German Almond Icebox Cookies
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Almond Icebox Cookies are soft and addictive. Not too sweet with just a hint of cinnamon. Store in the refrigerator and simply slice and bake anytime you want fresh baked cookies. Great for lunch boxes, afternoon tea, and anytime snacks.
I make these old-fashioned German cookies all the time. Everyone loves them because they are soft, aren’t too sweet, and go perfectly with coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or a glass of milk.
An added bonus is that once you have dough in the refrigerator fresh cookies are just minutes away. Just slice and bake as many as you want! This dough holds up well for a week in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
Instructions
Dough
Melt the butter and lard (or shortening) using a small saucepan set over low heat, or a microwave.
Cut some parchment or waxed paper about 12-inches long and set aside. You will need this for forming and wrapping the cookie dough.
Add the white sugar and the brown sugar to a large mixing bowl. (Photo 1)
Add the melted butter mixture to the bowl (Photo 2) and mix on low speed until there are no dry areas of sugar left.
Add the eggs and mix well. (Photo 3)
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, and baking soda.
Add the flour to the wet mixture (Photo 4) and stir just until combined. (Photo 5) Don’t over mix.
Add the slivered almonds (Photo 6) and mix just until the almonds are evenly distributed. You may need to stir these in using a wooden spoon, or your clean hands.
Divide the dough into two equal halves and place one half on each piece of parchment or wax paper you cut earlier. (Photo 7)
Gently pat the dough into logs. I like mine to be more square so I pat mine into a rectangle that’s roughly 2-inches high and 3-inches wide. (Photo 8)
Wrap the dough in the paper you used for forming (Photo 9) and place it into the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to one week. You want the dough to be firm before attempting to slice it.
Baking
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Remove half of the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap, and cut into slices 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. (Photo 10)
Place cookies at least 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. The cookies will spread during baking. (Photo 11)
Bake in the preheated 350ºF oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are beginning to brown and tops no longer look wet. Thicker cookies will take longer than thin cookies.
Remove from cookie sheet and place on a cooling rack to finish cooling. (Photo 12)
Tips for Success
If using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon of salt for every cup of butter.
Lard can be substituted with shortening. You could also use all butter, but the cookies will not be as soft.
Lard is made with pork so don’t use lard if vegetarians or people who avoid pork products in their diets.
Do not overmix the cookie dough. Overmixing will cause the cookies to be tough.
Thicker cookies will be softer.
Leave at least 2 inches between the cookies when baking, they will spread a bit.
If baking more than one sheet of cookies at a time, rotate the cookie sheets by switching the racks.
Only bake until the edges of the cookies have turned light brown to maintain a soft cookie. The thicker ones will need longer in the oven.
Allow the cookies to sit on a cookie sheet for a minute before removing to a cooling rack.
Storing Baked Cookies
These can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container. It’s best to eat these within 3 days. If your cookies have gone past 3 days, try heating them in the microwave for 5 to seconds.
You can also freeze them. When I do this I double bag them in freezer baggies. You can pack them into lunch boxes while still frozen and they will be thawed and soft when you open your lunch.
Storing Cookie Dough
You can store formed dough in the refrigerator for up to a week. Keep the dough wrapped in wax or parchment paper and place it into an airtight container so it doesn’t pick up any other flavors from the refrigerator.
The formed dough can be stored in the freezer, wrapped tightly, and placed into an airtight container for up to 3 months. Allow the dough to thaw in the refrigerator before attempting to slice and bake.
You can also pre-slice the cookies before placing them in the freezer. You will want to freeze them on parchment or wax paper individually first. Once they’re frozen
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German Almond Cookies
Equipment
- Wax Paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup White Sugar
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar firmly packed
- 1 cup Butter salted
- 1 cup Lard or shortening
- 3 Large Eggs
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon heaping
- 8 ounces slivered Almonds
Instructions
- Cut 2 pieces of wax paper or parchment paper about 12 inches long and set aside.
- Place both sugars in a large mixing bowl.
- In a small saucepan, melt butter and lard/shortening over low heat. Once melted, pour over sugar.
- With the mixer running on low, mix until all sugar is moistened and there are no dry granules in the bowl.
- Add the eggs and mix well.
- With the mixer running, add baking soda, followed by cinnamon and mix well.
- Turn off the mixer and add the flour. Mix just until you no longer see flour.
- Add the slivered almonds and mix until almonds are evenly distributed.
- Divide the dough between the two sheets of wax paper and form the dough in rectangles about 2 inches tall and 3 inches wide. Wrap in wax paper and transfer to the refrigerator on cookie sheet. Let rest in refrigerator at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Unwrap the cookie logs and slice 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Thicker slices will produce softer cookies but will take a minute or so longer in the oven.
- Place cookies at least 1 inch apart.
- Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are beginning to brown and tops no longer look wet.
- Remove from cookie sheet and place on cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- If using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
- Lard can be substituted with shortening or all butter.
- Substitute lard with vegetable shortening if serving people who avoid pork products.
- Do not overmix the cookie dough. Overmixing will cause the cookies to be tough.
- Thicker cookies will be softer.
- Leave at least 2 inches between the cookies.
- Only bake until the edges of the cookies have turned light brown to prevent overcooking.
- Allow the cookies to sit on a cookie sheet for a minute before removing to a cooling rack.
