Thursday 15 August 2013

Chinese Almond Cookies - Baking Partner Challenge #13


Here comes yet another beautiful challenge from the Baking Partners. This time it's cookies from around the world & I chose to go Chinese with these beautiful Almond cookies. I have baked Ameretti cookies (Italian) before, so I was sure that this would also be acceptable to our taste buds. And as I had expected this tasted crunchy & great with the lovely almond flavor. It's very easy to make & I found the method quite similar to the Indian flat bread 'Chapathi/Roti' :) Try this out as your yummy tea time snack !




Recipe from here

Makes: 8-12 cookies


I Took: 

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Refrigeration Time: 1 hour
Baking Time: 20-25 minutes


I Used:

All purpose flour - ¾ cup + 1 tbsp
Butter - 4 tbsp
Sugar - ¼ cup
Almond paste - 2 ½ tbsp
Baking powder - ½ tsp
Vanila Essence - ½ tsp
Grated lemon zest - 1 tsp
Salt - ¼ tsp
Egg - 1 tbsp
Beaten egg white - of 1 egg
Almonds - 8-12 no


The Way:

  1. In a large bowl sift together all purpose flour, baking powder & salt together. For even mixing sift for two or three times
  2. Beat the egg nicely & keep aside
  3. In another wide bowl cream the butter until pale yellow. You can use an electric mixer or whisk. I used whisk
  4. Add ¼ cup sugar, almond paste, lemon zest & amaretto (or vanilla essence) & mix until it is smooth & lump free
  5. Now add about one third of the beaten egg and mix well. Now gradually add the flour & mix well until everything is fully incorporated. Use hands instead of whisk while incorporating flour
  6. Transfer the dough into a parchment paper & refrigerate it for about an hour
  7. Preheat the oven to 175 degree C in conventional mode. Adjust the rack to the lower third of the oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper
  8. Once the dough is chilled, prep your working surface with 1 tbsp of sugar. Roll the dough over the sugar and then make small balls out of it (like you do for Indian flatbread or chapathi)
  9. Flatten out the balls into cookie shapes of your desired diameter & thickness using your palm. Place them two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets
  10. Brush each cookie lightly with beaten egg white and press a whole or chopped almond into the center of each 
  11. Bake for 15- 20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges
  12. Remove the baked cookies from the oven and allow to cool  to room temperature before serving

Notes:


Almond paste is nothing but powdered almond. Grind around 15-20 almonds in a mixie to get the above mentioned almond paste

Cheers,
Chitz

38 comments:

  1. perfectly baked..looks fabulous..with just tea that would be heaven..

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  2. I adore the zesty tinge from the lemon zest and the crunch from the almonds. These cookies are simply splendid and they are so so good.

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  3. Looks so perfect......yummy cookies...

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  4. I love the texture and the color and love the list of ingredients, specially the almond !

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  5. good texture and quiet big one ! lovely !

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  6. very tempting sounds new ..vl try next time..
    http://www.mahaslovelyhome.com/2013/08/egg-less-peanut-butter-cup-cakes-cup.html

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  7. Beautiful texture of the cookies, love it with almonds.

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  8. Looks so yummy and crunchy...Love to have one from that bunch...atleast a half ;)

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  9. They look lovely, seems like they have the perfect crunch :-)

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  10. Beautifully made...looks delicious

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  11. I love almond cookies and yours have come out simply superb...

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  12. Your clicks say cookies are crunchy and tasty too

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  13. perfectly baked crispy, yummy cookies with nice clicks...

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  14. cookies look lovely!! great clicks!!

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  15. wow cookies super cute dear .. lovely clicks !!

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  16. Perfectly baked almond cookies.. Wish I could taste it..

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  17. Beautiful Chitz you did very well Love that almond cookies.

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  18. cookies look fab :) crunchy and just perfect..

    There are two ongoing events at my blogspace:

    http://adaythroughmylife.blogspot.com/2013/07/walking-through-memory-lane-wtml-for.html

    and

    http://adaythroughmylife.blogspot.com/2013/08/whats-with-my-cuppa-2-nupurs-event-for.html

    Do participate and make the events a great success :)

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  19. Stunning and scrumptious cookies, can enjoy with a cup of tea.

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  20. OMG so perfect cookies.. Would wish to have few right away

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  21. Beautifully done, looks delicious.

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  22. wow!they look perfect!and nice arrangement for photos,so attractive!

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  23. That cookies look superb chitZ ..Perfect to dunk on tea !

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  24. Cookies looks so perfect and nice clicks

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  25. and..happy to follow you
    http://remyasbaking.blogspot.in/2013/08/coffee-cream-cake.html

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  26. cookies looks so sweet and delicious. very nice texture too.

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  27. These looks really good Chitz. By the way, wat does almond paste taste like? does it have that weird amaretto flavor like how almond extract tastes?

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    Replies
    1. Ohh, I have not updated that ! It's nothing but ground almonds Manju. I did not go for store bought ones. Ground them on the mixie & used, so no weird flavor :)

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  28. Thanks everyone for your lovely comments :)

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  29. Perfectly baked yummy Cookies. Love your blog Chitz :)

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  30. The cookies look lovely Chitz, I wonder if they taste like the bakery biscuits we get in India. A bit crinckly on top and very crunchy !?

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  31. Lovely and delicious cookies Chitz.. Thanks for sharing dear :-)

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