Recipe : Almond cookies for Chinese New Year

I have wanted to try making almond cookies for a long time and finally made it. I bought some almonds yesterday and roasted them in the oven for about 20 minutes at 180 deg. celcius. To make sure that your almonds are crunchy and fragrant, try them as you roast. You may get sore-throat though. Cool and then grind the almonds with a food processor till they are fine. If you like your cookie to melt in the mouth, grind it till really powdery fine.

I know I should blanch it in hot water and rub off the brown skin but I was too lazy. 😛

Here’s the quantity I used. I am writing this down just in case I forgot the measurements I used. So, this is just a rough and hastily written post.

RECIPE : Almond cookies

400 grams almonds – roast and grind till fine and powdery

400 grams wheat flour

350 grams castor sugar

pinch of salt

100 grams cold butter, cut into cubes

About 1 cup corn oil – You need to adjust quantity, i.e. use just enough to bind the above

1 egg white, beaten for glazing

Method :

Mix flour, sugar and pinch of salt in a big mixing bowl. Put in butter cubes and rub with fingers until they resemble bread crumbs. Put in ground almond and mix well. Pour corn oil and knead. Use the oil sparingly and just enough to bind them. Keep kneading because you want the sugar to melt. Otherwise, you will have a horrible crunch of sugar in your cookie.

Once they can be form into balls, you know you have used enough oil. Leave the mixture to stand for a while.

Just roll the mixture into tiny marble size balls. Use something to give it an indent. As you can see, I use the back of a pen, washed clean of course.

My little boy has so much fun helping me to mix the flour, rub the butter and making the indent. In fact, this little five years old boy did almost all the steps because I was busy cooking dinner. The flour flew everywhere, on his body, on the flour and table. But who cares as long as he is happy playing with it.

I only managed to get two jars of the cookies. Maybe half a jar have gone into everyone’s stomach. The cookie is really crunch and nice.

Try it, it is really easy and quick.