What Is Almond extract and How Can I Use It?

Wondering what to do with almond extract? This guide covers how to pick it, cook it, store it, and swap it, plus 722 recipes to put it to work.

What is almond extract?

Almond extract is a flavoring ingredient commonly used in baking both sweet and savory dishes, as well as in certain stovetop cooking applications. It is made by combining the natural oils in almonds with ethyl alcohol, such as vodka, and allowing the flavors to blend and mingle until the almond flavor becomes strong and pronounced.

Though imitation versions can often be found in grocery stores, the flavor of the imitation products is typically not as strong or true as that found in non-imitation extracts. Almond extract is typically used in making common baked goods like amaretto cookies, as well as marzipan, pancakes, and even meat stews.

For many people, the most common uses for almond extract are in sweet baked dishes such as cookies, cakes, and marzipan, but it is also frequently used in savory dishes as well. Since the extract is made using the oil of bitter almonds, the sweetness found in sweet almonds does not come through as strongly and makes the flavor of the extract perfect for numerous applications.

Quick facts

Where to find almond extract: Almond extract is usually found in the baking supplies section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese: 杏仁提取物
British (UK) term: Almond extract
en français: l'extrait d'amande
en español: extracto de almendra

Recipes using almond extract

There are 722 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Best Sugar Cookies

Powdered sugar cut-out cookies stay tender and soft, perfect for decorating. Almond and vanilla extracts give these holiday classics a complex, bakery-style flavor that beats other sugar cookies.

Chocolate Almond Coffee

Chocolate almond coffee, a homemade flavored coffee blend with ground coffee, chocolate and almond extracts, and freshly grated nutmeg. Brew like regular coffee for a cafe-style drink at home.

Mom's Favorite Brownies

Dark chocolate, corn syrup, and crunchy walnuts bake into fudgy brownies with crackly tops that taste like Mom's kitchen in every bite.

Buttermilk Waffles with Cherry-Almond Sauce

Buttermilk Waffles with Cherry-Almond Sauce recipe

Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream

Homemade Mexican chocolate ice cream with cinnamon, almond extract, and a rich egg custard base churned in an old-fashioned ice cream freezer. Warm spice meets cold, creamy chocolate.

Basic Yellow Cake

Basic yellow cake from scratch with cake flour, almond and vanilla extracts, and the classic creaming method that gives it a tender, fine crumb. The blueprint recipe for layer cakes, cupcakes, and birthday cakes you will use again and again.

Cusine D'Or Chocolate Chip Cookies

Crisp outsides and chewy centers, are often achieved by undercooking. In this recipe a small amount of corn syrup is substituted for some of the granualted sugar, for a chewy texture without being soft or undercooked.

Betty's Sugar Cookies

Betty's old-fashioned sugar cookies with vanilla, almond, and lemon extract plus tangy buttermilk. Tender, soft-centered cut-outs that hold their shape and beg for icing or sugar sprinkles.

Pumpkin or Squash Pie

Vegan pumpkin or squash pie with silken tofu, honey or maple, molasses, and a hint of coriander and almond extract. Egg-free and dairy-free, with custard-like texture from blended tofu.

Berry Almond Bundt Cake

Cranberry almond bundt cake with cornmeal and applesauce. A dairy-free leaning bundt with tart cranberries, ground almonds, and a soft golden crumb. Drizzle with glaze or dust with powdered sugar.

Decorated Sugar Cookies

Decorated sugar cookies use powdered sugar and a touch of almond extract for tender, rollable dough that holds intricate cookie cutter shapes. The classic Christmas cookie recipe.

Decorative Sugar Cookies

Roll-and-cut decorative sugar cookies brushed with colored egg-white wash before baking. Almond-scented dough cut into shapes for holidays, birthdays and party platters.

Black Forest Cheese Cupcakes

Mini Black Forest chocolate cheesecakes topped with Cherry filling.

Homemade Pocket Triangles

Buttery shortcrust pockets folded around a caramelized coconut filling studded with dates, raisins, and cashews, baked golden. A Sri Lankan sweet pastry with crisp edges and a chewy, nutty center.

Angel Food Cake with Whipped Cream & Fresh Berries

Light and as fluffy as a feather. This version is served with whipped cream and fresh berries.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies

Cream cheese brownies marbled with German sweet chocolate batter and a tangy cheesecake swirl. Fudgy, dense, and just slightly tangy thanks to the cream cheese running through every bite.

Family Favorite Fudge Brownies

Dense fudge brownies with a half pound of unsweetened chocolate, chocolate chip top, and a hit of instant coffee crystals to deepen the chocolate flavor. Baked low and slow.

