These Almond Cookies are one of the easiest cookie recipe I’ve tried. Simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl, make the dough into small balls, apply some egg wash, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. The crumbly salty and sweet flavor of almond cookies are exceptionally addicting for me so I hope you’ll enjoy them as well.
These almond cookies are traditional Chinese cookies that are enjoyed during festivities. Well, I wish I can go on to talk about the Lunar New Year celebration and special food people eat during this holiday but I am actually not too familiar with the custom as much as I should.
Since I am married to a Chinese (Taiwanese) American husband, I started to celebrate this day with friends and his family. Unlike most of Asian countries, Lunar New Year is a regular day in the Unites States so instead of cooking up a feast, we typically go out to eat with friends and family.
During blog hopping for the past month, these almond cookies kept appearing on my Chinese friends‘ food blogs and I just had to give them a try.
The almond cookies were so easy to make and turned out great, the texture and flavor reminded me of bakeries in Chinatown. I was really happy when my son gave me a thumbs up sign after eating them.
The only thing I would change for the next time is to grind the almond meal with a food processor first or buy another brand. My almond meal was from Trader Joe’s (I had some leftover from my Black Sesame Cookies) and this brand’s almond meal is rather coarse compared to other brands and it has skin in it; therefore you still see almond’s bits and pieces in my cookies and they are darker. If yours are from Trader Joe’s, grinding with food processors helps to have finer texture, just like how I did for the Black Sesame Cookies recipe.
As an experiment, I made the dough into two sizes and I also added an almond piece on some of the cookies to see which one we like. My children prefer tiny cute size balls and adults prefer the bigger size cookies with an almond piece on top. The details are totally up to your preference.
Have these cookies with a nice cup of coffee or tea. Your regular afternoon or Lunar New Year celebration will be a little more fun and merrier.
Ingredients:
- 120 grams (1 cup) almond meal/flour (ground almond)
- 180 grams (1 1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
- 120 grams (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp.) granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 150 ml vegetable oil
- 1 beaten egg yolk
- Roasted unsalted almonds (optional)
Instructions:
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 355 degrees F (180C).
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a stand mixer. With your mixer on low medium speed (with the beater attachment), mix all together.
- Add oil and mix until a cohesive dough forms.
- The dough should be just enough to hold its shape when you try to roll into a ball. If they look more like crumbs, add a little bit more oil (10-15 ml) at a time.
- Weigh the dough to make 0.4 oz/10 g (1 inch cookies) OR 0.7 oz/20 g (1 1/2 inch cookies) rounded portion and roll it into a ball with your palms. Place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and repeat until all the dough is used up. You can make a 10 gram ball using a tsp. measuring spoon.
- (OPTIONAL) If you want to put a piece of almond on the cookie, hold the cookie ball on your palm and gently press the almond into the dough.
- Using a pastry brush, lightly glaze the top of the cookie balls with the beaten egg yolk.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cookies become slightly golden. Let them cool on a wire rack and store in an air tight container.
Notes
Slightly adapted from Through The Kitchen Door, originally from My Secret Recipe Series: New Year Cookies by Alan Ooi.
新年快乐!
Happy Lunar New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai! I hope you are having a wonderful holiday with family and friends.
Hi, I'm Nami. Thanks for stopping by Just One Cookbook. You can read little bit more about me 
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Hi Nami,
Oh my….. I am glad to see you made this! Thank you trying out this recipe as this is my favourite cookies for the CNY. I hope those who have tried this enjoyed it as much as I do. Thank you for the link back. GONG XI FA CAI to you and to your family!
Thanks these look delicious. I’m going to try making them with gluten free flour and minus the egg-yolk glaze. My partner has allergies.
Will let you know how they turn out.
Hello Fiona! I hope you and your partner will enjoy this recipe.
Thank you for writing!
I love a cookie that bakes in 15 minutes! Thank you so much for your kind and generous comments on my blog – it’s always such a joy to hear from you and I certainly hope I don’t put you off parenting! xx
Happy Chinese New Year, Nami-san.
Thank you for sharing the almond cookie recipe. Your photos of the sweets are almost identical to the ones I’ve enjoyed from Chinese restaurants in Yokohama and Tokyo. So glad I can now finally reproduce the lovely cookies thanks to you =)
Wow wow I am so excited to receive your entry to my event ! Ya, this cookie is easy to make but yet very additive . This year I made peanut cookies instead…thanks again ..
love anything with almonds in. Those cookies look really good, Nami.
