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Chinese Almond Cookies are soft, buttery, and bursting with sweet almond flavor, thanks to almond flour, almond extract, and a whole almond on top—so good! My recipe is quick and easy, made in one bowl with just 8 ingredients and no mixer needed. These golden, coin-shaped Chinese new year cookies are perfect for Lunar New Year celebrations, symbolizing good fortune and prosperity, or as a delicious gift for any holiday party.
Table of Contents
Good to know
ChihYu’s helpful notes
- Use finely ground almond flour: This recipe calls for almond flour, not almond meal. Flour has a finer texture than meal, so it’s important for the texture of the cookie.
- Do not substitute ingredients: These Chinese cookies use 8 simple ingredients that deliver a fantastic flavor and texture—I don’t recommend making substitutions.
- Use a food weight scale: When baking, using a food scale is ideal to make sure your measurements are precise.
Ingredients and tools
These classic Chinese cookies are all about almonds! With almond flour, almond extract, and a whole almond on top, they’re naturally gluten-free, lower in carbs, and packed with sweet, nutty flavor. Here’s what you’ll need:
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- Unsalted butter: Softened at room temperature. Traditional recipes call for pork lard, but butter is a lighter alternative that gives these cookies a great, airy texture.
- Coconut brown sugar: Gives subtle caramel notes to the cookies.
- Large whole egg: Used to make the dough.
- Egg yoke (whisked): Separate from the whole egg, this is used as an egg wash to get the perfect golden color when baking.
- Almond extract: Don’t skip this or swap for vanilla! Almond extract gives a greater depth of sweet almond flavor and is essential to the recipe.
- Almond flour: Be sure to use super fine ground blanched almond flour and not almond meal. I use Bob’s Red Mill brand.
- Baking powder
- Whole almonds
Tools:
- Large mixing bowl
- Silicone spatula
- Digital kitchen scale
- Baking sheet pan
- Silicone baking mat, or parchment paper
- Cooling wire rack
How to make Chinese almond cookies
Homemade almond cookies are such a quintessential treat in my Taiwanese culture! We always enjoyed them for the Chinese New Year and it’s a tradition I’ve carried on. My recipe is super fast and simple—no mixer or long chill times required!
- Mix the wet ingredients: In a large bowl, mix the softened butter, coconut brown sugar, a whole egg, and almond extract.
- Add the dry ingredients: Stir in the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
- Chill the dough: Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven: Set your oven to 350°F (177°C) while the dough chills.
- Shape the dough into balls: Roll the chilled dough on a silicone mat for 10-15 seconds to smooth it out, then form into small balls, about 23 grams or 1.5 tablespoons each. Place them evenly on a parchment-lined or silicone-lined baking sheet.
- Create indentations and garnish: Gently press an indentation in the center of each dough ball with your finger. Brush each cookie with egg yolk and press a whole almond into the center.
- Bake the cookies: Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown and fragrant.
- Cool and serve: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature with a glass of cold milk or tea!
How to store, make-ahead, or freeze
This is a great recipe to prepare in advance if you’re serving these at a holiday party—or if you just want to have cookie dough ready in your freezer!
- Refrigerate dough: Wrap the dough in cling wrap and store in an airtight container or ziplock bag in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freeze dough: Roll the dough into a log, wrap it in plastic wrap, and place it in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost in the fridge overnight before baking.
- Store cookies: Once cooled, keep cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
What to serve them with
These are the best almond cookies for holiday parties—especially celebrating the new year! Serve these Chinese New Year cookies with tea or another festive beverage for dunking. For a full holiday spread, try some of my classic Chinese appetizers, too!
- Beverages: Royal milk tea is a cozy Japanese-inspired drink with English black tea. Paleo hot chocolate with dairy-free milk feels indulgent without the guilt. Or try my black sesame latte or Whole30 turmeric milk for a caffeine-free option with bold flavor!
- Appetizers: For a traditional Lunar New years spread, try my gluten-free rice paper dumplings with ginger and veggies, crispy rice paper egg rolls with cabbage, low-carb jiaozi potstickers with daikon wrappers, or gluten-free shrimp wontons with sweet and tangy wonton sauce.
More easy cookie recipes you might like
If you enjoyed this easy Chinese almond cookie recipe, be sure to check out some of my other Asian cookies! Made with better-for-you ingredients, they’re not only simple to make but are healthy, too!