Double Almond Ice Cream

Double almond ice cream layers almond extract through a custard base and folds in butter-sugar caramelized almonds. Two hits of almond, both flavor and crunch, in a classic French-style ice cream.

Holiday Truffles

Holiday chocolate truffles made with semi-sweet chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and a splash of amaretto or Grand Marnier. Two flavors from one batch, no thermometer required.

Pound Cake, Famous Peach

Famous peach pound cake folds fresh chopped peaches and sour cream into a buttery, vanilla-almond pound cake batter baked in a tube pan until golden and tender-crumbed.

Easy Peach Cobbler

This peach cobbler comes together in a snap and uses ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.

Yummy Linzer Cookies

Linzer cookies built on a buttery ground-almond shortbread, scented with vanilla, almond extract, and a hint of cinnamon. Each cookie holds a thumbprint of lemon-spiked raspberry jam, finished with sliced almonds and powdered sugar.

Party Time Cookies

Buttery shortbread-style cookies studded with chocolate chips and slivered almonds, perfumed with both vanilla and almond extract. Eggless, no-fuss, and ready for any party tray.

Yummy Almond Shortbread

Buttery shortbread dough studded with finely ground almonds bakes into tender, melt-in-your-mouth cookies where almond extract amplifies the nutty richness in every crumbly bite.

So Good Chocolate Nut Biscotti

Chocolate four-nut biscotti loaded with walnuts, pecans, cashews, and almonds, plus mini chocolate chips. Twice-baked Italian cookies, optional white chocolate dip.

Chocolate Pieces Oatmeal Peanut Cookies

Chocolate, oatmeal, and peanut cookies with hand-cut chunks of sweet chocolate, chopped peanuts, and a quiet hit of almond extract. A chewy cookie with crunch and three flavor layers.

Christmas Plum Pudding

A buttery, breadcrumb-based Christmas plum pudding rich with two kinds of raisins, currants, bitter orange marmalade, and warm spice. Steamed, aged, then flamed at the table and served with silky zabaione.

Almond Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

A truly decadent french toast stuffed with almonds and cream cheese. Talk about kicking it up a notch!

Coconut Angel Food Cake

Coconut angel food cake folds shredded coconut into a fat-free egg-white batter, then frosts the cooled tube cake in seven-minute orange frosting and toasted coconut.

Coffee Brickle Ice Cream *

Coffee brickle ice cream churns sweetened condensed milk and half-and-half with strong instant coffee, toasted almonds, and almond brickle chips. No-cook custard for the home ice cream maker.

Raspberry Almond Muffins

The raspberry preserves and almond paste tucked inside these delicate muffins make them a surprising treat.

Ohio Sour Cherry Pie

Ohio sour cherry pie features a flaky frozen-shortening Crisco crust and a thick almond-vanilla sour cherry filling cooked on the stovetop before baking. Classic Midwest summer pie.

Easter Party Cake

I added some pureed strawberries and a couple of drops of red food coloring to make the cake pink.

Blackberry Crunch Bars

These bars are great with coffee, as a snack, or included in a lunch box. So quick and easy---delicious!

Rustic Pear Galette with Apricot Glaze

A super juicy and tasty pear galette and it's also very easy to make. This delicious and rustic galette is not too rich, not too sweet and just the right balance. An ideal dessert for fall, especially it's best served while it's warm.

Rustic Pear Galette with Apricot Glaze

Valentine Sugar Cookies

Easy Valentine's Day sugar cookies frosted with pink icing.

Honeyed Peach Preserves

Honeyed peach preserves: ripe peaches and orange peel cooked down with honey, sugar, and a touch of almond extract. Old-fashioned canning project for biscuits, toast, and gifting.

Flower Sugar Cookies

Cut-out sugar cookies with vanilla and almond extract. Buttery, soft-set centers with crisp edges. Roll, cut into flowers or shapes, decorate with icing for any occasion.

Angel Food Cake

Egg whites beaten to stiff peaks with sugar and cream of tartar bake into this impossibly light angel food cake where almond extract adds subtle nutty fragrance to the cloud-like crumb.

Homemade Fortune Cookies

Homemade fortune cookies you fill with your own messages, crisp almond-vanilla wafers folded into that classic crescent while warm. A fun DIY project for parties, gifts, and special occasions.

Chocolate Marbled Angel Food Cake with Coffee Cream & Raspberry Jam

A deliciously light chocolate marbled angel food cake is filled with raspberry jam, and topped with coffee cream. It's sweet and rich enough to please your sweet tooth, but without too much guilt.

Cherry-Cream Crumble Pie

I got this recipe out of a magazine a few years back and I have made it a lot. The person who submitted it said it won her a blue ribbon, she also said she was a six-time Pillsbury Bake-Off finalist. I had no way to confirm this but the recipe sounded good and when I tried it I loved it.