Happy Lunar New Year! These cookies look like an amazing treat.
Cute cookies! They must taste wonderful.
Cheers,
Rosa
This looks better than the storebought ones. Happy new year!
These do remind me of your black sesame cookies (which were a hit here!). And they do look so easy. I bet they are terrific. I can imagine the sweetness of the almond being very addicting. I think there are few things more satisfying than getting that thumbs up sign from your kids too. That always makes me feel great. I bet these would get a thumbs up here too.
What a simple recipe for such a delicious treat! The taste of almond cookies is definitely a memorable and nostalgic one for me, so thanks for sharing the recipe. Happy Lunar New Year to you and your family~~
Thank you Kimmi! We really enjoyed these and I’m going to make them again soon.
Happy Lunar New Year to you and your family!
Nami, these look so scrumptious! And your pictures are stunning!
I remember making these in my International Cuisine lab last quarter – they were so tasty! Yours definitely turned out way better than mine, though =)
Oh my goodness, these are perfect for the Chinese New Year! Your recipe is so easy and I can just imagine how delish the almond flavors will be. Thanks for sharing, Nami! I will head on to TJ’s to get the almond meal. Must bake this soon. Good wishes to you and your family for the Lunar New Year
Great looking cookies! And so easy. And they look awfully tasty. Good photos, too. This is just an all around good post! Happy Lunar New Year! And thanks for this.
I love This!
Happy Chinese New Year! These Almond cookies are so delicious! I always thought these treats were a little harder to make. I appreciate for the easy recipe. Great post! Thanks for sharing!
I have only had these cookies out of a box so I can’t imagine how delicious they are fresh. They look so good!
The only almond cookies I’m familiar with are more of a shortbread version with butter, flour and ground almonds and shaped into little crescents but this does seem quite easy to put together and the almond half on top makes it look very pretty.
Gong Hay Fa Choy … back.
Hi Nami,
恭喜發財! These almond cookies look delicious. Can you tell me if the texture of the cookies are crunchy? My family likes crunchy cookies.
Oh my word! Nami, these cookies look yummy
These look yummy! Thanks for posting, Nami ! Where can I find almond meal? I don’t have a Traders Joe close where I live. & what kind of almonds do you use for decorating the cookies? Thanks!!
Hi Grace! You can find it at a regular grocery store. My closest store carries Bob’s Red Mill Almond Meal/Flour. Hope you can find something like this brand.
http://www.bobsredmill.com/almond-meal-flour.html
For almonds, I used roasted unsalted almonds. I’ll update in my recipe. Thank you for asking!
I love almond treats, what adorable cookies!
I used to eat these all the time when I was little. As I grew older, my parents didn’t buy them anymore. Haha.
I’ve been seeing these a lot lately as well and they all look delicious! With a full cup of almond meal, I bet these DO have a huge almond flavor!! Thanks for letting us know that Traders’ Joe has the almond flourl. I’ve been wanted to make these because I figured they would be fabulous with afternoon tea. You just gave me the arm twist I needed. Thanks! Lovely pics BTW! But then you always have lovely pictures.
Mmh, the almond cookies look so inviting!
It’s fantastic that they are so easy to prepare as well, great recipe.
Gong Hei Fatt Choi, Nami!! They look beautiful with the golden eggwash! I also made some almond cookies for CNY this year – I love the nuttiness! May your family be blessed with health, happiness and success in the year to come!
Happy Chinese new year to you and your family, Nami. I love the crumbly texture of these sort of cookies. I also like the hint of salt. These are so simple yet so festive.
I love the paste addition to these delicious cookies my friend
It makes them that much more addictive!
Cheers
CCU
I’ll just substitute in banana for the egg, and I’ll have one vegan almond cookie. Thanks for the recipe!
gorgeous photos! these sound wonderful, perfect with a cup of hot tea!
I remember I tried this somewhere before and I liked it. Thanks for reminding me and a recipe to use
Happy Chinese New Year Nami to you and your family
Wishing you a very healthy and happy year!!!
Oohhh these almond cookies look amazing and I’m very surprised at how easy it is to make them
really need to try making them soon!
Delicious cookies… I like almond a lot and these look prettyt good!
Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Brilliant idea, Nami! As you know, I have a big passion for simple and easy sweets and I know this doesn’t mean compromising with taste. I wish I could have a cup of coffee with a couple of these… I will content myself with my prunes in chocolate (I have made a big batch yesterday), but after your beautiful photos I desperately need a sweet fix and coffee too! Maybe I should consider celebrating the Chinese New Year next year too
Any excuse to eat delicious food it good.
