Crumbly Almond Shortbread (Polvorones)
Pale, sandy-textured Andalusian shortbread made with toasted flour and ground almonds, so delicate they crumble at the first bite. A snowy dusting of powdered sugar and a whisper of cinnamon make them the heart of any Spanish Christmas table.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Toast the flour
Spread the flour in a thin, even layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven at 150°C (300°F) for 10–12 minutes, stirring halfway through. Let it cool completely before using. This step removes the raw taste of the flour and is the real secret behind the sandy, melt-in-the-mouth crumb of polvorones.
- 250 g flour
✅ Done when: the flour is pale gold and smells toasted, with no raw-flour smell left
Toast almonds and sesame
On another tray, toast the ground almonds (and the sesame seeds, if using) in the same oven for 5–6 minutes, until light golden and fragrant. Let them cool completely; warm nuts would melt the fat too soon when mixed into the dough.
- 100 g ground almonds
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
✅ Done when: the almonds are light golden, fragrant, and fully cooled
Mix the dough
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Shape and cut
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Bake gently
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Cool and dust
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Toast the flour
Spread the flour in a thin, even layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven at 150°C (300°F) for 10–12 minutes, stirring halfway through. Let it cool completely before using. This step removes the raw taste of the flour and is the real secret behind the sandy, melt-in-the-mouth crumb of polvorones.
- 250 g flour
✅ Done when: the flour is pale gold and smells toasted, with no raw-flour smell left
Toast almonds and sesame
On another tray, toast the ground almonds (and the sesame seeds, if using) in the same oven for 5–6 minutes, until light golden and fragrant. Let them cool completely; warm nuts would melt the fat too soon when mixed into the dough.
- 100 g ground almonds
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
✅ Done when: the almonds are light golden, fragrant, and fully cooled
Mix the dough
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Shape and cut
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Bake gently
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Cool and dust
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The Story Behind the Dish
Polvorones trace back to the almond- and flour-based sweets of medieval Andalusia, a region shaped for centuries by Moorish cooking, where almonds, sugar and delicate pastries were everyday staples long before they spread across Spain. Convents played a key role in refining and preserving the recipe, baking them for sale and for festive occasions.
The town of Estepa, in Seville province, became the country's best-known producer, and today polvorones are inseparable from the Spanish Christmas table, wrapped in paper to hold their crumbly shape and often sold alongside their almond cousins, the mantecados.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Their impossibly short, sandy crumb — the result of toasted flour and plenty of fat worked in gently — makes them unmistakable, and they are the cookie every Spanish household stocks up on each December.
💡 Fun Fact
Each polvorón is traditionally wrapped in a twist of tissue paper, partly for presentation and partly out of necessity: the cookie is so fragile it would crumble to crumbs without it.
Andalusia, especially the town of Estepa (Seville)
37.29°N, -4.89°W
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