We love to mold butter cookie and gingerbread doughs into fun holiday shapes and decorate them at Christmastime. But we wanted a festive-looking cookie that was a little different a different dough, a different texture, a different flavor. After some consideration, we had the idea of turning a light, flourless, nut-based cookie into a wreath-shaped Christmas treat. We made a chewy almond macaroon–like dough that, once chilled, was firm and malleable enough to form into ropes and shape into wreaths. For a unique flavor of the holidays, we added orange zest, ground coffee, and spices to the dough; we also folded in some marmalade at the end of mixing. After shaping the dough, we topped our wreaths with sliced almonds, dipping them in egg whites first so the almonds adhered. For holly-like accents, we pressed pieces of red and green maraschino cherries on top. Dusting the cookies with confectioners’ sugar before serving gave them a fresh coat of winter snow. You can substitute dried cherries for the maraschino cherries.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (18 ounces) almond flour
- 2 tablespoons grated orange zest (2 oranges)
- 1 tablespoon ground coffee
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 large egg whites
- 1½ cups (10½ ounces) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons orange marmalade
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 cups sliced almonds
- 40 maraschino cherries (combination of red and green), quartered
- Confectioners’ sugar
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For the Cookies
- Whisk almond flour, orange zest, coffee, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and salt together in bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip egg whites on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip whites to soft, billowy mounds, about 1 minute. Gradually add sugar and whip until glossy, soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Whip in almond extract and vanilla.
- Fold almond flour mixture into whipped whites in 2 additions until few white streaks remain. Fold in marmalade until no white streaks remain. Transfer dough to counter and divide in half. Form each half into disk, wrap disks tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. For the Topping
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk egg whites in shallow dish until frothy. Spread almonds in second shallow dish.
- Divide 1 disk of dough into 20 pieces. Roll each piece into 5-inch rope on lightly floured counter, shape into circle, and press ends together to seal. Dip 1 side of each wreath into egg whites, letting excess drip off, then press gently into almonds. Space, almond side up, evenly on prepared sheets. Press 4 cherry pieces into each wreath.
- Bake cookies until firm and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough, egg whites, almonds, and cherries. Let cookies cool completely, then dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.