Almond cookies have multiple variations all over the globe. From Italy to the Far East, these delicious cookies have been made for generations. One of my favorite types is Chinese almond cookies.
These cookies have the ability to provide a subtle crunch and melt in your mouth all at the same time. They are given as gifts around the Chinese New Year as a way to bring good fortune, but you can find them all year round throughout the world.
To carry on with the almond theme, try pretty as a picture almond cookie recipe, almond crescent cookies or melt in your mouth almond shortbread cookies. They’re all fantastic and compliment any occasion.
Let’s bake up a batch!
What I Love About This Recipe
I love the simple elegance of this recipe, but my list doesn’t stop there!
- Makes a big batch
- Super simple to make
- Lovely presentation
- The melt in your mouth texture
How To Make Chinese Almond Cookies Recipe
To create these buttery little nuggets, you’ll start by sifting flour. Whisk in sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut in lard until you have a nice crumble. Once that happens, add one egg, almond extract and mix it all up.
Roll into balls (preferably about 2 inch), transfer to a cookie sheet, flatten, press an almond into the middle and brush with egg wash. Bake!
Chinese Almond Cookies Recipe Notes
The almond cookies Chinese New Year tradition dates back to somewhere around the 16th century when they were served to the Emperor during the New Year’s celebration. Since then, these humble cookies have become a symbol of good luck and prosperity for the New Year. Here are a few suggestions to make your cookies the best they can be!
Cutting in Lard: The technique called ‘cutting in’ is typically called for in pie crusts, pastries, and sometimes cookies. The goal is to mix the lard or sometimes butter with the dry ingredients. You do this by using a pastry cutter, fork, or two knives to gradually cut the lard into smaller and smaller pieces while combining it with the flour mixture.
It’s best to use chilled or frozen fat and start by cutting the big chunk of lard into several smaller cubes. Also, don’t overwork the mixture. Stop when it gets crumbly; otherwise, your cookies will be dense and chewy.
Bake Time: These cookies won’t be golden when they’re done baking. Be sure to follow recipe bake times so you don’t burn them.
Ingredient Notes
Lard: So many people shy away from using lard in their baked goods. I’m telling you, they are missing out! Lard is rendered from pork, but I promise you won’t taste it in your cookies! It gets a bad reputation for being high in fat. However, pure lard has no trans fat and is higher in ‘good’ fat than butter. Unfortunately, a lot of lard on grocery store shelves is hydrogenated to increase its shelf life. This process adds lots of nasty stuff.
When shopping for lard, read the labels and look for words like non-hydrogenated and minimally processed. These products have the highest nutritional qualities and the best baking results. Nothing else can give you the texture that lard brings to cookies and pastries.
Egg Wash: Don’t skip the egg wash just before putting the cookies in the oven. It gives them a lovely shine and crisps the outside. It is definitely worth the extra step!
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This?This will hold well for 4-5 days in a well-sealed container. According to food handling guidelines, you can keep the cookies in the freezer for up to 6- 12 months.
- Can You Freeze This? When I freeze this almond cookie recipe, I wait for them to cool and then place what I want to freeze in a gallon Ziploc freezer bag. You can freeze the unbaked dough in a freezer-safe bag as well. Baked cookies will last 3-4 weeks in the fridge, while dough can hang in the freezer for around 3 months.
- Make Ahead Tips: The best way to make these cookies ahead of time is to freeze them. You can also make the dough a day or two ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for freshly baked cookies!
Chinese Almond Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup lard
- 3 large eggs, divided
- 2 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
- 24 almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl sift together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
- Cut in the lard, with 2 knives or a pastry blender, until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Add 2 egg and almond extract and combine well.
- Roll dough into 2-inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Flatten cookies then press an almond in the center.
- Beat the remaining egg and 2 Tablespoons water in a small bowl. Brush over the tops of cookies.
- Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes, or until the dough in the center of the cookies no longer looks wet. Cookies will not brown.
- Remove to a wire baking rack and cool.
Fans Also Made:
Nutrition
Conclusion
I have no doubt this Chinese Almond Cookies recipe will be a hit wherever you serve it. They look lovely with their simple, glossy outside and taste divine with their almond flavor and melt in your mouth texture. I know you’re going to love them! I look forward to hearing about how they work for you.
Be sure to leave me a comment!
Can I use almond liqueur in recipe
Of course, Yolanda!
