Why Almond Flour Makes Such Good Biscuits

Ground almonds have a quiet magic about them. They bring fat, sweetness and a faintly sandy grit that turns into the most melting, short crumb once baked. In a biscuit, that texture is exactly what you want: something that gives way under the teeth rather than snapping, and that stands up beautifully to a mug of strong tea.

Because almonds contain no gluten at all, they are naturally suitable for anyone avoiding wheat. They also carry their own moisture and richness, which means you can often use less butter than a wheat flour recipe would demand, and the biscuits keep well for days rather than going stale overnight. The trade-off is structure. Without gluten there is nothing to stretch and hold, so almond biscuits are tender, a little fragile, and prone to spreading if you handle the dough carelessly. Once you understand that, everything else falls into place.

Choosing and Storing Your Ground Almonds

In the UK, "ground almonds" and "almond flour" are usually the same thing, though the labelling has become muddled. The finest, palest version is made from blanched almonds with the skins removed, and it gives the most delicate, shortbread-like result. Almond meal, made from whole almonds with skins left on, is speckled and slightly coarser, with a deeper, more robust flavour that suits rustic, oaty-style biscuits. Both work, so choose according to the finish you want.

Freshness matters more than anything else here. Almonds are high in oil, and that oil turns stale and bitter over time. Before you bake, smell the pack: it should be sweet and nutty, never reminiscent of old marzipan or damp cardboard. Store ground almonds in an airtight container in a cool, dark cupboard for up to a month, or in the fridge or freezer for several months. Bring them back to room temperature before mixing, as cold almond flour makes the dough seize.

Getting the Structure Right Without Gluten

Three things do the work that gluten would normally do:

• Eggs and egg whites. Egg protein sets during baking and holds the biscuit together. Whites alone give a crisper, drier bite; whole eggs give a softer, cakier one.
• A little starch. Around 40g of cornflour, white rice flour or tapioca starch per 200g of ground almonds lightens the crumb and stops the biscuits from being dense and claggy.
• A binder for rolling and cutting. A quarter teaspoon of xanthan gum, or a teaspoon of ground psyllium husk, gives enough elasticity to roll dough and cut shapes cleanly. It is optional for drop biscuits or pressed shortbread.

One more trick: chill the dough for at least thirty minutes before baking. This lets the almond flour hydrate properly and firms up the butter, so the biscuits hold their shape instead of pooling into flat puddles in the oven.

A Dependable Almond Shortbread Base

This is the recipe I return to most often. It is forgiving, quick, and takes well to all kinds of flavouring.

• 200g ground almonds
• 40g cornflour or white rice flour
• 80g caster sugar
• 100g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 egg white
• Half a teaspoon of almond extract
• A quarter teaspoon of fine salt
• Half a teaspoon of gluten-free baking powder, for a slightly lighter crumb
• A quarter teaspoon of xanthan gum, only if you plan to roll and cut

Whisk the dry ingredients together. Rub in the butter with your fingertips, or pulse briefly in a food processor, until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg white and the almond extract, then bring everything together into a soft dough. It will feel stickier and more fragile than a wheat dough, which is normal. Squash it into a disc, wrap it, and chill for half an hour.

Roll the dough between two sheets of baking parchment to about 6mm thick, then cut rounds and lift them onto a lined tray with a palette knife. Alternatively, roll the dough into a log and slice 6mm coins, or press it into a lined 20cm tin and score into fingers. Bake at 170°C fan, or 190°C conventional, for 12 to 14 minutes for cut biscuits, or 20 to 22 minutes for a pressed tin, until the edges are just turning pale gold. Watch them closely towards the end: nut flours go from golden to bitter very quickly.

Flavours, Shapes and Finishing Touches

The base above is a blank canvas, and the almond flavour sits happily alongside most things.

• Grate in the zest of a lemon with a teaspoon of chopped thyme for something grown-up and fragrant.
• Add orange zest and half a teaspoon of ground cardamom for a warm, aromatic note.
• Swap 20g of the ground almonds for cocoa powder for a dark, fudgy biscuit.
• Fold through chopped glacé cherries for a retro cherry bakewell feel.
• Replace half the almonds with ground pistachios and sprinkle with flaky salt.

A scatter of demerara sugar before baking gives a lovely crunch, and a half-dip in melted dark chocolate turns a simple biscuit into something worth giving away. Just let the chocolate set somewhere cool rather than in the fridge, or it will bloom.

Baking, Cooling and Keeping

Leave the biscuits on the tray for ten minutes once they come out of the oven. They are extremely soft while hot and firm up considerably as they cool, so moving them too soon guarantees breakages. After that, transfer them carefully to a wire rack and let them cool completely.

The texture is at its best a few hours after baking, once the moisture has evened out through the crumb. Stored in an airtight tin, layered with baking parchment, they will keep for about five days. For longer, freeze the baked biscuits for up to two months and refresh them in a 150°C oven for five minutes, or freeze the raw dough log for three months and slice off what you need. Serve them with a proper cup of tea or a strong coffee, and do not be surprised if the sandy crumb loses half of itself to the dunk. That, in my view, is a sign of a very good biscuit indeed.