Old School Almond Cookies

Growing up in Chinatown, the standard plate of cookies found on our table was not Chocolate Chip Cookies, but Almond Cookies. Every Chinese Bakery proudly displayed them in their window. They were my favorite cookie, well except for the almond in the center, which I ate around.  Kids, what do you do?

Last Roadtrip

My favorite Almond Cookie comes from Phoenix Bakery in Los Angeles Chinatown.  It’s been there a long time, three generations of the Chan family, (hopefully there will be a fourth generation) cranking out delicious cookies and cakes.  Theirs is the quintessential Almond Cookie, crumbly not crispy, nutty, dense but not tough, and distinctly almond-flavored. Growing up, every family trip to Los Angeles included the prerequisite stop at Phoenix Bakery for their pink boxes filled with almond cookies and sweet, sticky butterfly cookies. Right before COVID hit, I drove down to LA for my favorite auntie’s birthday, and of course, I stopped at Phoenix Bakery. For the sake of transparency, I am distantly related to the Chan Family, so they always loaded us up with boxes of goodies. My mom and the 2nd-generation Chans are 1st cousins. There is a great story about my generation’s Chans but you’ll have to ask me about it. Ok, really, I’m just bragging that they’re my cousins, lol.

An Homage

Every Christmas my brother-in-law’s mother, Mrs. F, baked tons of cookies and gifted them in those classic pink cake boxes. We were one of the lucky recipients.  My favorite is her almond cookie. With that first bite, I was transported back to the Chinatown of my youth.

As a testament to how much I like Almond Cookies, I have multiple almond cookies on 3Jamigos.  The first time I wrote about Mrs. F’s Almond Cookies, I actually included the Almond Cookie recipe from B’s Patisserie in San Francisco.  It’s a luscious almond cookie, buttery, crispy, filled with almond flavor, delicious in its own right, but texturally different from the classic Chinatown Almond Cookie.

Finally, Mrs. F’s Almond Cookies

Why didn’t I make Mrs. F’s cookies from the get-go? Embarrassingly, I had misplaced her recipe.  After an all-out hunt, I finally found it (or did I ask my brother-in-law?).  Well, bottom line, I have it now, my little duckies.

I have tinkered with the recipe just a little.  The cookies texturally were spot on.   Here is the secret, the texture comes from using lard or shortening.  Yep, no butter in these bad boys.  What if I used butter-flavored shortening?  Why not.  This was my inaugural use of butter-flavored Crisco in place of regular shortening.  Judging by the response to these cookies, it worked! If you have an aversion to butter-flavored shortening, use regular shortening.  If and when I try lard, I will report back.  I have no problems using lard, it’s more of an access issue.  I prefer leaf lard, which is less processed than the stuff in supermarkets.

Shortening is easy to work with and inherently a little softer than butter. I keep my shortening in the fridge. Beat the dough until light and fluffy 2-3 minutes before adding dry ingredients.

Let’s Go Nutty

The other tweak, MORE almond.  I upped the amount of almond extract in my book; you can never have too much almond flavor. JK, but I did think the cookies benefited from a smidge more.

Year of the Tiger

Don’t think cookie season is over!  Chinese New Year is right around the corner, and these would be purr-fect in an assortment of goodies to ring in the Year of the Tiger!

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5 from 3 votes

Almond Cookies -like the ones in Chinatown!

This recipe was generously shared with me by my brother-in-law's family. Made with lard or shortening, these are the quintessential Chinese Almond Cookies found in Chinatown bakeries and restaurants. Crumbly, almond-forward, delicious

Course cookies, Dessert

Cuisine Asian

Keyword Chinatown Almond Cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• 5 cups sifted flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups Shortening, either reg or butter-flavored 40T (35 T will do)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 large egg lightly beaten
• 1.5 tsp almond extract Use up to 2 tsp
• 1/4 tsp potassium carbonate liquid or 1/4 t baking soda

Finishing Touches

• 1 egg beaten for egg wash
• almond halves or sesame seeds garnish

Instructions

• Combine flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.
• Cream shortening and sugar till fluffy. Add egg and blend thoroughly. Add almond extract and k+Co3 and blend well.
• Gradually add flour and stir until well combined. Form round balls (size of small walnut, I use a 1 tablespoon+ ice cream scoop to portion out the dough. At this point, if the dough seems a little soft, chill in fridge for 30-60 minutes.
• Using a flat bottom glass, dip in a little bit of flour and press dough flat on a cookie sheet to about 1/2 inch thickness. Leave about 1.5 inches between cookies. Brush each cookie with egg wash. Place almond or sesame seeds centered on top.
• Bake 350 degrees 15 minutes or until slightly golden in color.

Notes

The recipe is easily halved.  A large beaten egg is approximately 3.25 tablespoons, use half for the dough and half for the egg wash.  You have some play with the amount of egg in the dough. I have used a whole large egg in a half recipe and it turns out fine, the cookie is just a bit more fragile. I'd use a small egg in a half recipe.

I like the butter-flavored Crisco in the cookie. Gives a bit more flavor without sacrificing the texture of the cookie.