I have been looking for a recipe like this for many years. It resembles the one I had back in 1945. They were dark in color. I was wondering if I substitute regular sugar with brown sugar it would turn out like the ones I had back in 1945?
Hi, Elaine. Yes, you can substitute it with brown sugar but I’m not sure what the 1945 version looks like. <3
The taste was spot on to what I was looking for. The texture wasn’t, but only because I thought they were going to be crispy throughout the cookie, and they weren’t. Next time I’ll try smaller balls and flatten them more to see if that works. Thanks for the recipe!
I made these LONG ago when I studied Chinese cooking (we’re talking 45 years ago, I loved them then and I have since lost that recipe. This one seemed authentic, and it is. After my first batch there are problems though. It makes WAY more than 24 one-inch-sized cookies. I got literally double that and had a few left over even after I increased the rolled ball size to about 1.5 inches to 2 inches. The picture of the ball in the article looks to be 2″ in size at least. I think you meant to say 2-inch balls? Please adjust this. It’s just plain wrong and you don’t want people to panic that they did something wrong. The cookies came out great though. I will add more almond extract next time and I think I’ll try the toasted sesame oil truck one of your other readers suggested. Sounds yummy.
Hey Richard, thanks so much for your input! You’re right about the size that I rolled these and the overall yield. I’ve updated the recipe!
After seeing the photos and recipe ingredients, I think I may finally have found the holy grail recipe I’ve been searching for, to replicate traditional Chinese restaurant almond cookies. Usually, I prefer to use leaf lard for cooking/baking, but was wondering if it’s less “porky,” more delicate flavor would be wrong for these cookies. Would appreciate your advice, as I want to make these ASAP!
Thank you
Hello! Wow, thank you so much! I’m glad you found this recipe 🙂
I finally made this recipe, & the cookies turned out excellent! For 60yrs. I’ve been hunting for a certain recipe for Chinese almond cookies that we got with our take-out orders in Chicago. They were sooo good… but greasy. So, when I saw the lard in this recipe, I knew I would try it. The original cookies were much darker & tasted more Chinese. I may be out in left field, but I’m going to make them again & substitute 1Tbs. of dark sesame oil for 1Tbs. of lard. This just may add the missing flavor! Do remember that this is just my experiment. The original recipe turned out wonderful! Thank you so much for posting this recipe.
So happy you enjoyed them, Sharon!
Did you ever try your idea of substituting 1 tablespoon of the lard for an equal amount of toasted sesame oil? If so, did it give you the deeper flavor you were looking for?
Thank you
I saw your comment above that the correct recipe is add two eggs. The ‘add one egg’ is in your running commentary if you want to amend to avoid confusion? I copied/pasted below:
HOW TO MAKE CHINESE ALMOND COOKIES RECIPE
To create these buttery little nuggets, you’ll start by sifting flour. Whisk in sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut in lard until you have a nice crumble. Once that happens, add one egg, almond extract and mix it all up.
Great recipe, by the way!
Hi, Lynette. Thank you!
It may look confusing but:
Step 3: add 2 eggs
Step 5: Add the remaining egg and mix with water to brush on top of the cookies.
Hello Kathleen,
Can you confirm whether you mix in one or two eggs into the flour mixture ? I read 1 egg in the instructions however in the recipe it says to use 2 eggs.
Thanks
Hi Sandy. Yes, in step 3, you add 2 eggs. I’m not sure where you are reading 1 egg. I hope this helps!
Will Crisco work in this recipe instead of lard?
Hi, Marsha. I haven’t tried that but you can since Crisco is a shortening. You can substitute shortening for lard. 1 cup of lard is equivalent to 1 cup of shortening…from what I read you need to add 2 extra tablespoons too. You can also substitute butter. 1 cup of lard = 1 1/4 cup butter. The texture of the cookies may differ. I hope this helps!
I don’t use Lard and would love to try this recipe. Can it be made with Real Butter/ Margerine/ or oil?
Hi, Roberta! I’m glad you wanna try these cookies! I haven’t tried substituting lard for this recipe.
But here are some substitutes for lard (by The Spruce Eats) (the texture and the taste of the cookies may differ depending on the substitute)
1 cup lard = 1 1/4 cup of butter
1 cup lard = 1 cup vegetable shortening + 2 extra tablespoons
1 cup lard = 1 cup coconut oil
I hope this helps and let us know how it turns out 🙂