You know the ones. Crumbly and shortbread-like in texture, satisfyingly rich with just a hint of almond.
When I first thought I’d try making these, I disappeared down the rabbit whole of origin. While some sources say they are an adaption of the Chinese walnut cookie, these simple sweet biscuits have an uncertain background.
I reviewed several recipes and decided to dive in with the cookie from Elaine at China Sichuan Food because of the addition of almond flour. Beware, even a small amount of time spent on her site will make you very, very hungry.
Like most things made from scratch, these were much better than anything I’d ever had from the package. In fact, found myself returning and trying them several times just to make sure.
Chinese Style Almond Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 C (120g) cake flour
- 2/3 C (60g) almond flour
- pinch of kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 C (115 g) butter softened
- 1/4 C minus 1 TBS (40g) granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 16 whole almonds
for egg wash
- 1 egg plus 1 TBS water lightly beaten
Directions
- Sift together the flours, baking soda and salt in a bowl, set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar until light, a couple of minutes. Beat-in the egg yolk and extract.
- Add dry ingredient to wet ingredients on low speed until just combined.
- On a clean surface, gently kneed the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment.
- Divide dough into 16 equally-sized pieces. Roll each into a ball. Slightly flatten with finger or criss-cross with a fork. Add whole almond to center and brush with egg wash.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on pans.