Chinese Almond Cookies

Happy Year of the Cat!  Tonight, we're having a potluck dinner at my cousin's to celebrate and I thought these Chinese Almond Cookies would be perfect to share with everyone.

I didn't have any blanched whole almonds, so a quick trick to removing the skin is placing them in a bowl and adding enough boiling water to cover them.  Let them sit for no more than a minute, drain, and rinse under cold water.  The skins should slip right off.

Here's to a healthy, happy, and prosperous year!

Chinese Almond Cookies
from Cooking for Engineers
Makes about 48 cookies


3 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup raw blanched slivered almonds, pulsed in food processor to a fine powder
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
1 oz of water
48 whole almonds, blanched
1 egg beaten for egg wash


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground almond.  Set aside.

In a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar together.  Then, add the egg, almond extract, and water; beating after each addition until incorporated.

Add the dry mixture and mix until combined.


Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out 1 inch balls (roll into smooth balls, if preferred), and press whole almonds onto the top of the balls.  Refrigerate each cookie sheet for 15 minutes.

Brush each cookie with egg wash.  Bake for 18-20 minutes.  Cool on wire racks.  Store in an airtight container.