Chinese Almond Cookies

These cookies arrived in American Chinatown bakeries over a century ago, adapting traditional Chinese walnut cookies to Western ingredients and local tastes. The swap to almonds proved inspired. That round shape? It's deliberate. Each cookie represents a coin, a wish for prosperity pressed into dough and baked to golden perfection. During Lunar New Year, stacks of these cookies appear on offering tables and in gift boxes, their symbolism as important as their flavor.

The texture sets them apart from anything in the Western cookie tradition. They shatter at first bite, then dissolve on your tongue like sweet sand. This comes from the combination of almond flour with all-purpose flour, plus lard or butter worked into the dry ingredients until barely cohesive. The dough should feel almost too crumbly to hold together. Trust the process. It comes together when you press it.

I learned to make these from a baker in San Francisco's Chinatown who'd been turning them out since 1962. She measured nothing, shaped each cookie with three quick motions, and pressed the almond on top with her thumb like she was stamping a letter. Fifty years of practice looked effortless. Your first batch won't be effortless, but it will be delicious. That's what matters.

These cookies keep beautifully, which makes them ideal for holiday baking. Tin them up, tie with red ribbon, and you've got gifts worthy of the new year. The whole almonds on top aren't just decoration. They're meant to be noticed, admired, and eaten first by anyone who appreciates good fortune.