by Chinese Almond Cookies
I grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia, and our ritual every Sunday morning was to visit my mother’s favourite Chinese restaurant for Yum Cha.
I always looked forward to the endless procession of steamed baskets filled with little dumplings, but what I most looked forward to was dessert. If we weren’t indulging in Chinese egg tarts, we were certainly enjoying a small plate of Chinese Almond Cookies with our Jasmine tea.
Chinese New Year
Most people associate fortune cookies with Chinese New Year, and although we always have a laugh at the oddly-worded “fortunes” on the small pieces of paper (especially since they are translated into German or French here in Switzerland!), I always try to make a batch of Chinese Almond Cookies to celebrate at home.
Almond Cookies
These almond cookies are great to make with kids. The dough is soft and pliable, and my son loves to roll out balls of dough, flattening them with his little chubby hands, and then decorating each one with an almond in the centre.
These cookies are very forgiving, both to little budding pastry chefs and the grown-ups who end up eating them.
Almond Cookies Recipe
This almond cookies recipe makes very simple butter cookies which are lovely with a strong cup of coffee, but they lend themselves well to many variations. You could easily add some chocolate chips or raisins to the dough, or the finely grated zest of a lemon or small orange.
Chinese Almond Cookies
Ingredients
- 75 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 5 g (1 teaspoon) baking powder
- 300 g (2 cups) plain flour, (all-purpose flour)
- 200 g (1 ¾ stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk, for egg-wash
- whole blanched almonds, for decorating
Instructions
To Make the Cookie Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sugar, salt, baking powder and flour.
- Rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the mixture resembles wet sand or breadcrumbs. I prefer to do this in my KitchenAid stand-mixer with the flat paddle attachment.
- Add the 2 eggs and mix until you have a soft dough.
- Shape the dough into a long sausage, about 3 cm (roughly 1 inch) in diameter.
- Cover the dough with cling film, and leave it to chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
To Bake the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) (without fan).
- Remove the cling film, and slice small rounds from the dough, about 2 cm thick. You could use the rounds as they are or, alternatively, roll them into balls to create more rounded cookies.
- Place the rounds on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
- Flatten each round slightly.
- Press a whole almond in the centre of each round.
- Lightly whisk the remaining egg yolk in a small bowl, and brush the top of each cookie with this egg-wash.
- Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes, or until they are lightly golden.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the tray for about 5 minutes before removing.
Kitchen Notes
- STORAGE
I think these cookies taste best when they are fresh from the oven, but they keep well for several days in an airtight container. - RECIPE CREDIT
This recipe is adapted from Adam’s Big Pot by Adam Liaw. - OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Did you make this recipe?
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This recipe was first published on 4 August 2015. It has been updated with more comprehensive recipe notes.
Thanh, I’m in the same boat as you – I always feel like a terrible aunt because I hate playing with children (yikes, maybe I shouldn’t admit that in a public forum!). But you’re a fabulous mom for making these Chinese almond butter cookies with your son. These are one of my FAVOURITE things to eat, especially when they’re freshly made. Yours look absolutely perfect, like they came right out of a Chinese bakery. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Oh I don’t think I’m very good at playing with kids … I’m very good at tickling but I’m pretty sure there’s an age limit to that!! Otherwise, I’m much better at delegating tasks in the kitchen and making the kids feel empowered because they have contributed to a dish 😉 I also delegate the goofing around to my husband who seems to be a natural around kids 🙂
they look lovely 🙂
Thank you!
I have to make them. They look delicious!
Thanks, Ivette! I hope you will enjoy the recipe.
I’d completely forgotten about these cookies – my mother used to make them when she went through her Chinese cooking phase! I can just taste them. And a far as legos, I had two daughters, and so far have a grand baby girl! phew!
That’s funny that your mother went through a Chinese cooking phase! I tend to cook new recipes in phases too, or one cookbook at a time. We have a friend who’s 6 year old son is now building amazing and elaborate structures with his Lego pieces, carefully following the instructions in the guide. That certainly looks more interesting to me, although I appreciate that they have to start somewhere!
Just lovely, I’m not surprised your son loves making these, Thanh. I used to love baking with my grandmother when I was little, I would eat handfuls of mixture when her back was turned! I am guessing that you could also add a little almond essence and perhaps a splash of Amaretto for a grown up version? 😉 Lou x
Now that you mention it, I think most versions of this Chinese cookie have almond essence in the mixture. But I love the sound of adding Amaretto!! 🙂
We love these cookies! Always a fan of Adam Liaw’s recipes.
This CHINESE ALMOND COOKIES looks so cute! You make it sound so easy! Can’t wait to try this one!
Hello, I made these today BUT from Adam Liaw’s cook book, wasn’t impressed, not much flavour and seemed to be too much butter, on looking on line I found your recipe and you said 2 egg yolks, I used 2 whole eggs as was stated in Adams recipe.My husband thought there wasn’t enough sugar, I made half the recipe with jam in the centre and I thought they were better, bit disappointed. Would using 2 whole eggs make so much difference? Thanks for your help
Hi Kay,
So sorry to hear that you were a bit disappointed with these cookies. My recipe should have also stated 2 whole eggs (not 2 egg yolks), so I have corrected that. I agree that these cookies are not very sweet, but Asian cookies (which are not very common) tend to not be sweet. That is probably why you felt these cookies tasted better with some jam!
I don’t think Adam Liaw’s recipe is a traditional recipe for Chinese butter cookies – I would describe them more as western butter cookies with a Chinese twist, i.e. the almonds are a reminder of the traditional Chinese version, plus they are easier to make than traditional Chinese cookies. The latter also typically uses ground almonds and/or almond essence for more almond flavour.
I hope this helps 🙂
Thank you, will try these again.