Such pretty cookies! Love those almonds on top. Beautiful!
how beautiful, looks like a little gold plates on top of the cookies. Looks wonderful, and I know I would be addicted because I love almond taste especially when in cookies.
Happy Lunar New Year & I wish you and your family fantastic year!
wow- these look great!
Hi Nami, I love these cookies too but do not have the time to make them this year. I think I will like the bigger ones with almond nut on the top….looks delicious! Hope you get to enjoy a nice CNY with your family and friends as well:)
Your version looks so yummy, Nami! I was comparing the recipes and they are pretty similar. The methods the same but the proportions are a little different.Will definitely try your version soon to see what the difference is!
I love almond cookies! Taste for the tip on grinding the flour; I’ve had the same thing happen to me before where it was just a bit too coarse.
These cookies are so lovely and look very easy to make for Valentine’s Day! Thank you for sharing your recipe, Nami!
Such perfect little cookies, I love using almonds in baking!
I would love these! I don’t get to bake much with nuts because Gabbi is allergic to them. Maybe I’ll sneak a few of these in, they look good!
This is my favorite CNY cookie, no kidding! They are very similar to those melt-in-your-mouth sugee cookies – also a popular CNY snack!
Happy Chinese New Year to you and your family!
I use to have an “amaretto di Sassello” (wich is a soft almond cookie in this case, not a shot of liqueur…) every day after lunch with a cup of expresso. I love it! Now I’ll try your recipe too.
Happy Lunar new year to you and your family Nami!
Thank you Serena! Happy Lunar New Year to you and your family too! Oh I bet your Amaretto di Sassello was delicious with a cup of good espresso… hmm nice! I hope you will like this recipe as much as my family did!
Oh my! I miss having this on New Year. We usually have pineapple cookies/ tart and layered cake. But, these cookies look so delicious! Love your pictures so much.
I made these last night for my little brothers, to put in their lunch-boxes today. They’re still at school, so I don’t know what they think of them yet
I had one this morning and it was so tasty! But is the sugar supposed to be crunchy in these cookies? If not, I might try using a finer grain of sugar (the one I used was really coarse white sugar).
Hi Noora! Wow you are so fast!
I didn’t expect my children would enjoy these but they surprised me. They ate quite a bit but I finished most of them while they were in school… 
Sugar shouldn’t be crunchy. It’s more like sand texture (fine texture). I’m afraid your sugar was a bit coarse one (I have that kind too). Thank you so much for your feedback!
How adorable!
These cookies look so cute and easy to make… A loves almond so I am totally going to make these.
LOVELY PHOTOS Nami. Absolutely loved the sunny bright light in all the frames. Happy CNY to you and your family
these are lovely to snack on, what a great way to ring in the year of the Snake!
may this be an auspicious year for you and yours!
Yesterday I bought the gluten free almond cookies from Galloway, They are delicious! After reading your recipe I am thinking to try this at home.
Oh By the way, Happy Chinese New Year to you and Your family!
These look so great. And your photos are so lovely, as usual. I appreciate that you can put these together quickly.
Almond cookies are one of the best cookies. Not too sweet yet flavorful. Love your composition on these photos, Nami. Look like very professionally shot – beautiful.
I like these cookies made with vegetable oil. They are so cute. I love very much your desserts, they are very creative, you are really good baker. Lovely-)))
Nami – they look so tasty and love it when it’s an easy recipe and as good! Interesting you note about almond meal/flour from Trader Joe’s. As I don’t live in the USA, I didn’t realise it was that course! For making macarons, it’s important…
I love Chinese New Year and all the goodies I see around that time. I have tried that T.J.’s almond meal, but prefer Bob’s Red Mill, it’s much finer and no skin in it. I love almond cookies, I don’t need a holiday to eat them either, he he. Hope all is well with you.
-Gina-
Love that large piece of almond sitting on top of the cookie!
Nami, these cookies are right up my alley! I’ve been obsessed with almond flour lately, and I know I’ll just HAVE to try these cookies!
They look so good Nami. You are getting better and better in baking! I think you have a great baker in you waiting to come out, just like how good you are in cooking. Love these cookies!
I love almond cookies! The texture of these looks different than recipes I’ve seen that call for almond paste. It must be the almond flour that does it. Looks wonderful!
