat, with this quick and easy recipe that begins with store-bought puff pastry. The dough is rolled around a sweet filling of apricot preserves and almond paste, and baked until golden.

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Classic Plum and Almond Tart

The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

Turn ripe plums into a show-stopping dessert with this recipe for a gorgeous, plum and almond tart. A light crisp shortcrust pastry is filled with luscious, vanilla-scented almond cream. Thick slices of fresh plums are layered on top in a circular fashion for a dinner party-worthy dessert.
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Moroccan Baklava With Almonds and Orange Flower Water

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Moroccan-style baklava is a sticky, gooey, buttery pastry treat you can make at home using store-bought phyllo dough. The pastry sheets are layered and baked with a sweetened, toasted, cinnamon-flecked almond filling. Top with the included syrup, made with sugar and orange flower water (available at fine food stores or online).
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Czech Chocolate Almond Bear Paw Cookies

The Spruce Eats / Katarina Zunic

Make these rich and crunchy European chocolate-almond bear paw cookies for your next bake sale event! The chocolatey cookies are baked in madeleine pans to give them their distinctive paw-like shape.
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Cranberry, Almond, and Orange Christmas Pudding

The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

When it's the season to be merry, serve up a fabulously nutty, fruity Christmas pudding with this nicely spiced holiday dessert recipe. Two types of liqueur add a fabulous boozy flavor to this moist, dense, traditional steamed pudding.

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Chinese Almond Float Dessert

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Chinese almond float is a fruity, refreshing summer dessert, and makes a healthy, kid-friendly treat on hot days. Sweet, cute little squares of almond-flavored gelatin are topped simply with fruit cocktail, or any other canned fruit in syrup.
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Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Spruce / Jennifer Perillo

This all-American favorite becomes gluten free while remaining delicious and familiar. The almond flour replaces the regular all-purpose, adding a nice hint of nuttiness and creating a thin, crispy cookie with a chewy texture.
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Easy Almond Bundt Cake With Almond-Flavored Icing

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Almond filling adds a lovely nutty flavor to a classic, moist, buttery easy almond bundt cake with almond-flavored icing. It's a yummy, pretty cake that makes a perfect afternoon treat for your book club or crafting club.
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Polish Almond Strudel

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You've tried apple strudel—now try this Polish almond strudel! The classic European dessert of sweetened, vanilla-flavored pastry, with a sticky almond filling inside, is drizzled with a delicious almond icing, for a luscious treat your family can enjoy at brunch or dinner.

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Homemade Almond Joy Candy Bars

The Spruce / Elizabeth LaBau

You'll love these homemade almond Joy candy bars? Enjoy them any time you like with this genius recipe that lets you recreate the popular candy treat in your kitchen. It includes all of the ingredients you crave, from sweet coconut and toasted almonds to the rich chocolate candy coating.
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Polish Almond Cookies (Amaretti)

The Spruce

Polish almond cookies (or amaretti) are crunchy, delicious gluten-free treats that are lovely for dipping into a cup of tea. They are made with a simple, cinnamon-spiced dough that uses ground almonds instead of flour. Homemade meringue is folded into the batter prior to baking, to give the cookies their signature light texture.
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Spanish Almond Cake

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Almonds grow abundantly in Mallorca, Spain, where this splendid Spanish almond cake recipe originated. Ground almonds take the place of flour to create the moist, dense, gluten-free dessert cake, which you can bake up in less than an hour, to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee.
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Almond Mandel Bread Cookies

The Spruce / Anita Schecter

Jewish almond mandel bread cookies ("mandel" means almond in Yiddish) is traditionally enjoyed at the Passover holiday, but you can enjoy these biscotti-like treats anytime. Tweak the recipe as you like, by adding miniature chocolate chips, nuts, chopped dried fruits, citrus zest, or coconut flakes.

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Homemade Almond Buttercrunch

The Spruce / Elizabeth LaBau

Why buy your homemade almond buttercrunch at the store, when you can bake up candy that is even better? It's easier than you think, with this recipe for rich, buttery toffee studded with toasted almonds, dipped in decadent chocolate, and rolled in more chopped nuts for a crunchy outer coating.
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Spanish Almond Cookies (Almendrados)

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Ground almonds give these flourless, gluten-free Spanish almond cookies a wonderfully nutty flavor. Place a whole, raw almond in the center of each one before baking, if you like, for a cute presentation on cookie platters.
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Dairy-Free Almond Milk Pudding

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Those on dairy-free diets can enjoy a creamy, rich-tasting dairy-free almond milk pudding, with this recipe inspired by the blancmange dessert served in fancy restaurants. Thickened almond milk is used to create the velvety, chilled pudding base, which gets a boost of fresh flavor from a super-simple homemade fruit sauce.
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3-Ingredient Homemade Marzipan

The Spruce

This 3-ingredient homemade marzipan is a delicious Italian confection made with almond paste that can be eaten on its own, or tinted with food coloring and used to decorate cakes, as a more tasty alternative to fondant. Feel free to add a little almond extract, if you like, to boost the nutty flavor.

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Polish Almond Crescent Cookies (Rogaliki)

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Polish almond crescent cookies have a crispy texture and fantastically nutty flavor, from ground almonds in the dough. Roll the baked cookies in powdered sugar for a classic presentation. Makes a great lunchbox treat for the kids.