Chinese Almond Cookies

Reading can be inspiring. I recently finished reading The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama and I was inspired to bake Chinese Almond Cookies. These are similar to cookies you might receive at the end of a Chinese meal, perhaps with an orange that has been cleverly shaped to make it easy to eat the segments, perhaps all by itself. These days you are more likely to receive a fortune cookie, but the Almond Cookie, with a whole almond in the middle and a sort of crumbly texture and shiny top are what I remember being the end of a meal many years ago.

The book actually takes place in Japan, but the protagonist is a young Chinese man, sent to the Japanese beach house that his family has gone to for many years. He has been quite ill and so time at the tranquil beach town is seen as a way to allow him to heal. It becomes a kind of coming of age story as the young man Stephen learns from the Japanese man who cares for him and for the garden, plus he learns about himself from interacting with people in the town and up the mountain. All of this takes place in 1937 and 1938 as Japan invades China and, through a succession of successful campaigns, is headed towards Hong Kong where Stephen is from and where his mother and younger sister still live. I highly recommend this book. 

I might have cooked or baked something Japanese, but Stephen is Chinese and so my thoughts went there.

I hope you enjoy these delicious cookies. Do allow time for the dough to chill. I used the method of forming the dough into balls and placing them on a greased sheet pan to chill rather than shaping after chilling. Either way will work. I was picky and weighed each ball so that they would be similar in size (18 grams), but it isn't necessary. I didn't realize how much they would spread. Perhaps bake them in three batches instead of two? That would allow more space between them so that you end up with true circles. Mine ended up touching other cookies, sometimes in two places, which made some of them more of a triangle!  They taste wonderful either way.

The glazing with egg is an important part of the process. It secures the almond and gives the top a shiny look and helps with browning.

I also made half the recipe since I don't need four dozen cookies, but I'm including the full recipe for you.

Chinese Almond Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups almond flour, lightly packed
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• Pinch kosher salt
• 2 large eggs, divided
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Thinly sliced almonds, for decoration

1. Beat the almond flour, salt, and butter:

Place the almond flour, salt, and butter into an electric mixer with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. The mixture will become coarse and chunky looking.

2. Add one of the eggs and the almond extract:

Mix them in on low speed until just incorporated.

3. Add the flour, sugar, and baking soda:

Sift the flour, sugar, and baking soda and add to the mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined.

4. Chill the dough:

Take the dough and flatten it into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator for two hours to chill.

5. Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. Beat the remaining egg:

In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg.

7. Flatten the balls of dough onto the cookie sheet:

Take pieces of dough and roll them into balls about 3/4 inch wide. Place them on the sheet about an inch apart and then press them down slightly with your palm to make a coin shape.

8. Press the slivered almonds into place, and paint the cookies with the egg:

Press one silvered almond into the center of each cookie. Then, using a pastry brush or your finger, paint each cookie with the egg. (This will give the cookie a lacquered appearance once it bakes).

9. Bake:

Bake at 325°F for 13 to 15 minutes, until the edges just begin to tan. Cool on the sheet on a wire rack.