If the lunar New Year brings these little treats, then I’m definitely adopting it, Nami. These are gorgeous!
I’ve only had sweet versions of almond cookies — generally a “sugar cookie” flavored with almond extract — almost too sweet. The way you described these as crumbly, salty, & sweet would make them addictive for me, too, Nami!
Happy New Year(s)!
Nami your cookies are wonderful, of course I will prefer the bigger cookies with the almond on top, you can believe how much I love almonds.
I would love to nibble on a couple of these with my morning cup of coffee!
Happy Chinese New Year Nami. I am also a fan of quick sweets that taste wonderful (who isn’t) and these fit the bill. Way better then the dry cookies you get after a meal in my city’s Chinatown!
Lately almonds became one of my favorite ingredients to use either in sweet or salty meals. These cookies looks great, I am sure they taste as good as they look.
I’m late in all my greetings, so I am just going to pile everything on you today! Happy (belated) Chinese New Year and also Happy Valentine’s Day!
You know me, I like simple and fast! These almond cookies are superb! They remind me of the ones I can get at dimsum places! Of course, everything trumps homemade, so I am sure your version is double delicious! That’s why, I am double happy
Have a wonderful and romantic day…!
Delicious cookies, Nami!
I’m so glad you’re baking way more in this 2013!
Have a great week-end!
I am a true fan of Almond Cookies and finding the right recipe at times can be a true pain. These look yummy and very easy to make. Thanks for the recipe, Nami.
These are gorgeous little treats! So wonderful and perfect with a cup of hot tea! Beautiful clicks!
These look super addictive! I absolutely love almond meal in baking these days
I just finished my last two cookies from my first batch~! These cookies were soooo good! I will definitely be making them again very soon. They were a hit with my whole family. The only issue I ran into was their crumbly texture as they had to be very carefully handled and the moment they hit my lips they fell apart. I didn’t mind that so much when they crumbled into my mouth, but into my napkin almost forced me to lick my napkin when no one was looking….That’s how good they are!
I made my own almond meal with my mini food processor, I also used the almonds on top and brushed them with the egg yolk. Their presentation was absolutely wonderful. Thank you for the great recipe!
Hi Carol! So happy to hear you enjoyed these cookies. It looks like the texture is supposed to be crumbly. Me too, when I transfer these cookies in and out of the jar, I had to be careful so they won’t lose some cookie pieces.
When I eat them, I even ate the bigger piece in one bite too so I won’t drop cookie crumbs. xD
Thank you so much for your feedback. I’m really glad you enjoyed them as much as we did!
Almond cookies are so reminiscent of CNY! Glad you made this decadent cookies
Happy New Year to you and your family, Nami! I love baked goods made with almond meal so I’ll have to try these. Despite being Chinese-American, I’ve never had these.
I enjoy simple desserts and your almond cookie sounds like the perfect ending to a meal or with a cup of tea.
Wow,
I would love some of these with a cup of hot “chai”. Simply wonderful!
Hi Nami! I like the more rustic look that the almond meal with the skins gives your cookies. I’ve bought the skinless almond meal (finely ground almond meal flour from Bob’s Red Mill) for French style macarons -might be good to use in your cookie recipe!? I like the way your cookies look but I have some of the finely ground almond meal flour to use up, I love almond cookies, will have to give your recipe a try!
After making your coconut macaroons (amazing) I came to this recipe to use up the egg white. The batter is sooooo good that it’s almost a shame to bake them. In the oven now and I can’t imagine these lasting for very long. I am really loving all of the recipes that I have tried from your blog. Thank you again for your generosity!
Hi Brenda! I’m so happy to hear you liked the coconut macaroons (I made pineapple cakes and now got 3 egg whites, so coconut macaroons I guess?
).
Did you like these Chinese cookies? It’s salty and little sweet. Kind of unique flavor. I’m now used to more Chinese food/dessert so I enjoy the taste, but it’s a bit different from Western style cookies I suppose.
Thank you so much for your feedback and I am happy to hear you like my recipes. Your kind comment made my day. Thank you!
I remember these cookies growing up. I should probably start learning how to make them myself!
Hey, just wanted to thank you for this recipe! I just got done with baking and cookies are super yummy! I like that the recipe was so easy to read and follow and that cookies aren’t too sweet, just perfect!
Yuli
Hi Yuli! I’m so happy you liked it. Asian cookies are not too sweet, which is always my favorite.
Thank you so much for your feedback!
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