Chinese Almond Cookies

Simple Chinese New Year Almond Cookies Recipe

Chinese Almond Cookies are small, bite-sized treats. They have a crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth consistency and are perfect to snack on during the day! My family has been making these almond cookies for years! We used to make over 400 cookies in bulk – ready to give them to other family members and friends during Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is the celebration of the new year on a traditional Chinese calendar. During this time, Chinese families often find themselves making and eating loads of traditional Chinese food. 

Some examples of dishes we eat during Chinese New Year:

• Dumplings

• Spring Rolls

• Steamed Fish

Some examples of desserts we like to make:

• Pineapple Tarts

• Egg Tarts

• Almond Cookies

In a traditional Chinese household, you can often find mass baking taking place during Chinese New Year. The whole family gathers to make piles and piles of different foods and these almond cookies are no exception. 

We first learnt of this recipe from a family friend and spent hours making them. This recipe makes around 200 almond cookies – this is a quarter of the original recipe. The original recipe made over 800 cookies so we would be sitting there for hours and hours making these cookies for family and friends. 

To make these bite-sized almond cookies, you’ll only need a few ingredients:

• Almonds

• All-purpose flour

• Butter

• Peanut oil

• Icing sugar

• Baking powder

Directions: You simply need to add the peanut oil to the melted butter. Afterwards, add the almonds, flour, icing sugar and baking powder to the oil mixture and mix this well. Now you should be ready to shape these cookies. 

How to make these Lunar New Year Almond Cookies

There are many ways to make these cookies. My family has always used a melon baller. To use this method, add the almond cookie ingredients to the melon baller. It should be enough ingredients to overflow a little bit. Afterwards, firmly press the ingredients into the melon baller. This should make the cookie flat on one side. Remove the almond cookie by pressing down on one side of the cookie. This will give you a nice rounded half-moon almond cookie. Repeat this until all the ingredients are used. 

To bake, place the almond cookies on a tray and bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius. And that’s it. You’ve got your crumbly almond cookies ready to serve.

If you don’t have a melon baller, there are ways to make these yummy almond cookies:

• Using a small cookie cutter
• Using a metal measuring spoon
• Rolling the ingredients into a ball by hand

Decorating The Almond Cookies

If you’d like to decorate the cookies, you can add a tiny dot of egg yolk over the cookie. Generally, we try to make the dots look like almonds, but that can be difficult to accomplish. Using egg yolk is definitely not a necessity to the cookie – it just adds extra colour. 

How To Store These Almond Cookies

To store these almond cookies, simply place them in an airtight container. They will last for at least 5 days. You don’t need to store them in the fridge, but if you live in a country with hot weather, placing them in the fridge will preserve the cookies for longer. 

Can You Freeze These Chinese Almond Cookies

YES! You can freeze these delicious almond cookies. Freeze them in an airtight container. To defrost, simply take the cookies out of the freezer and within an hour, the cookies will be soft just as tasty!

Hints and Tips On Making The Perfect Chinese Almond Cookies

• When making these cookies, I highly recommend you wear gloves. The almond cookie dough is very delicate and the moistness of your hands can ruin the consistency of the cookie. 

Final Thoughts On These Melt-In-The Mouth Almond Cookies

Seriously, these are one of the best Almond Cookies you can make! Making these Chinese Almond Cookies in bulk is a great activity to do with your whole family and it’s a great gift to give to your friends and colleagues. I highly recommend it!

Similar Snacks and Desserts to Try!

• Almond Florentines

• Millionaire’s Shortbread

• Chocolate Profiteroles

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