These Chinese almond cookies are way better than any restaurant cookie. Flaky-crumbly, yummy, and impossible to resist.
Chinese Almond Cookies
Updated 20 Dec 2009
Originally posted 14 March 2007
The first time I ever had these almond cookies was when I received them as a favor for my bridal shower. They were so delicious I literally inhaled those cookies! Aunty Charlene (sister to Aunty Marlene, who gave me that wonderful banana muffin recipe) told me that she got the recipe from her dad a long time ago. Thankfully, she was willing to share her recipe with me and since that time, I’ve made it for countless occasions. I even use them as favors at my kids’ birthday parties now (talk about coming full circle!).
We’ve been in Kuching, Sarawak for about 4 months now, but aside from a trip to the Damai Beach in North Kuching, we’ve not gone outside of the South Kuching metro area at all. Today was a public holiday in Malaysia (Awal Muharram – the Islamic New Year) so we decided to get out of town and take a drive to Serian, visit the market there, and see what we could see.
Serian Town is less than 60 km (about an hour’s leisurely drive) from Kuching. You drive south, away from the coast and towards the highlands and the Malaysia-Indonesia border. It’s an easy drive with lots of open space and open sky to encourage your mind to wander. Next thing you know, you see a roundabout up ahead with a big, durian-shaped monument welcoming you to Serian. (Apparently, Serian has a reputation for the best durian in Sarawak.)
So I had checked out FoodGal Carolyn Jung’s blog right before Christmas last year, when she had posted a recipe for this cookie. She said it was the one cookie that she did every year and she always got requests for the cookie. Her post was so compelling that I went out that week and got myself all I needed to make this cookie.
It was such a simple recipe! It is a little bit messy and gooey when rolling the cookie dough in the slivered almonds but the resulting cookie is a delight—a really yummy, chewy, almond delight. And the smell of the almonds when it’s baking will get you in the holiday mood like nothing else. The fragrance is so amazing!
I love trying out new recipes and new dishes. I’m not one who likes to eat the same thing over and over (though for breakfast, I almost always have toast with peanut butter—go figure, I’m a study in contradictions!). I’m the same with leftovers, unless it’s something I really, really like, I don’t care too much for leftovers. Thankfully Nate will eat up all the leftovers for me. My human “garbage disposal” so to speak ^_^.
So I like to experiment with new recipes and I’m willing to serve them to friends even if it’s the first time I’m making it. This doesn’t always work out as some dishes don’t turn out great the first time (case in point is a braised duck recipe I made recently for a party—I’m NOT blogging about that until I perfect that recipe). But I’m grateful I tried this recipe because the salad turned out perfectly the first time and is simple enough to make with few ingredients. Nate and I agreed that we could have just eaten this dish on its own as a meal.
