5 Ingredients or Fewer

Swedish Almond Tart Cookies  (“Mandelmusslor”)

by:
November 21, 2024
5
1 Ratings
Swedish Almond Tart Cookies (“Mandelmusslor”)
Photo by MJ Kroeger
  • Prep time 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Cook time 15 minutes
  • Serves 26
Author Notes

Almond shells, or “mandelmusslor” are classic, Swedish tart-like cookies often served around the holidays.. They range in size, shape, and number of ingredients, but here I’ve condensed a recipe to make them with only five main ingredients (and some optional—yet strongly recommended—toppings). They’re traditionally baked in scalloped-shaped baking tins, but to make them more accessible this recipe uses a standard cupcake tin.

Tips & Tricks
• Make these almond shells in advance and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. Alternatively, freeze for up to two months.
• Even though this is supposed to be a true 5 ingredient recipe, it wouldn’t hurt if you added 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ¼ teaspoon almond extract for extra flavor.

• To make sugared cranberries, heat ½ cup water with ½ cup sugar in a medium saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the syrup into a bowl with 1 cup fresh cranberries. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Transfer the cranberries with a slotted spoon to a parchment-lined plate or baking sheet and let dry for 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of sugar and toss, separating any that are stuck together. Store them in an airtight container.
—Nea Arentzen

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • ALMOND TART SHELLS
  • 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup (128 grams) almond flour
  • 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon Dimond crystal kosher salt
  • 14 tablespoons (198 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 egg white
  • OPTIONAL FILLING
  • redcurrant jam or jam of choice
  • whipped cream
  • sugared cranberries
  • fresh mint
Directions
  1. In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter (and extracts, if using; see tip) and pinch the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers, the same way you would with a pie dough. Mix in the egg white until fully incorporated. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour.
  2. Heat the oven to 375ºF/ºC with a rack in the upper third position. Roll between two sheets of parchment to a ¼-inch thickness. Press out using a 3-inch scalloped circle cookie cutter (regular circle is fine too).
  3. Assemble each circle in the cups of a cupcake tin (no need to grease); gently press into edges and sides.
  4. Bake on the upper oven rack until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let them cool slightly, then use a small knife or offset spatula to loosen and remove them. Bake the remaining dough and let all the shells cool completely.
  5. Fill the almond shells with jam, whipped cream, and cranberries, if using (see tip).
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Nea Arentzen

Recipe by: Nea Arentzen

Test Kitchen Content Creator & Recipe Developer at Food52

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1 Review

mary
mary January 1, 2025
I made this for a New Year's Eve dinner party and everyone loved them - my friends thought they were so elegant! I adjusted the ingredients to what I had on hand: oat flour instead of almond, apricot jam and fancy chocolate discs to top the whipped cream. It's a very forgiving recipe - this was my first time making tarts and I had to roll the dough out twice to get the right thickness but it worked no problem and they were delicious. Thank you!!