These irresistible Greek almond cookies are incredibly simple to make and dangerously easy to get hooked on! Their wonderful texture, with a soft, chewy centre and a delicately crisp exterior, will have you reaching for one after another. And although they look as if they’ve been soaked in syrup, they don’t contain a single drop! Their distinctive almond extract aroma gives them their signature character, so this is one ingredient you simply can’t leave out.

Here in Thessaloniki, if you want to buy these lovely almond cookies, you’ll need to ask for “garides”, which means “shrimp” in Greek! From what I found searching online, it seems we may be the only ones who call them that. I bet the Athenians haven’t caught on yet, or they’d have a whole new batch of jokes to tell about us! You see, Athens and Thessaloniki have a friendly rivalry over what we call certain foods, from gyros and bougatsa, a sweet or savoury filled pastry, to our habit of calling dips “alifes”, literally “ointments”! But why call these cookies shrimp? My best guess is their shape, which does resemble a shrimp when you look at them from underneath. Whatever the explanation, it’s hardly worth worrying about. What matters is enjoying them!

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English subtitles are available.

🛒Ingredients

For the dough

• 🥣 300 g almond flour
• 🍚 200 g icing sugar
• 🧂 A pinch of salt
• 🥚 3 medium egg whites
• 🌸 5 drops almond extract
• 🌼 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the coating

• 🥚 1 egg white
• 🌰 Approximately 100 g flaked almonds

👩‍🍳Instructions

In a bowl, mix the almond flour, sifted icing sugar and salt.

Separate the egg whites from the yolks and add the whites, almond extract and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients.

Mix until a dough forms. There is no need to knead it any further.

Prepare the coating. Place the white of one more egg in a small bowl and the flaked almonds in another.

Take a portion of dough and shape it into a horseshoe. Dip the cookie into the egg white, then into the flaked almonds so they stick to its surface.

Place the cookies on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 170°C for 15 minutes.

Keep in mind…

🔸Instead of buying almond flour, you can grind raw almonds in a food processor, provided you can get a fine powder with no pieces left. Be careful not to process them for too long, or they will start releasing their oil. Personally, I prefer ready-made almond flour, just to be on the safe side.

🔸 You can use granulated sugar instead of icing sugar. I prefer icing sugar because it dissolves and blends into the dough more easily.

🔸 Some recipes call for whipping the egg whites into a meringue. I haven’t noticed any significant difference in the final result, so I prefer the easy option.

🔸 The almond extract is essential, but you can adjust the amount to suit your taste.

🔸 The only thing that might go wrong with such a simple recipe is that the cookies spread during baking, although they will still taste just as good. This only affects their appearance and can happen if your egg whites are larger, adding extra moisture to the dough. To prevent this, make sure the dough is firm enough to shape and hold its shape. If it is too soft and sticks to your hands excessively, add a little more almond flour.

🔸 Chilling the dough can make it easier to shape, but it won’t fix a dough that contains too much moisture. Always check its consistency first.

🔸 Be careful not to overbake them! Don’t wait for the cookies to turn golden. They should only colour slightly underneath. They may seem underbaked when you take them out of the oven, but they will develop the right texture as they cool. If you bake them for too long, they will become hard.

And if you’re looking for another easy recipe using egg whites and no flour, try these