Thursday, January 24, 2013

CNY Bake : Almond Cookies

I am sure most of you have tasted almond cookies before. I would say a good recipe should be those that will slowly melts in the mouth. It should have a faint almond fragrant and sweet buttery after taste. I don't really fancy those that has almond essence nor small almond chunks in them. The essence taste artificial & those chunky almond bits get stuck in my teeth!  If I say I like almond cookies, it is an understatement...I can chow down a tub all by myself if I am not watching my waistline, lol! But hey, looking on the brighter side, almonds has so many health benefits, it's alright to indulge in it right?

It is essential you get whole blanched almonds for this. Roast them and then grind them to fine powdery texture. If you choose to use store bought fine almond flour, it should be okay if you know the store has fresh stock every time. Else those almond powder that has been shelved too long will loose its fragrant and might even have an old stale taste to it. :P

Ingredients for Almond cookies
250g whole blanched almonds
- Roasted at 200C for 10 minutes till slightly golden. Let cool completely then grind it till very fine.

100g plain flour
120g cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
95g confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp fine salt

100 - 120 ml peanut oil (add enough to make a soft dough)
50g melted unsalted butter

Egg wash for glazing (omit if you want it vegetarian version)

  • In a large mixing bowl, sift both flours & baking powder in. Then sift in the confectioner's sugar and salt. Now add in the grind almond and mix well.
  • Add in both peanut oil and melted butter. Stir the whole mixture until it comes together to form a soft pliable dough.
  • Preheat the oven to 170C. 
  • At this point you can choose to cut out or shape the dough into rounds as desired. Lay them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Repeat till all the dough has been shaped out.
  • Glaze the cookie tops with egg wash.
  • Bake the cookies in the oven for 15-18 minutes till light golden brown.
  • Remove from oven and let cool before storing. Enjoy!

Don't ask me how many of these cookies I have eaten...I've already lost count, lol! I had to seal the tubs to stop myself from sneaking a few cookies ever so often! 
Even though I baked double the above recipe, it still seems not enough. :P Anyway, I doubt I have the leisure to bake another batch for CNY...since I still have a few more cookies to bake!

I am happy to submit this to Sonia's blog event :Chinese New Year Delights 2013 新春送礼.

Okay folks, gonna go bake more cookies...until next time, happy baking all!




20 comments:

鲸鱼蓝蓝蓝 said...

今天没出门
就是在家做了这个口味的饼干
很喜欢,还会多做来送人:)

Baby Sumo said...

Looks so nice and crumbly! :)

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

I especially like a bit of salty taste before finish the eating cookie, your made with flower shape look so cute !

Cass @ 揾到食 said...

I love this cookies, yummy :)

ann low said...

Hope I'm not too late to grab this yummy almond cookies! 我的最爱 :D

Joceline Lor said...

很美丽的行人饼干。

Chef and Sommelier said...

Hi Bee! I am very excited to see everyone's CNY posts. Wife has been very busy baking cookies too. Will ask her to check out yours.

Jessie-CookingMoments said...

Hi, HBS, love the shape of your cookies. I haven't had this for ages!

Rumbling Tummy said...

With so many CNY bakes coming thru, I am hoping that my mojo comes back this weekend to bake up a storm. And this recipe will definitely be on my list! Thanks.

Mich Piece of Cake said...

I also just made these cookies. Love your flower shaped ones,so pretty.

Angie's Recipes said...

I love nutty cookies. These cookies look very beautiful.

Subhie Arun said...

Hi bee!!! Adv happy cny... Almond cookies looks v perfect... Frst time here... Love ur space... Happi to follow u..
Glad if u do d same..

http://subhieskitchen.blogspot.co.uk

lena said...

good morning bee, love almond cookies. Just made one container for self consumption! i like the saltiness that lingers in the tongue ..it's so addictve! dangerous stuffs..waistline is forever increasing..

Anonymous said...

they're so lovely, where did you get that mould?

Honey Bee Sweets said...

I used a small flower cookie cutter, not a mould. I think I got it in Giant.

Anonymous said...

Hi
Can I check if I can replace peanut oil with another oil?

Yvonne said...

Hi there! I tried baking these cookies but somehow the dough is crumbly and can't roll it. So I used my hands to shape them into rounds. And baked them. But, it wasn't melt in the mouth texture when I ate it. Instead, it's a bit crumbly and nutty. Do you know what went wrong?

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Yvonne,

Sounds like there's not enough "liquid", so I suggest adding a little more peanut oil to the mixture, it should form a soft dough. Did you use whole blanched almonds? Or did you buy ready ground almond flour? It does makes a difference as the grounded ones will have lesser oil in them.

Unknown said...

Hi Bee, your almond cookies really look yummy. May I check if I can replace the butter with oil? Will the taste be affected? Thanks for your advise.

Cheers.
Ottawa

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Ottavia, Yes you can replace it with peanut oil. But you might have to gauge the amount you add in, just enough to hold the dough together.