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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 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].
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
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.
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.
Chinese Almond Cookies
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.
Thank you so much for this recipe!
These cookies are delicious, the dough was very easy to work with.
I reduced the amount of sugar a bit (only added 2/3 of a cup) and the cookies came out perfect for my taste. I wish I could attach a photo, they look great too.
Can you use gluten free flour instead of regular flour in this recipe?
i think it should work, but i haven’t experimented with GF flour before for this!
I am a baker from way back. Instead of using disk and spoon, then smashing the dough, simply make two logs about 2 inches in diameter roll up in Saran. After chilling just slice and bake as directed. You will get a more professional and consistent looking cookie in size and shape. Mine are chilling, can’t wait to bake! Thank you!
These almond cookies are wonderful! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
When you say to flatten the dough into coin shapes, how much are we to flatten them? How thick should the disc be? Thank you! Excited to try this recipe.
i would say press them down halfway…so if you’re rolling the dough into a circle shape, press it down with your palm halfway..lol this is hard to explain..1/4″ thick would be about right, i believe
These are SO yummy. Came out perfect and the texture of the cookie is so nice. I will be making these again. Thank you Julie!
Does it have to be unsalted butter? Can I use regular salted butter and skip the Kosher salt? Thanks for your help! I will be making them regardless . . . love almonds!
yup, that works!
can you make these cookies with less sugar?
i have not tried it that way and have been making it as the recipe states for years so i don’t really have any recommendations on cutting the sugar – for what it’s worth, it’s not terribly sweet.
Would I be able to use just a handheld mixer ( I don’t own a standing mixer)? Also what’s a paddle attachment? I don’t think I have that kind of attachment…
you can definitely use a handheld mixer! you just might have to use a wooden spoon/spatula towards the end if the dough gets too thick. the paddle attachment is on the stand mixer so if you don’t have one, no worries on that :)
I had some dough in the freezer and also pineapple filling around mid autumn festival. I got lazy and curious if it would go together. The combo goes together beautifully and I got lots of compliments from my mom so that’s a good validation! 😊 I keep it in a purest container and have it sit on the counter and it was soft for days. I would be interested to hear from anyone who’s going to try this.