Chinese Almond Cookies

Chinese Almond Cookies may be a gift delivered to us by the Chinese immigrants to our country. These cookies were traditionally baked with lard, an ingredient that you will find in many early cookie recipes. The reason was hat it was more accessible and cheaper than butter. These cookies offer a short bread texture with a slight butter flavor. It had been a while since I had made ice box cookies Perhaps it was back in home ec class but these cookies were so much easier to slice and bake prepared in the traditional ice box method.

Chinese Almond Cookies

Makes 30 cookies
recipe source here

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup almond meal or finely ground blanched almonds

¼ cup cornstarch

1½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon table salt

8 tablespoons. unsalted butter, softened

½ cup shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons almond extract

2 eggs

30 roasted marcona almonds or blanched whole almonds

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add the almond extract and 1 of the eggs and beat until just incorporated, 1 minute. Add the flour mixture and beat on medium-low until the mixture comes together and forms a soft dough, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
2. Place the dough on a 26-inch-long sheet of plastic wrap and roll into an 11½-inch-long, 2-inch-diameter log. Roll tightly in the plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 4 hours or overnight.
3. Preheat an oven to 350F and set the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from refrigerator and slice into ⅜-inch-thick slices. Place 15 cookies onto each prepared baking sheet, about 1½ inches apart, and press an almond into the center of each cookie. Beat the remaining egg with 1 tsp. water and brush on top of each cookie.
4. Bake 18 to 20 minutes until tops of cookies are golden. Let cool on baking sheet 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

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