These Almond Flour Tea Cookies are perfect dunked in to a hot cup of tea or coffee. They’re gluten and dairy-free, and use minimal ingredients. The best part is that they keep very well, so feel free to bake them in advance and eat them throughout the week.
Over the course of the last six months, I’ve been retesting and rephotographing some of my old recipes. My recipe testing process is MUCH different now than it was five years ago, when my blog was just a hobby. In the past, I would often make a recipe just once, snap some (albeit, terrible) photos, and throw it on my site. As my website grew and I transitioned into blogging full-time, my process has changed a lot. I now test recipes at least three times before photographing and publishing them, and I always try to have at least one other person taste-test.
This gluten and dairy-free Almond Flour Tea Cookie recipe is one that I hadn’t made in years, and honestly, I fully expected to remove it from my site. But when I retested the recipe last week, I was pleasantly surprised by how yummy these cookies are! Travis and I went through last week’s batch so quickly that I had to make them again this week in order to photograph them (no complaints over here!).
You will LOVE how easy these Tea Cookies are to make. They use minimal ingredients, and don’t require any butter or oil. The almond flour naturally produces oil the more it’s mixed and worked with, and that’s all these little cookies need.
I find that the dough comes together best using a stand or hand-mixer, so make sure to use yours if you have one. You can use whatever shape cookie cutter you like – I prefer to use a small round one, which results in lots of little cookies. Simply by changing the cookie cutter, these tea cookies can be made festive for a variety of holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Halloween, etc.).
The glaze takes just one minute to make, and I suggest you do it while the tea cookies are baking in the oven. It naturally hardens as it sits, so if you make the glaze too far in advance, it will be difficult to spread.
I found that these cookies develop in both taste and texture the longer they sit, so there is no harm in making them in advance. They keep very well in an airtight container.
Enjoy!

- 3 cups almond flour
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- scant 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 egg white
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
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Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Using a stand mixer, beat together all of the cookie ingredients until the mixture is smooth. There is enough natural oil in the almond flour that the mixture should create a nice dough, but if it looks too dry after a few minutes of mixing, then add about 1/2 Tablespoon of water.
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Place the dough onto a clean surface and, using a rolling pin, roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut the cookies into a desired shape and place the cookies on the baking sheet, leaving about 1/2 inch of space in between each cookie.
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Bake for 12 minutes, until the bottoms begin to turn golden brown. Remove the cookies from the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
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While the cookies are baking, make the glaze by mixing the three ingredients together in a small bowl. The glaze will be thick. Once the cookies have cooled for at least 5 minutes, use a butter knife to spread a thin layer of glaze onto each one. Let the cookies rest until the glaze is completely dry and hard. Store the tea cookies in an airtight container.
*These cookies taste even better as they sit. Feel free to make them in advance!
Recipe and photos updated on 4/4/19
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Sabrina - A Spoonful of Photography
Sounds like such a nice recipe! Adding it to my holiday baking list 🙂
Rachel (littlechefbigappetite)
Sabrina, I hope you try them! I think they are perfect for the holidays!
Marie
Ohh my! I think I want to cancel my afternoon out and just stay home with these cookies and have some tea and read all day long!!
Thanks for the lovely recipe! I can’t wait to try them!
Rachel (littlechefbigappetite)
Ummm, can I join you!? Sounds perfect!
Lauren
Sounds good, but can I substitute the powdered sugar with granulated?
Rachel (littlechefbigappetite)
Lauren, unfortunately I don’t think so. The cookie texture will be much different if you use something else because powdered sugar is much “softer” and basically melts into the dough. It is definitely worth buying, though, because you will definitely need powdered sugar for the glaze.
Beverly
I made these for the first time Christmas Eve 2013 and omitted the cinnamon (personal preference). I found I had to use a wee bit more hot water than called for in the recipe. I also enjoyed adding almond extract to the glaze. These are great for my gluten-free guests. Yum!
Rachel (littlechefbigappetite)
Beverly, I am so glad you made them work for your taste preferences!
Stephanie
Tried these today as written snd they were delicious! Even my 4 yo snd husband approved! Thank you for the wonderful GF recipe!
Rachel (littlechefbigappetite)
I am so glad you loved them!