Red Dot Almond Cookies for Chinese New Year

The first year when we lived in Maui, our next door neighbor brought us a plate of the most delicious almond cookies as a gift for Chinese New Year. We loved them so much that I asked for the recipe which she very kindly shared.

These Red Dot Almond Cookies are the perfect sweet treat to make to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Celebrations for the year of the Metal Rat begin January 25, 2020 and run for 15 days ending with the Lantern Festival.

Red Dot Almond Cookies

 

• 1 c butter (the original recipe called for Crisco)
• 1 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 3 c all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt 

Please note: The original recipe called for only one egg but after we moved back to the mainland I found that I needed to add an extra egg otherwise the finished cookies turned out really dry. I think it’s possible that the moisture level of our flour is lower than it would be in the humidity on Maui.

I have had success making gluten free almond cookies by substituting 3 cups of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour for the all purpose flour.

 

Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

 

Begin by adding the flour, baking soda and salt to a small bowl.

Stir to combine the dry ingredients then set aside.

Add the butter to a medium sized mixing bowl and cream until light and fluffy.

Add the sugar and cream until the sugar is incorporated and the mixture is smooth and no longer grainy.

Next add the almond extract.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.

If using a hand held mixer, you may need to switch to mixing with a wooden spoon.

Then it will be time to get your hands in the dough to finish the mixing.

Scoop out a tablespoon of dough at a time.

A #50 (1.5″) cookie scoop makes it easy to get equal amounts of dough to form the balls.

Form into balls by rolling between your hands with your palms slightly cupped.

Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Edited to add: In the comments, Hatton asked where I got the baking mats with the circles for perfect placement of the cookies.

I purchased my first set at Costco but the second set I ordered from Amazon. They are Mui Silicone Baking Mats.

When I bought mine, it came with two mats with the circle markings of the size shown in the photo below. The new sets seem to have only one of those and a second with larger circles plus 2 smaller mats.

If you don’t care about the color of the mat, I found this pack of two Infinite Home: Non Stick Mats with the same spacing for the circles.

Press flat using the bottom of a glass that has been lightly dusted with flour. (I don’t have any glasses with bottoms that don’t have some kind of design on them, so I used a clean jar lid.)

Place a dot of red gel food coloring in the center of each cookie.

Traditionally the round end of a chopstick or a small cork is used for this. (All our chopsticks have square ends so I used the eraser of a brand new pencil that had been washed in warm, soapy water.)

Bake on the center oven rack for 10 to 15 minutes until very lightly golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and transfer to cooling racks.

The recipe yields approximately 48 cookies.

Store cooled cookies in a sealed container for up to three weeks or up to three months in the freezer.

But trust me, these almond cookies won’t last that long!

If you’re baking for more than two people, you might even want to double the recipe.

They are perfect to serve with tea or coffee.

Make up a plate to take to work or to give to a neighbor to wish them…

Xin nian kuai le! Gong xi fa cai!  Happy Chinese New Year!

I do hope that you’ll give this recipe a try. You’ll find the printable recipe at the bottom of the post.

If you do make them, please post a photo on your favorite social media and tag me so I can come see. I’m @supermomnocape on Instagram, @1SuperMomNoCape on Twitter and @1SuperMomNoCape on Facebook.

 

Don’t forget to save it by clicking on the Pinterest button underneath the post.

And of course, I’d love it if you shared it on Twitter and Facebook as well. 🙂

 

Yield: 48

Red Dot Almond Cookies for Chinese New Year

Print

These Red Dot Almond Cookies are the perfect dessert to make to celebrate Chinese New Year. A soft shortbread type cookie with a delicious almond flavor. The red dot in the center represents good luck for the coming year.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 c butter
• 1 c sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 3 c all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the first 4 ingredients together in a medium sized bowl until the mixture is smooth. Sift in flour, baking soda and salt and mix until completely combined.

Scoop out a level tablespoon of dough. Form into balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

Press flat using the bottom of a glass that has been lightly dusted with flour.

Place a dot of red food coloring in the center of each cookie using a small cork or end of a chopstick.

Bake on the center rack for 10 to 15 minutes until very lightly golden brown around the edges.

Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Notes

I have successfully made these gluten free by substituting 3 cups of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

48

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 82Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 72mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 0gSugar: 4gProtein: 1g

Please note: all nutritional information is approximate. If you need precises information, please be sure to run the calculations yourself.

This post was originally published on Super Mom – No Cape! in February 2014. It has been completely updated with all new photos and more detailed instructions.

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