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Chinese almond cookies are a trademark in Chinese-American cooking. Often relegated as a second string sweet to the more entertaining fortune cookie these don’t get the respect they deserve!
Sure, they don’t tell you what a charming personality you have or offer a string of lotto numbers, but they do have a crisp bite and delightfully sandy texture.
Almond flour, almond extract, and slivered almonds ensure that you get an intense flavor that will eclipse any paper filled treat.
Set out a plate of these for the upcoming Chinese New Year. Almond cookies symbolize coins and will be sure to bring you good fortune. Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Chinese Almond Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups of almond flour, lightly packed
- 1 cup of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon of almond extract
- 1 3/4 cups of flour
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
- Thinly sliced almonds
Method
1 Beat almond flour, salt, butter: Place the almond flour, salt, and butter into an electric mixer with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for three minutes. The mixture will become coarse and chunky looking.
2 Add one of the eggs, reserving the other for later, and the almond extract. Mix on low speed until just incorporated.
3 Sift together the flour, sugar, and baking soda then add to the butter mixture at low speed. Mix until just combined.
4 Chill the dough: Take the dough and flatten it into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator for two hours to chill.
5 Prep oven, baking sheet, egg: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the other egg into a bowl and beat it.
6 Flatten balls of dough onto cookie sheet: Take pieces of dough and roll them into balls about three-quarters-of-an-inch wide. Place them on the sheet about an inch apart and then press them down slightly with your palm to make a coin shape.
7 Place a slivered almond onto each cookie and lightly press it into place, then paint the surface of the cookie with some of the beaten egg using a pastry brush or your finger (this will give the cookie a lacquered appearance once it bakes).
8 Bake at 325°F for 13-15 minutes or until the edges just begin to tan. Cool on the sheet on a wire rack.
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Garrett McCord is a professional writer and recipe developer whose work has appeared in many print and online publications such as Gourmet Live, Saveur, Huffington Post, Smithsonian, and NPR. Past clients also include numerous food companies, wineries, and distilleries. Garrett writes about cocktails on his website, Coupe de Grace.
Chinese Almond Cookies
Nice recipe, Garrett. However, I would like to increase the pliability of the dough a bit. Which tweak might work better, decreasing the wheat flour or increasing the butter? I am using skin-on roasted almonds which I grind in a coffee grinder. I like the coarse texture but the cookies develop surface cracks when forming them. The pressure of flattening them causes these cracks on top. Aside from this minor problem, the cookies taste great and all 31 of them are disappearing fast. Many thanks!
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Hi Hermsoven,
I think the skin-on almonds are your culprit. They absorb more moisture! But they do lead to tasty cookies. Try adding an extra egg yolk and see if that does the trick. Love your tweaks to this!
Thanks Sara. Will try the extra egg and report.
You don’t think cutting some flour would help?
Cutting it might help, yes, but don’t go too crazy.
Just crazy for these cookies!
Thanks Garrett! I hate fortune cookies, and I haven’t found an almond cookie at any Chinese restaurant in decades.
They were kind of bland and tasted like they were missing something. Maybe a little cinnamon, coconut extract, or something. I will try the recipe again and try to figure out what is missing.
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Love the idea of a not stale Chinese almond cookie! I followed a couple of the suggestions in the comments and these got approval from the whole family! Hopefully my book club will think they’re the perfect finish to my Asian themed dinner tomorrow evening.
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I made these gluten and sugar free. The changes are the same amount of gluten free flour blend ( I use Krusteez) instead of wheat flour, add an egg in the batter. Change baking soda to 1and 1/4 teaspoons, add in 2 shakes of cream of tartar. For the sugar, I subbed half erythritol and half monk fruit granules. Did them as a cut and bake by refrigerating dough as a log overnight. They don’t spread like the original. Perfect blend of chewy and crumbly…awesome!
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