Chinese almond cookies

Gung hei fat choy!

It's Chinese New Year today, and in honor of the occasion, I decided to try making these Chinese almond cookies. They came out pretty yummy, and my husband taste-tested them for me to make sure they were good, since he's had them before and I hadn't.

They're supposed to look like gold coins, I believe, which is why the recipe calls for an egg wash. The only thing I might do differently when I make these again, though, is look for almond flour -- I couldn't find any when I was out shopping, so I used almond meal, which leaves the skins on the almonds, hence their speckled appearance. If I can find almond flour, that should eliminate that and make them a bit prettier. But if not, hey, they still taste pretty good.

Happy Year of the Horse, everyone!



Chinese Almond Cookies
Adapted from Simply Recipes

1 1/3 almond flour or almond meal
Pinch of salt
1 c butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
1 3/4 c flour
1 c plus 2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
Sliced almonds
1 egg (for egg wash)

1. Beat together the almond flour/meal, salt and butter until combined. Beat in the egg and almond extract.
2. Whisk together the flour, sugar and baking soda in another bowl, then beat or stir into the first bowl until combined.
3. Wrap the bowl and chill for an hour or two.
4. Form the dough into 3/4-inch balls and flatten them a bit with your hands. Place them on a cookie sheet, then press one almond slice into the center of each.
5. Beat the remaining egg well, then brush the tops of the cookies with the beaten egg.
6. Bake at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Leave the cookies on the pan until cool.