- Blackberry jam thumbprint cookies are sweet and tart gluten-free and dairy-free cookies sweetened with raw honey.
- Paleo no bake Christmas cookies are low in sugar, and while they taste like peanut butter (thanks to an assortment of mixed nuts), they’re peanut-free!
- Black sesame soot sprite cookies are adorably spooky cookies inspired by the Japanese anime My Neighbor Totoro. They’re so easy to make with no butter, low carb, and gluten-free.
Recipe Card
Chinese almond cookies recipe
Bring good luck and fortune with these classic Chinese almond cookies! These cookies are easy to make (with just 8 ingredients), buttery, nutty, and no mixer needed. Makes 19-20 cookies.
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- 2.5 tbsp coconut brown sugar
- 1 large whole egg
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 240 gram super fine ground blanched almond flour I use Bob’s red mill, see notes (8.43 oz)
- 1 gram baking powder (1/4 tsp)
- 1 large egg yolk whisked
- 19-20 whole almonds see notes
Tools:
- Large mixing bowl
- Silicone spatula
- Digital kitchen scale
- Baking sheet pan
- Silicone baking mat or parchment paper
- Cooling rack
Instructions
- Mix the wet ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter, sugar, 1 whole egg, and almond extract. Use a fork to mash and mix them until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients: Add the flour and baking powder. Stir with a silicone spatula until the flour is fully incorporated and a dough forms with no visible white streaks.
- Chill the dough: Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Smooth the dough: Remove the dough from the fridge and transfer it to a silicone baking mat. Gently use your hand to roll the dough for about 10-15 seconds to smooth it out. It will feel moist and soft, which is completely normal. Avoid over-rolling to prevent the cookies from becoming dry and tough.
- Form the dough balls: Roll the dough into small balls, each weighing 23 grams (or just over 1.5 tablespoons of dough per ball). You should have 19-20 balls.
- Prepare the baking sheet: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Place the dough balls on the sheet, leaving some space between each one.
- Create indentations: Use your index finger to gently press an indentation in the center of each ball, being careful not to press too deeply. Leave some height to maintain the cookie's thickness. If the edges split slightly, it’s okay! If any splits are too wide, pinch the dough gently to keep it together.
- Brush the egg wash and almond: Brush each cookie with a layer of whisked egg yolk. Gently press a whole almond into the indentation of each cookie.
- Bake the cookies: Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cookies turn golden brown and the aroma fills the kitchen.
- Let the cookies cool: Remove the baking sheet from the oven, but don't touch or move the cookies yet. They will be soft and could fall apart if transferred too soon.
- Transfer to a cooling rack: Once the cookies are no longer piping hot and firm up slightly, carefully transfer them to a cooling rack.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with a glass of cold milk or royal milk tea!
Notes
- Use fine ground almond flour (not almond meal): Almond flour and almond meal are different. Almond flour is made from blanched almonds and finely ground for a smooth texture. Almond meal includes the skins and is coarser, which can make cookies grainy.
- Almond extract: The small amount of almond extract adds a concentrated flavor to the cookies, making the flavor really pops so don’t skip it.
- Whole almond garnish: you can use either raw and un-roasted or roasted and lightly salted. The roasted version will give a darker color appearance. For reference, I use raw and un-roasted whole almonds.
- Refrigerate dough (make-ahead): You can refrigerate the dough (steps 1 to 3 up to 3 days in advance). Wrap the dough tightly in a cling wrap and store in an airtight container or ziplock bag.
- Freeze dough: You can freeze the dough (complete steps 1 to 3) for up to 1 month. Roll the dough into a log and wrap it tightly with a cling wrap then store in a freezer friendly bag. To use, defrost it overnight in the fridge.
- Storage: Store cookies (no longer hot) in an airtight container in the fridge. Best finish in 3-4 days.
- Air fry: Line the air fryer basket, air fry at 320°F (160 °C) for 10 mins.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 907kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 32g, Fat: 79g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 17g, Monounsaturated Fat: 44g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 31mg, Sodium: 9mg, Potassium: 1007mg, Fiber: 18g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 167IU, Calcium: 397mg, Iron: 6mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Leave a comment below!
These almond cookies are absolutely delicious! We made them for Thanksgiving and they were a hit! Easy to make and the cookie dough freezes well so that made everything easy and straightforward. A wonderful Chinese cookie recipe to keep for sure!
Thank you! So happy to hear!