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These Chinese almond cookies are a traditional cookie said to bring good fortune in the New Year. They’re also fragrant and buttery, with the most irresistible almond flavor!

Chinese almond cookies stacked on plate
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Chinese New Year is coming up, so I thought I’d share a traditional Chinese cookie with you. These little almond cookies symbolize coins, so they’re often enjoyed during the New Year to bring good fortune. But they’re eaten year-round too!

Growing up, we would have these almond cookies when they were gifted to us or whenever my parents just happened to buy them at the grocery store. They have a distinct almond flavor and a satisfying crunch, which made them one of my favorite Asian snacks as a child. 

If you’ve never had these cookies before, they remind me of shortbread. They’re more crunchy and less crumbly than shortbread cookies, though, and of course, they have loads of almond flavor because they’re made with almond extract, flour, and sliced almonds. (All of these almond ingredients also make these cookies smell amazing!)

This Chinese New Year, I’m planning on making a batch of these cookies, along with some of my other traditional Chinese favorites like scallion pancakes [葱油饼] and mantou 饅頭 [Chinese steamed buns].

Overhead view of almond cookies on wire rack

What You’ll Need

As you can see from the ingredient list below, almonds are the star of the show here, but butter is definitely a supporting player! It makes these almond cookies rich and, well, buttery!

  • Almond flour – Be sure to buy almond flour, not almond meal. Almond meal is not as finely ground.
  • Unsalted butter
  • Kosher salt
  • Eggs
  • Almond extract – Almond extract is magic. Don’t skip it and don’t substitute it with vanilla! It’s key to the flavor in these almond cookies.
  • All-purpose flour
  • Granulated sugar
  • Baking soda
  • Sliced almonds
Chinese almond cookies on metal cooling rack

How to Make Chinese Almond Cookies

This recipe doesn’t require all that much active time, but you will need to include 2 hours of inactive time for the dough to chill.

Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, sugar, and baking soda in a medium bowl.

Make the dough. Combine the almond flour, butter, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low for 3 minutes, then beat in one of the eggs and the almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined.

Chill the dough. Turn the dough out onto plastic wrap and pat it into a disc. Wrap well and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Prepare. Preheat your oven to 325ºF and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Beat the reserved egg in a small bowl.

Form the cookies. Take pieces of dough and roll them into one-inch wide balls. Place these balls on the prepared baking sheet and gently press them down with your palm to flatten them into coin shapes. Brush the tops with egg wash, then press a sliced almond into the center.

Bake. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the almond cookies are golden. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then finish cooling on wire racks before storing or serving.

Almond cookies arranged on wire rack

Tips for Success

Here are some tips and tricks for making Chinese almond cookies.

  • Getting a head start. You can keep the dough in the fridge for a day or two before you bake these cookies. The dough can also be frozen for up to 2 months.
  • Don’t make a lot of tweaks. Normally, I encourage you to change things up to your tastes, but this is a recipe that depends on these specific ingredients. If you swap the almonds for pecans or the almond extract for vanilla, it’s not going to taste like almond cookies!
  • About the almonds. You can use either blanched almonds, which have the skin removed before slicing, or natural sliced almonds, which still have the skin on. I don’t recommend using whole almonds because they kind of dominate and distract, rather than complementing the other ingredients.

How to Store Chinese Almond Cookies

Store these cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Can This Recipe Be Frozen?

Yes, you can place almond cookies in a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months. Let them thaw at room temperature before you eat them.

Closeup of almond cookies on wire rack
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4.70 from 99 votes

Chinese Almond Cookies

These traditional Chinese Almond Cookies symbolize coins and will give you good fortune in the new year!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 17 minutes
Chill time: 2 hours
Total Time: 27 minutes
Servings: 3 dozen

Ingredients 

  • 1 ⅓ cup (149 g) almond flour, lightly packed
  • 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
  • Pinch of kosher salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 ¾ cup (219 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (200 g) + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • Sliced almonds

Instructions 

  • Place the almond flour, butter, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat on low speed for 3 minutes. The mixture will be coarse and chunky looking.
  • Add one of the eggs, reserving one for later, and the almond extract. Beat together until just incorporated.
  • Whisk together flour, sugar, and baking soda in a medium bowl and add to the stand mixer. Mix until just combined.
  • Pour mixture out onto saran wrap and form into a disc. Wrap it up and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 325 °F (163 °C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Beat the egg you saved in a small bowl and have a pastry brush ready.
  • Take pieces of dough and roll them into balls, about 1 inch wide. Place on the prepared baking sheet and gently press them down with your palms to flatten into coin shapes.
  • Take your pastry brush and brush the tops of the cookies generously with the egg wash then place a sliced almond on top, pressing gently to keep it in place.
  • Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the cookies start to turn a dark golden color on top.
  • Remove and let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

Nutrition

Serving: 2cookies, Calories: 198kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 12g, Sugar: 12g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.

The default measuring system for this website is US Customary. Unit conversions are provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. While we strive to provide accurate unit conversions, please be aware that there may be some discrepancies.

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139 Comments

  1. I can’t wait to try this recipe! I have a question. What would happen if instead of shaping the dough into a disc and chilling the making balls of dough to flatten, the dough was rolled into a log then chilled, and the cookies cut from the log, already in a flat circular shape? Just wondering.

    1. It should be ok to do that! I would form the log with a piece of plastic wrap so it doesn’t stick to your hands!

  2. These were great! I accidentally added a whole egg even though I’d halved the recipe, and they still turned out perfectly.

  3. I’m back again, 2 years later with a other question. What are the instructions for preparing frozen dough for baking? I have never frozen dough before. Circumstances required me to do so this year. I’m baking the cookies in 4 days. Doh-je.

    1. hi Debbie! to freeze this, i would put the formed cookies on a baking sheet, cover, then freeze. once they’re frozen, put them into a freezer-safe bag or container. when you’re ready to bake, put the dough on a baking sheet and bake at the required temperature. you may need 1-2 minutes longer since they’re frozen, but just keep an eye on them :)

    1. no, you can’t use all almond flour in this recipe. almond flour has different binding abilities and it takes up a lot more moisture. if you replaced the entire recipe with almond flour then you’ll end up with an extremely dry cookie (it likely won’t even come together). if you want to make this GF, use GF all-purpose flour.

    1. i’m sorry to hear that, Debra. doubling baking recipes can sometimes be really finicky, especially with the measuring of flour and even moreso with almond flour since it absorbs so much more moisture. hopefully you’ll be able to have more success with this next time!

  4. Delicious! Not a sweet tooth person so only went with 3/4 sugar and these were great. Will make again. Made 25 cookies, but I guess that depends on how big you make your cookies. Tried both the nall-rolling method and log-slicing method that another commenter suggested. Success with both.

  5. First time making almond cookies for Chinese New Year and they turned out SO delicious. Didn’t alter anything (as per your instructions) and they were perfect. Will save this recipe for the future!

  6. Hope These Come Out Well, Plan On Giving Them To Our Friends
    For Chinese New Year, Making
    Them For The First Time.

  7. I’m going to half this recipe. For the one egg instead of two, should I beat the one egg and use only half of it in the dough, and half for brushing the cookies?

    1. yes! if you have a kitchen scale, weigh how much 1 beaten egg is then divide it in half so it’s accurate for half in the dough and half for brushing.