ALMOND COOKIES

    Almond Cookies or Almond Biscuits - are an utter treat with a light, crumbly & melt-in-mouth texture. This is an easy to make cookie recipe with simple ingredients. And above all, it has a wonderful nutty aroma, which comes from the Almond Meal or roasted & powdered Almonds. These are absolute festive favourites often served during Chinese New Year, and also best suits to be served as a Tea Time Snack.

    When it comes to baking cookies, I have seen that festivities are so synonymous to Cookies in Malaysia. They have their special Cookies for each occasion. And when it comes to Chinese New Year, Pineapple Tarts(Nastar Gulung) tops the list along with Cashew Cookies, Almond Cookies, Peanut Cookies, Butter Cookies, and there is a long list to follow. So, this is one special Cookie for Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year.

    Let's pop into a few important factors before baking Almond Cookies. These doubts were the ones which popped into my mind when I wanted to bake these Chinese Almond Cookies. The recipe called for Almond Flour. What came to my mind was Almond Meal or Almond Flour. Then searching through the web and fixing up my mind to what may suit my instinct.

Almond Flour /Almond Meal

    Suit yourself with any of the above. Can use both because almond flour/almond meal/almond powder. All the same, the above is made out of grounded almonds. 

Almond Flour/Almond Powder is sold with the finest grind of blanched almond.

Almond Meal is slightly coarser as the skin is also blended. 

I feel the Almond Meal brings out the best flavours for this recipe. Traditional Chinese Almond Cookies have those crumbs of Almonds in the cookies as you chew on them.

Homemade Almond Flour

    The next issue which popped up as - I went shopping for Almond Flour, which I thought was a bit expensive for me.  

    So next step went with the idea of making Almond Flour at home, which suited my convenience & purse. So my personal preference was homemade Almond Flour for the recipe. Can grind the Almonds with skin or blanch them, roast it briefly until dry and then grind it into Almond Flour. Just blend the almonds finely/coarsely. Do not blend them for too long, which would bring out the essential oils from the Almonds making it oily.

Oil

    One main point, what oil to use? 

    Any standard oil suits well for this recipe preferably which has no overwhelming flavour/smell. I have used Sunflower Oil, as it is what I had. You can get easy with any type of Vegetable Oil, Coconut Oil, Canola Oil, etc. But traditional Chinese Almond Cookies use Peanut Oil.

Decorating the Almond Cookie 

    Though a personal choice,

    You can use one whole almond to top each cookie. Or you can cut each whole almond into two halves and top each cookie with a half almond. Can decorate the Cookies with Slivered Almonds too, which is my personal favourite. If you are short on time, you can leave the cookies plain.

Baking Time

    Adjust the baking time to suit your oven settings. I baked it for about 15 minutes. Do not bake for more than 15-18 minutes. The cookies tend to set while cooling down. The more the baking time the Almond Cookie can get hard & chewy.

Storing Suggestion

    Cool the cookies in the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Gently remove the cookies and cool on wire rack. Once the cookies are completely cool, store in airtight containers. Store them in a cool, dry & moist free area, away from the sunlight. If stored properly, lasts up to 4-6 weeks. Serves good as a snack or enjoy the cookies with a good cup of Coffee/Tea.

    Serve these cookies for the upcoming Chinese New Year with a fine cup of quality Chinese Tea.

恭喜發財 

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!

Wishing you a prosperous New Year!!!

 Recipe Type - Cookies, Snacks 

 Difficulty - Easy 

 Yields - 12 - 15 Cookies

 Author - SM

 Preparation Time - 10 -15 Minutes

 Baking Time - 12- 15 Minutes for 1 Batch

HOW TO COOK CHINESE ALMOND COOKIES

ALMOND COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:

For Almond Cookies:

All-purpose Flour - 130 Gms

Almond Flour- 90 Gms

Icing Sugar - 80 Gms

Salt - 1/4 Tspn 

Unsalted Butter - 30 Gms

Vegetable Oil - 45 Gms

Milk - 1 Tspn(Optional)

For Glazing:

Egg Yolk – of an Egg

Water – Few Tspns

For Toppings:

Slivered Almonds - 50 Gms(toasted)

METHOD:

• Preheat the oven at 180° Celsius for about 10 minutes.
• Let the Butter be at room temperature.
• Grind the rest of the Almonds into a fine powder and keep it aside. 
• Combine All-purpose Flour, Icing Sugar, Salt and sift it once.
• Add Almond Powder to the sifted flour mixture and mix well.
• In a separate bowl, stir in the softened Butter and Oil.
• Soften it with a wooden/rubber spatula until smooth and well combined.
• Add the Flour Mixture to the Butter-Oil mix.
• Gently mix it to form a soft dough.
• If you feel the Cookie dough to be crumbly/dry, add about 1 tsp of Milk to it & mix it well.
• Line up a Baking tray with baking sheet/parchment paper.
• Scoop 1 Tspn of Almond Cookie Dough and shape it into a ball. 
• Slightly flatten the cookies and arrange them 2cm apart on the tray.
• Cookies will spread a little during baking.
• Meanwhile, beat the Egg Yolk with a few teaspoons of water.
• Brush the top of the Almond Cookies with the egg glaze.
• Place a few slivered almonds on top of every cookie and brush with egg glaze once again.
• Bake at 180° Celsius for 15 minutes.
• Allow Almond Cookies to cool completely.
• Store it in an airtight container.

NOTES:

• Can prepare the same cookies by substituting Almonds with Cashew nuts.
• I have used powdered Almonds( with skin) in this recipe.
• If you need to use Almonds without skin, then blanch them in hot water for about 20-30 minutes, remove the skin and allow the Almonds to dry on a clean kitchen towel.
• Then toast the Almonds until they emit a wonderful nutty aroma and turns dry.
• Do not to burn the Almonds or leave it wet.
• The Cookie dough should be soft and not crumbly.
• Can add a few teaspoons of Milk, if the dough is crumbly. But it optional. 
• Can shape the Almond Cookies into Balls or Cube-shaped or flatten it up or shape it into your preferred design.
• Baking time depends on the type of oven used. Adjust accordingly. 
• Do not bake for a long time. The cookie may turn hard & chewy.