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Chocolate-Almond Spice Cookies
This recipe is a loose interpretation of the Swiss chocolate-almond holiday cookie known as Basler brunsli. Traditionally, the dough is rolled and cut into shapes before baking, but we opted for an easier drop cookie studded with bits of chocolate. Even without butter, these cookies are intensely rich—and they happen to be gluten-free, too. Both Dutch-processed cocoa and natural cocoa work. If you have a 2-tablespoon spring-loaded scoop, use it for portioning the dough; otherwise, two soup spoons get the job done. The dough can be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 24 hours; bring to room temperature before shaping and baking. The baked and cooled cookies keep well in a well-sealed container at room temperature for up to two days.
24
cookies
Tip
Don’t skip toasting the almond flour; it gives the cookies a fuller, deeper flavor. But don't forget to allow the almond flour to cool after toasting; if the flour is too hot when the egg whites are added, the whites will cook. Take care not to overbake the cookies or they will become tough.
1¼ hours
30 minutes active, plus cooling
Ingredients
-
¾
teaspoon ground cinnamon
-
½
teaspoon ground cardamom
Directions
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01Heat the oven to 375°F with racks in the upper- and lower-middle positions. Line 2 baking sheets with kitchen parchment. In a small bowl, stir together the cinnamon, cardamom and ginger. Measure ¼ teaspoon of the spice mixture into another small bowl, stir in the 54 grams (¼ cup) sugar and set aside.
Reviews
August 21, 2026
award winning
entered these in the State Fair. These won a ribbon.
April 3, 2026
Delicious!
I prepared these to accompany the Malbec Poached Pears (another Milk Street recipe). They were so delicious!!! I admit that I doubled the spice quantities and was glad I did. The extra spice balanced the potency of the chocolate nicely, instead of being just a hint. Mine looked exactly like the photo. Highly recommended!
December 23, 2025
Two years a star
I made these cookies for the second year in a row. My 15 yo daughter has claimed them as her favorite and my wife can’t get enough. She is GF, so these cookies cover her plate. Can’t wait to make them again next year.
December 18, 2024
phenomenal cookie that happens to be gluten & dairy-free
These were so delicious and pretty perfect. They do have quite a lot of sugar so I'm going to try reducing the sugar by 25% next time and maybe adding another egg white to make up some moisture! Don't skip toasting the almond flour.
December 2, 2023
Sooo good!
Made these for a party. They were a hit! Chewy on the inside with a slight crisp on the edges. The only thing was mine ended up looking like normal cookies shapes, which is fine but they didn't look like the video or pictures. This did not matter but it made me nervous when I took them out of the oven. I will be baking them again. Soon.
I made these cookies for dessert. They taste good. I did not put ginger. I love that the outside of it is crunchy and inside is soft. Very chocolaty. The cardamom flavor is a bit strong after you eat two cookies. My kid said, "5 out of 10 stars because https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/honey-rosemary-syrup-double-chocolate-cake tastes so much better."
These are my new favorite cookies! Wonderful flavor and texture. I've made them a few times and always have extra spiced sugar after rolling the cookies. I hated to throw it out but didn't know what to do with it. This time I had some creme fraiche around and mixed the extra sugar/spice mixture into it and served it with the cookies and strawberries -- delicious!!
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